In this blogger's opinion, Donald Trump is a completely illegitimate pretender to the throne. His victory is forever tainted by the help his campaign received from the Russians. It is no wonder that he rejects the findings of the U.S. intelligence community - to accept their findings would clearly tarnish his triumph at the polls! Trump wants everyone to forget about all of that and move on - the important thing is that he won the election. Never mind that a foreign government (who has been perceived as our chief rival/adversary for many years) purposefully intervened in our election to ensure that their preferred candidate won!
How this man has turned everything upside down! Many of the folks who were formerly the most vociferous opponents of Russia now suddenly see no problem with what Putin/Russia has done. Their hatred for Hillary Clinton overcame lifelong scruples about resistance to all things Russian. They are willing to completely overlook all of the evidence of Russian complicity in the hacking of the Democrats - even Trump's own invitation for Russian intervention during the campaign.
Moreover, Trump has made very clear on numerous occasions that he admires Putin - his style and his policies. His statements on the Ukraine, NATO, the E.U., Syria and trade have alarmed most of our European allies. Trump has said that Putin has done a "great job" rebuilding Russia's image. He has called the former KGB agent a strong leader and characterized him as being "very smart." In more personal terms, he has characterized this amoral murderer as one "who could not have been nicer." Even senior members of his own party (McCain, Graham, McConnell, Ryan, etc.) disagree with such assessments of Putin and his policies.
If all of this was not enough, he has publicly thrust himself into the middle of a major foreign policy initiative of the current administration. Whatever happened to one president at a time? His attempt to prevent the Obama administration from censuring Israeli settlements in the West Bank was unconscionable. He has deliberately sought to undermine the President's authority relative to dealing with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu (a man who has himself sought to undermine the President's policies and authority by directly appealing to his enemies in Congress).
Add to all of this Trump's promise to erase the last eight years, and it is clear that Trump has absolutely no regard for the many Americans who have approved and supported Obama's policies. This, of course, comes as no surprise to anyone who has been following Mr. Trump's statements over the President's two terms in office. As the leader of the birther movement, Trump has made clear that he believes that the current President is illegitimate. His rhetoric makes clear that he believes the President has virtually destroyed America and intentionally undermined traditional American values.
During the campaign, Trump made very plain that he believes that immigrants (foreigners) are dangerous and have weakened the fabric of America. He wants to build a wall to keep the Mexicans out. He wants to end/limit the influx of people from Muslim countries. In short, Mr. Trump has made clear that his vision of America does not include folks who are brown-skinned or not Christian.
Finally, he has refused to divest himself of his far-flung business interests and prevent the inevitable conflicts of interests that will arise from them. Those interests include dealings with both Russia and China to name just two of the potential problems. Moreover, it should be abundantly clear to anyone with an ounce of sense that he will be making decisions on a regular basis in the White House that will affect those business interests. Thus, it is not hard to see why some folks are already discussing how Trump will be in violation of the Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution (prohibiting U.S. officials from accepting gifts from foreign governments) when he is sworn in on January 20, 2017.
And, let's not forget that Trump "won" the presidency with about 46 % of the popular vote. In fact, his chief opponent (Hillary Clinton) garnered almost three million more votes than he did. As everyone knows, his victory was based entirely in the mathematics of the electoral college. If the George W. Bush victory in 2000 over Al Gore was questionable, what does that make Trump's victory over Clinton?
As for the man's character, there is abundant evidence that Trump is: not very religious, a flagrant misogynist and adulterer, a narcissist and a bully. He has declared bankruptcy numerous times, refused to pay workers/contractors, fudged on charitable contributions and has steadfastly refused to release the information contained in his federal income tax forms. These facts are not in dispute - even by his supporters! These are character flaws that would have been seen as disqualifying by a majority of Americans in any of his predecessors.
Hence, for all of these reasons, Donald Trump will NEVER be my president. He may become the de facto president in January, but he will always be a pretender to this American.
How this man has turned everything upside down! Many of the folks who were formerly the most vociferous opponents of Russia now suddenly see no problem with what Putin/Russia has done. Their hatred for Hillary Clinton overcame lifelong scruples about resistance to all things Russian. They are willing to completely overlook all of the evidence of Russian complicity in the hacking of the Democrats - even Trump's own invitation for Russian intervention during the campaign.
Moreover, Trump has made very clear on numerous occasions that he admires Putin - his style and his policies. His statements on the Ukraine, NATO, the E.U., Syria and trade have alarmed most of our European allies. Trump has said that Putin has done a "great job" rebuilding Russia's image. He has called the former KGB agent a strong leader and characterized him as being "very smart." In more personal terms, he has characterized this amoral murderer as one "who could not have been nicer." Even senior members of his own party (McCain, Graham, McConnell, Ryan, etc.) disagree with such assessments of Putin and his policies.
If all of this was not enough, he has publicly thrust himself into the middle of a major foreign policy initiative of the current administration. Whatever happened to one president at a time? His attempt to prevent the Obama administration from censuring Israeli settlements in the West Bank was unconscionable. He has deliberately sought to undermine the President's authority relative to dealing with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu (a man who has himself sought to undermine the President's policies and authority by directly appealing to his enemies in Congress).
Add to all of this Trump's promise to erase the last eight years, and it is clear that Trump has absolutely no regard for the many Americans who have approved and supported Obama's policies. This, of course, comes as no surprise to anyone who has been following Mr. Trump's statements over the President's two terms in office. As the leader of the birther movement, Trump has made clear that he believes that the current President is illegitimate. His rhetoric makes clear that he believes the President has virtually destroyed America and intentionally undermined traditional American values.
During the campaign, Trump made very plain that he believes that immigrants (foreigners) are dangerous and have weakened the fabric of America. He wants to build a wall to keep the Mexicans out. He wants to end/limit the influx of people from Muslim countries. In short, Mr. Trump has made clear that his vision of America does not include folks who are brown-skinned or not Christian.
Finally, he has refused to divest himself of his far-flung business interests and prevent the inevitable conflicts of interests that will arise from them. Those interests include dealings with both Russia and China to name just two of the potential problems. Moreover, it should be abundantly clear to anyone with an ounce of sense that he will be making decisions on a regular basis in the White House that will affect those business interests. Thus, it is not hard to see why some folks are already discussing how Trump will be in violation of the Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution (prohibiting U.S. officials from accepting gifts from foreign governments) when he is sworn in on January 20, 2017.
And, let's not forget that Trump "won" the presidency with about 46 % of the popular vote. In fact, his chief opponent (Hillary Clinton) garnered almost three million more votes than he did. As everyone knows, his victory was based entirely in the mathematics of the electoral college. If the George W. Bush victory in 2000 over Al Gore was questionable, what does that make Trump's victory over Clinton?
As for the man's character, there is abundant evidence that Trump is: not very religious, a flagrant misogynist and adulterer, a narcissist and a bully. He has declared bankruptcy numerous times, refused to pay workers/contractors, fudged on charitable contributions and has steadfastly refused to release the information contained in his federal income tax forms. These facts are not in dispute - even by his supporters! These are character flaws that would have been seen as disqualifying by a majority of Americans in any of his predecessors.
Hence, for all of these reasons, Donald Trump will NEVER be my president. He may become the de facto president in January, but he will always be a pretender to this American.
