Maybe it is something that a lot of people need, but I have not needed articles detailing how awful Trump is for a long time. It's a fact, and like writing every day that the sun came up.
Instead, tackle the problems. The people at the border are an almost unsolvable problem. At least no one I have read has offered a solution.
We can give them more human detention centers, which I want, but what then? They are pouring into our country at a rate of hundreds/day. More and more.
Is open borders the answer? Not for most Americans.
It's easy to sit back and take pot shots at Trump. I do it too. But to be fair, he is the President and, as such, it his job to do something since Congress won't. His solution has elements of cruelty to it, but wouldn't all solutions except open borders have elements of cruelty to them? (e.g., deporting them back to war torn countries).
Offer a solution, people. Better detention centers is going to encourage more people to cross the border. Then what?
12
@Travelers How about the, administration not cutting aid to the Northern Triangle countries as was done? Help these countries to change the conditions that cause people to flee in the first place. You might want to read up on how Uganda, Uganda!, with the assistance of Catholic Charities has been dealing with the issue.
46
@Travelers
No, it is not that Congress "won't" do something. And for heaven's sake, don't fall into the trap of lumping them all together. It is that the Republican senate - particularly McConnell - enjoys their power to withhold action. McConnell smiles when he calls himself the Grim Reaper. He more than idle or indifferent; he loves it. The rest of the GOP is either as money and power hungry as McConnell or they are cowed, He has the power to bestow committee appointments and campaign funds.
The solution is staring us in the face: Massive Public Demonstrations. If it works in Hong Kong and the rest of the world, it will work here. We don't need thousands marching in NYC; we need millions in every city and state marching on their state legislators and GOP chairmen to DEMAND an end to hands-off policy of McConnell.
The GOP is in every state. Those officials need to feel fear because it is the only thing that gets their attention.
60
@Travelers You are missing the point. Since morality and empathy are not a convincing argument to you, let's talk about laws. We are violating established laws. The treatment of migrants is torture. Also, our attitude is knowingly or unknowing shaped by the country of origin. Among the 12 million that came through Ellis Island, only 2% was deported. This 12 million statistically contributed to nearly a third of our current population. I will call our previous policy as open borders. The current one is far from it. This is cruelty for the sake of it - it is grandstanding for portraying as the savior of white identity for a very skewed view of what Trump thinks his supporters want. There is no other reason for this atrocity. If they open up these detention camps to volunteers, we can solve this problem in a week with a surge of American generosity. Kudos to Charles - be vocal and keep bleeding with the afflicted.
43
I am sorry, but much of this column and most of the comments don’t hold up to reasonable scrutiny.
The US does not operated concentration camps on the border. To assert we do is simply false.
We do have problems with surges of refugees at the border. And this problem did not start with Trump. Conveniently forgotten are the pictures of children in a McAllen Texas detention facility sleeping on a concrete floor in cages in 2014. For those with short memories, that was the Obama administration.
The problem has gotten worse because illegal immigrants and traffickers have learned to game a reasonably generous asylum process. Because this process was not designed to handle the huge increase in numbers, applicants know they will be quickly released. Most asylum claims are ultimately rejected but most asylum claimants don’t show for their hearings and simply stay in the US.
Every sovereign nation attempts to control its own borders. Are the Swiss, English, Italians, and Singaporeans, etc all evil?
Same with Korea. Clinton, Bush, Obama all tried and failed to control North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons. Trump comes to this late in the game, and may fail too. He has his own approach, and maybe it will accomplish something. But trying is ok.
Trump has handled Putin poorly. But is this so different than Obama, who famously told the Russians—when he thought his mic was off—that he could deal with them better after the election. And mocked Romney’s warnings.
19
@Meg You write that "most asylum claimants don’t show for their hearings and simply stay in the US." This false claim, repeated by VP Pence, has been widely debunked. Eighty-one percent of migrant families attended all court hearings, researchers at the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University found recently. There have been problems with statistics of migrants assigned to "rocket docket" courts, which Pence and others use instead of the more complete population of migrants. "Early numbers from a 'rocket docket' is a really horrible place to get in absentia rates, since those who are fighting their cases have not had sufficient time to be resolved," an analyst at the Migration Policy Institute wrote. "That number ignored the huge number of pending cases where the family had appeared but the case was ongoing," wrote another analyst at the American Immigration Council.
