Donald Trump's Absentee Presidency
Trump Doesn't Comfort or Celebrate the Nation Very Well
And the absence is broader. Trump cant readily cheer the nation in moments of triumph (championship sports teams boycott his White House). He doesnt tenderly comfort the nation in times of tragedy (he tosses paper towels to hurricane victims, and does a double fist pump on the anniversary of 9-11). He doesnt read books, talk movies or go to the theater, and is unwelcome at even the Kennedy Center Honors over which presidents have presided for nearly 40 years. This reality is striking, and sad: When it comes to those personal rituals of the modern presidency that Americans have long since taken for granted, Donald J. Trump is the man who isnt there.
He plays no games of touch football on the lawn at Mar-a-Lago, a la the Kennedys in Palm Beach or Hyannis Port. No family rounds of speed golf or horseshoes, and no mountain biking, as with the Bushes at Kennebunkport or Crawford. No horseback riding or brush-clearing, as with Ronald and Nancy Reagan in the mountains above Santa Barbara. No snorkeling, as with Obama and his girls at Oahus Hanauma Bay. He doesnt toast his own English muffins like Jerry Ford. No romping with Buddy the dog or Socks the cat, those pet denizens of the Clinton years. Even that loneliest of loners Richard Nixon enjoyed bowling in the White House alley, and liked to hit the beach in wingtips, sometimes with his wife Pat by his side.
No, Trump does none of this. Perhaps the most striking image of him with his family came last winter, when he charged up the steps of Air Force One in a rainstorm in West Palm Beach, an umbrella shielding his own head, with Barron and his wife, Melania, scrambling wet and unprotected behind him to get in the door of the plane. In Israel, in Italy, in Florida and on the White House lawn itself, Melania has repeatedly appeared to pull her own hand away when the president reached out to hold it.
Trump doesnt eat out in any restaurants except his own. Not for him a plebian trip to Rays Hell Burger, the Arlington institution where Barack Obama took Russian president Dmitri Medvedev in 2010 for a burger with cheddar, hot peppers and sautéed onions and mushrooms. Nor a visit to Filomena, the homey Italian kitchen in Georgetown, where Bill Clinton memorably chowed down with Chancellor Helmut Kohl of Germany. No date nights with Melania at the Bombay Club or the Blue Duck Tavern.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/10/trump-doesnt-comfort-or-celebrate-nation-very-well/572914/
PJMcK
(22,035 posts)Excellent perspectives in the article.
Thanks, douglas9.
madaboutharry
(40,210 posts)Trump does not dote on his children. He ignores Barron and Tiffany. It is obvious that he thinks Don Jr. and Eric are idiots. And he lusts after Ivanka.
There, I fixed it.
MyOwnPeace
(16,926 posts)but the one that should have been "fixed" was Trump - before he had any of those kids............
Historic NY
(37,449 posts)he's heading to France. Look for him at the Arc de Triomphe and France's unknown soldier, instead of Arlington. He must think its the Arch of Trump.... [link:https://www.thelocal.fr/20180817/trump-to-visit-paris-to-commemorate-100-years-since-end-of-wwi|
left-of-center2012
(34,195 posts)Wounded Bear
(58,653 posts)It's a very important anniversary to celebrate with the French, who bore the brunt of that war on the Western Front. The French suffered more casualties in single battles than the Americans did in it's entire time in the war. Overall, the French suffered more casualties than soldiers the Americans sent to fight. WWI was the event that set the tone for the rest of the 20th Century. In fact, we're still dealing with some of the shit it released on the world.
I just wish we had a decent president to send to it.
Historic NY
(37,449 posts)I was there 2 weeks ago, they think "their little man" needs someone to make him look better.
Wounded Bear
(58,653 posts)Trump will most likely make it about himself, I'm sure.
It's doubtful this is Trump's idea. I'm sure he got talked into it by his handlers. When Trump hears "World War One" he probably asks, "There was more than one?"
lucca18
(1,241 posts)The French people were so friendly, but seemed in disbelief that we have Trump for president.
i assured them that I felt the same way!
indeed.
llmart
(15,537 posts)or even a funeral for a Senator from his own party. He's hated by most of the country and quite possibly by his own wife and family. The only place he's really welcome is at his "rallies" by like-minded racists/haters like him.
mountain grammy
(26,620 posts)Last edited Sun Oct 14, 2018, 11:54 AM - Edit history (1)
Get used to it. It's not gonna get any better unless masses of people vote against it, and I mean masses.. enough to overcome the massive fraud that's been unleashed against us.
Wounded Bear
(58,653 posts)mountain grammy
(26,620 posts)but I wonder, when I march and protest why there's only a hundred or so with me? Since the Women's March in DC, we're not at the numbers we should be. If the small number of active protesters reflects voters we're done. There has been election fraud for decades and the GOP has perfected it, gaining massive power without the popular vote of the people.
Everything he says is shocking, and then it's policy. This election will be America's story.
vlyons
(10,252 posts)although he pretends to be a Christian. Has he invited any musicians into the WH to perform? I don't think so.
Wounded Bear
(58,653 posts)that might be a stretch, though.
rickford66
(5,523 posts)But he derogatorily calls others dogs.