JUST SAY NO TO DONALD TRUMP!

 

This is not a political blog – it is a tax blog.  My political posts have been limited to discussing the politics of tax reform and tax legislation, and to call out the idiots in Congress for continuing to prove by their actions, or inaction, that they are indeed idiots.

However a very disturbing political development almost demands that I write this post.

Since the beginning of the Presidential campaign I have said that the most disturbing political development in my lifetime (I was born in 1953) is that fact that buffoon Donald Trump is being taken seriously as a candidate for President.

The problem with Donald Trump for President is not his alleged policy proposals, or the nonsense that he spews.  The problem with Donald Trump for President is . . . he is Donald Trump!

Why do I oppose the candidacy of fool Trump, and cannot conceive that anyone with any intelligence or any concern for the future of the country, the American public, and, frankly, the world would ever even consider Trump as a candidate for any elected office?  Let me count the ways –

(1)  He is the ultimate narcissist.

A narcissist is a person with an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for publicity and admiration and a lack of empathy for others. Behind this mask of ultra-confidence lies a fragile self-esteem that's vulnerable to the slightest criticism. 

Lookup the word narcissist in the dictionary and you will find a picture of Trump.

The only reason Trump does anything is to feed his undeservedly enormous ego.  The only reason he is running for President is because he has become the top news story in almost every venue almost every day.

Trump considered running for President in 2012.  But that time he was not taken seriously – his possible campaign, and he himself, was treated as the joke that it, and he, was (and still is).  So he did not run because it did not feed his ego.   

Obviously a presidential candidate needs some degree of ego.  But he, or her, also must have character and substance.  Trump is all ego and, while he is a character, he has no character and certainly no substance.

(2)  He is totally incapable of dealing with criticism or challenges like a mature adult.

Trump’s response to anyone who criticizes him, disagrees with him, or challenges him is “You’re fat, you’re ugly, you’re hormonal, you’re a loser, you’re a liar, you’re a nobody, etc, etc, etc”.  Anyone who criticizes or challenges him has no value, so therefore his, or her, opinion has no value.

The classic example is Rosie O’Donnell.  When Rosie correctly criticized Trump for screwing his shareholders his response was “You’re fat”.

What will happen if “President” Trump is criticized or challenged by another world leader?  Will his response be, “You’re ugly”?

(3) He is a reality tv clown.

His claim to fame is telling other self-absorbed buffoons “You’re fired” on reality television excrement THE APPRENTICE.

Early in its run someone correctly observed “The Apprentice is to the real business world what Homer Simpson is to real fatherhood”.

Speaking of the famous cartoon patriarch, at the beginning of the campaign I wrote in a letter to the editor of my local newspaper, “I have always said I would rather vote for Homer Simpson for President than Donald Trump.”

Why do people support this dangerous buffoon?

(1) People say he is a savvy businessman whose successful business practices will be an asset in running the country.

Trump is not a savvy businessman.  He is not a self-made billionaire who created a company from scratch and grew it to financial success via astute management, like Bill Gates or Michael Bloomberg.  He inherited tens of millions of dollars from his father and invested in real estate in New York.  Duh.

What do we know of his business practices?  He consistently screws his shareholders, employees, lenders, and sub-contractors. 

ü He speaks proudly of using bankruptcy laws to walk away from bad businesses relatively unscathed, while others bear the cost of his incompetence.

ü In the early 2000’s a long-time friend and client purchased a condo in a Trump building in NYC.  The lawyer for the bank representing the seller told my client that he did not trust Trump because he had reneged and screwed the bank multiple times in the past.  He went on to explain that Trump always shorted his sub-contractors by 5 to 10% and didn't care if they sued him.  Ultimately they would settle with him, taking a 5%+ haircut, and Trump always came out ahead.

ü And in the 1990s Trump tried to use “eminent domain” in Atlantic City to evict an elderly widow from her home so he could tear it down and put up a parking lot for one of his casino properties.  Thankfully he was unsuccessful.

A true savvy businessman would want to be a “king-maker”, but never the actual “king”.

(2) People say he speaks his mind and is not worried about being “politically correct”.

Trump does not speak his mind.  He says whatever he thinks his audience wants to hear to get the publicity he craves, whether or not he actually believes what he is saying.  If he actually believes half the nonsense he spews then he is more dangerous than I first thought.

Trump is certainly politically incorrect.  He is also ethically incorrect, morally incorrect, and truthfully incorrect.  I do not believe he has made one completely truthful statement during the entire campaign.

I could go on and on listing reasons why Donald Trump must not be our next President.  But I think the reasons I have provided so far are more than enough.

The title of this post makes reference to the “Just Say No to Drugs” campaign.  Choosing to say “yes” to drugs is a dangerous choice, with potentially disastrous consequences.  Choosing to say “yes” to Donald Trump as President is also a very dangerous choice, with definite disastrous consequences for the country and the world!

I am reminded of the famous lines from Broadway’s FIDDLER ON THE ROOF –

Townsperson:  Rabbi, is there a blessing for Donald Trump?

Rabbi:  Yes, my son.  May God bless and keep Donald Trump . . . far away from the White House!

TTFN