41
@AE I am very happy to see our president cracking down hard on people that persist on crossing into our country illegally. My sincere hope is that these law-breakers will come to the conclusion that the risks outweigh the benefits and they will stay home.
11
@Meg
What sources do you have for your "facts"? The fact is that your post reads like a list of talking points from a biased cable television news show. No one is gaming a system. The President himself has claimed that people in the detention facilities have it much better than in their home countries -- something that suggests that their home countries are in desperate shape and that they are right to flee and seek safe haven. We control our borders just fine. We need comprehensive immigration reform and the GOP will not move on that issue because it means considering the plight of the many millions of people already part of the fabric of our country who have no legal residency. We can offer residency, we can offer citizenship, but we cannot ignore them nor kick them out.
24
What do i say? I say that this is a different kind of fight now. I say that we have to develop a kind of humanity that separates ourselves from this insanity. We must usher in a new era for the good of the future, as we may watch ourselves drown down the toilet as a culture. I say we must develop a kind of humanity that is based on profound level of inner development that allows us to cut the chord from the horrors in front of us, survive them, and recreate our world in a new way. We cannot fix this from a direct confrontation. We have to develop a level of consciousness that sees beyond this horrifying time. We have to create a new world.
60
maybe the people go to worldspace.So that the rest and confortable life as if a nail to people' body
good by
ismail tosun
@Michael Sherman
Not sure exactly what you mean, but I think I agree!
1
@Michael Sherman
I love your comment. One thing I've thought of is that when speaking to someone with a different opinion, give them a preamble. "The worst thing you're going to hear me say about you is that you're a human being, like me. And if you find anything I've said insulting, it's a miscommunication. Let me know. We'll clear it up."
1
Charles, I agree with every word in your column but would like to suggest that the time is long past when you and the Times should be considering seeing the people that Trump looks down on as "racial minorities." Not a useful designation is it?
Trump and company look down on people born Muslim, but of course not all such people, only a subset magically selected to be demeaned. He loves some Muslims, notably those in Saudi Arabia. His followers look down on others because they were born Jewish, but not all such.
The key is the ability to be cruel to others, however those others are to be chosen as the target for cruelty. Trump's fellow masters in cruelty throughout the world are not members of a white supremacist patriarchy but rather members of a world order of ruthless dictators, united by their belief in the power of being cruel.
Thomas Chatterton Williams, a colleague of yours whom you perhaps have not yet met will tell you in his book out in October that you need to begin to unlearn race and try to understand that a Trump or a Putin or any of the other dictators Trump embraces have a vast array of means for finding groups on which cruelty is to be focused. They do not need "race".
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
92
@Larry Lundgren - Anyone who knows my comment fixations will recognize that in back of this comment is my conviction, shared with some experts in the field, that the Census Bureau must end use of its archaic system of classification by race. And parallel with that, it might help to know whether Charles Blow prefers that the USCB system be preserved forever.
Usually if I comment about this readers do not click on recommend and absolutely never reply to tell me they either share my view or oppose it. So if anybody reads this today - only 4:24 AM where you are, 10:24 where I am on an island on Sweden's west coast and has an opinion I would like to hear it either here or in Gmail available at
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
4
@Larry Lundgren You are correct in theory, but it's the brown people who are being singled out for suffering. For some, this is no intellectual exercise. It is pure cruelty, as Mr. Blow has so eloquently explained.
6
@Larry Lundgren
Very interesting comment. Please remind us in October about this book. Scary.
Sounds like instead of racism it is "money-ism": if you've got enough, you can treat everyone "below" you like trash.
My mother used to say you can judge a person by how they treat the less fortunate around them. Thanks, Mom.
6
In 2008, America did something unimaginable; it elected, overwhelmingly and with extreme enthusiasm, a black man to lead it. He was re-elected, once again with a handsome majority, even if it were not as great as his first triumph.
But Barack Obama's presidency seemed to augur into the national conversation an ugliness that had remained both noticeable and deeply hidden. Republicans, long a minority party, electorally speaking, decided long ago that it would seize power and stay the progress that had been moving the nation out of its darkest corners.
President Obama's opposition came from the intelligent and the successful as well as from the resentful and defensive. Had we been a truly representative democracy, he would have been far more successful but Republicans on The Hill refused his governance. Instead of stepping on Donald Trump in 2011 when he falsely accused the American president of being an usurper, Republicans remained silent, their quiet approval of the New York real estate magnate finding its greatest expression in subsuming itself into his web of lies and deceit and division.
Government officials at the border traffic in racist, misogynist and cruel taunts of not only the least of us, but also of the elected representatives whose responsibilities are to the American people. And the president laughs.
We replaced President Obama with Donald Trump. How could this obscenity be? The answer, I fear to write, is that it's what we truly are, and always were.
134
@Red Sox, ‘04, ‘07, ‘13, ‘18
"The answer, I fear to write, is that it's what we truly are, and always were."
You are correct. And it's high time we stopped pretending we were any other way.
36
@Red Sox, ‘04, ‘07, ‘13, ‘18
"...it's what we truly are, and always were."
Not all of us, I keep reminding myself. But unfortunately, enough of us in just the right places.
14
Such a depressing thought but I fear true
5
Unfortunately phrases like 'white supremacist patriarchy' and 'white cultural dominance' tilt Mr. Blow's obviously heartfelt compassion into a divisive 'us vs. them' context that contributes to the rift we now see....there is nothing 'white' or 'black' about inhumane treatment of others, religious paranoia, or gender cruelty....less generalization is what is needed today, not more- call out insensitivity and small-mindedness and ignorance', loudly and proudly, but please don't equate Trump's mindset with his whiteness.... we need to rally all Americans around a vision of common goals and ideas, inclusively and hopefully....
78
@Dennis Holland
You put this better than I did. Thank you.
5
@Dennis Holland, I get your point BUT we are in an “us versus them” crisis. It just IS. It’s tragic and a fact.
35
It is not “divisive” to point out racism. Quite the opposite; it is morally wrong not to do so, no matter your race. This is not “their” fight; it is our fight. Every single one of us.
64
Mr. Blow, an otherwise excellent column is marred by your use of the term “concentration camp” to describe the facilities at the southern border. As terrible as they are, these facilities are not and (hopefully) will never be like the concentration camps that nazis used during WWII. They are and should be called “internment camps.” Not that they are any less despicable and cruel, but by using “concentration camps” you not only fail to do justice to the millions who perished at the hands of nazis, but give fuel to Trump supporters to dismiss your concerns as mere hysteria. Please do not give them the satisfaction to hide behind your hyperbole.
45
Readers, it is not enough to applaud Charles Blow for continually shining light on truth and holding those in power accountable. To ensure U.S.A. remains a democracy, we must each act to bolster it.
Each day, I begin by asking myself "How can I make this world a better place? AND "What can I do today to make progress?"
Until the orange troll ran for President, I was very reluctant to make public political statements. At some point, I realized it is necessary. Many people would be ashamed if their actions placing self-interested greed above civility and how they benefited are publicized. Others simply cannot do the math or do not understand neuroeconomics well enough to understand likely future outcomes. Dismiss those doing harm. Educate the naive. Advocate for solutions.
Keep in mind, Pastors Emergency League (PEL) founder Martin Niemöller 's words about the German Gestapo,
" First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me."
What will you do today to make this world a better place?
7
Cruelty...it's been his entire life. Coming in a close second is the McConnell -led GOP that set this fool up over the last 40 years. Nihilists will never make anything great again.
6
"But I also know that history is sitting in judgment, that when this dark era draws to a close, an accounting must be made, a record made. None of us will be immune." Exactly. I believe in collective societal karma, I believe in collective responsibility, and I believe in collective punishment. The "good Germans" [sic] died under allied bombs along with the Nazis. Their country was destroyed. We are going to suffer similar consequences for our crimes, and we will all deserve it.
4
"Where were you when the bodies floated in the Rio Grande? What did you SAY when this president bragged about assaulting women and defended men accused of doing the same? What was your REACTION when he saw very good people among the Nazis? Where was your OUTRAGE when thousands died in Puerto Rico?"
Sorry. This attitude is a major problem we liberals face today. This is what many call virtue signaling. It's too much about having the right opinions (instrumentally important to be sure) rather than acting. Having the right opinion saves no one. I don't care much if someone in Nazi Germany had the right opinions, or if they were sufficiently outraged: I care whether their actions made a difference.
We have plenty of people with the right opinions, but very few people who do anything to make us better.
5
But the children being held in concentration camps on the southern border are not ours, so why should we care? That's just the point, Trump and his sycophants don't care. Just as those whose lives were destroyed in Germany during and before the second world war who were nothing to Hitler, Trump doesn't care. Or maybe it's because he can't care because of some mental condition, in which case he should be put where he can do no more damage to us and the world. At long last, sir, have you no sense of decency? I use the "sir" reluctantly.
17
I commend you Charles blow...you’ve never stopped writing about this horror show in Washington and calling it all out..we’ve all got to step up and speak out....this is despicable and dangerous ground we are all on. Your pen is mightier than the sword...or tanks..or whatever he’s planning next...
28
What do you except from a man who rips children out of the arms of their parents, and puts the children in concentration camps?
Ocasio Cortez is totally right. They're concentration camps,
18
Talk about stupid and caring about people, Mr Blow opens his article intentionally identifying detention camps as "concentration camps on its border." He could care less about the feelings of Holocaust survivors and their families, and most Jews, while presenting his empathic feelings about the injustices he sees in our President's actions. Mr Blow doesn't seem to care about the Jewish minority and the pain they experience or the true hardships of those that survived the concentration camps. At least he didn't include "Never Again" in this article but I wouldn't put it past him for future "empathic" critique.
7
Right on.
2
Charles M. Blow asks, "What will you say?"
I say that all those who write or speak out against the evilism of government, including those enumerated by Blow, could feel satisfaction for taking a stand against evil, but won't solve the problem of government.
Government is a disease, and these evils are only some of its symptoms. Without eradicating the disease, it will continue afflicting humanity into the indefinite future.
When we study the Vietnam and Middle East Holocausts, we find that many protested and wrote against them, but it was too late -- government exterminated millions of innocents.
While the drownings of Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his daughter, Angie Valeria, have personalized the issue, for decades, government, with its laws, its borders, its policies, has been killing migrants. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/05/29/opinion/migrant-crisis.html
Writing and speaking out about the evilism of government is a good step, but until we can eradicate this disease, writers such as Blow will never run out of symptoms to rail against with such moral clarity.
4
You had me until you blamed everything on the "white supremacist patriarchy". You lose me when you go there. And the Dems will lose a lot of votes whenever they go there. You sacrifice electing a good president so you can do your fashionable virtue signaling. Forget it. Some of us still have integrity.
11
I understand Charles Blow's anger. I'm angry about Trump, and I have a lot less to be angry about than he does. But I can't accept that Trump exemlifies the "white patriarchy."
To be precise, Trump exemplifies the sort of self-centred, crude and ignorant Know-Nothingism that the patriarchy's elite have always been disgusted by. A substantial number for the majority who voted for Clinton, including many who held their noses while so doing, were white. Not to mention a lot of other people, going back to the New England Abolitionists, who sympathize with Mr. Blow and consider Trump an abomination. Are they part of the patriarchy?
Yes, Trump dogwhistles to some very nasty people who believe in white supremacy and keeping their women chained to the kitchen stove. But RBG is white, and she has been taking on the patriarchy's undesirable sexism for a long time. With white support.
In short, this is a bum rap. Yes, Trump is all about cruelty and selfishness. No, those are neither racial nor sexual traits.
7
Never stop writing. Never stop repeating. Say it over and over again until this horror show is over.
15
No Charles, it is not redundant. You must keep pounding the keys, exposing the awful thing that is occurring. Some will follow this jerk over the edge. Most will hopefully wake up and boot the bum out.
11
As relevant now with the Trump administration, as it was in 1939 when it was written from a Gestapo prison by the disheartened Nobel Prize winner in medicine, Gerhard Domagk, creator of the first "magic bullet" antibiotic Prontosil:
"It is easier to destroy a thousand lives then it is to save a single one."
7
as usual, thank you for your compelling writing. please do not stop or slow down.
10
Thank you!
4
Yes, there are tanks in the nation's capital and concentration camps on its border. Yes, it's all about the white supremacist patriarchy. Yes, white cultural dominance and so forth and so on. And on and on. Yet another exercise in hysteria and moral preening, signifying nothing.
6
Happy Independence Day, Charles Blow! President Trump will remain above the law until he is impeached and removed from office.
Come what may, Donald Trump's "Salute to America" will take place on our national Mall today in front of the Lincoln Memorial, at Trump's orders. Akin to the "Cathedral of Light" at Nazi Rally Grounds in Nuremburg from 1934-38. The past is prologue here in America.
The juxtaposition of a military show of force in Washington DC today and the cruelty toward desperate migrants herded into cages on our southern border is beyond our comprehension in Trump's America today. We weep for our beloved country today and every day.
12
What will I say?
I will say that a minority of Americans elected a sociopath.
Look at this definition:
https://www.mcafee.cc/Bin/sb.html://www.mcafee.cc/Bin/sb.html
Vote, people. Tell everyone to vote. Another four years of this incompetent, dangerous man and we will be a country that doesn't look anything like how it should.
God save us.
11
The Times prints “all the news that’s fit to print”, or does it? In the past I have read opinion pieces on the front page. When called out by Charles Blow that this administration is in essence wallowing in moral slime and pulling us in with them, I would think that those are important words that could be put on the front page—-in all caps. We are out here bleeding with fear and shame and waiting for the house to suture our wounds. Where’s Winston, Franklin, Eisenhower, Teddy, John F., and Abe?
As reported here, we have marched, written, donated, some changing politics and are suffering. Please someone stop this despot.
4
Listing Trump’s obvious and unarguable failings both as a leader and as a man in a column week after week after week ad nauseum isn’t exactly a journalistic challenge. Perhaps Mr. Blow might someday shift to a discussion of how the Democrats managed to lose to this buffoon so they don’t do it again. Enough pointing out what a loser the guy you lost to is.
5
In early 2017, I posted a comment that Trump would be our first dictator, that he would not answer to Congress or our Supreme Court, he would target ethnic minorities, and that by the end of his first term there would be internment camps on our soil. Well, I've been right on all of these.
But at the time I posted my comment, even those on the Left told me that my claims were ridiculous. That none of this would ever happen in our country. That our Constitution, or our system of checks and balances would limit the damage Trump could cause. I was just being overly paranoid.
Fast forward to today. Trump has said that he will not follow a Supreme Court ruling. He has ordered tanks rolling down the streets of Washington DC. He holds "rallies" that give his rabid base the chance to revel in his bigotry - and theirs. There are tens of millions of Trump voters whose worship of him is something that Adolf Hitler would have envied.
What part of my predictions didn't you see? Or were you simply blind to what he was doing? You didn't want to believe any one person could destroy our democracy within a span of a few short years.
But my inlaws are Holocaust survivors. My ancestors survived the Armenian Genocide. My family knew exactly what we were seeing when he took office. We now have a home outside the country.
And my only question to all of you, who had hoped beyond all hope, is: why didn't you listen to me and others who tried to warn you?
14
He doesn't only have it in for racial minorities. He is an equal opportunity sadist. He victimises anyone, of any race or colour, who doesn't fawn over him. The fact that his core supporters are mainly rednecks doesn't alter the fact that many Wall Street and corporate heads support him.
Trump will support anyone who can get him out of bankruptcy, from semitic Adelson to semitic Salman, from Kim to Xi. When they defy his threats they transform from "we are in love" best friends to mortal enemies.
He has absolutely no prejudices whatsoever, merely the endless lust for money. Money is his driving force, and if he can bankrupt the entire nation and trigger a civil war he will do so as long as he and his plastic family emerge wealthier. His greed explains literally everything you need to know about the workings of this cruel and warped mind.
12
Speaking of stupid
There are detention facilities at the border, not concentration camps.
A military presence in DC,while a bad idea, has been done on and off since 1940
7
It's not the cruelty, Mr. Blow. It is the fact that he is **pandering** cruelty.
The cruelty is aimed at pleasing a set of disparate bases, which means that it is a sought after commodity by several groups of donors and voters.
And it is not condemned by other bases, who are getting pandered to as well. Don't have to put a filter on your emissions stack? Then don't worry about those kids at the border. Got a Supreme Court that will support your right to make a corporate fortune? Then don't worry too much about trampled individual rights.
No, it isn't the cruelty that's the problem. It is the number of people willing to support or ignore it that is the problem.
10
Let’s clarify something:
Concentration camps - involuntary, there is no escape, prisoners are murdered, the final destination is death
Detention centers for migrants - completely voluntary, detainees choose to be there, leave of your own free will back to your country anytime you want, detention is temporary, uncomfortable cramped conditions, baloney sandwiches may cause constipation, no death by cyanide gas, no murder.
At least be serious Mr. Blow.
10
We can put a man on the moon, we can kill the American Indians, we can do Jim Crow, we sat around and let the Nazi's kill millions of people.
We know how to be better human beings but now we wring our hands when it comes to addressing the children, adults in the cages at the border. Don't troll me about stupidity about the base and we need to win elections. FDR didn't let the Jews come into the country and when the ships were turned away they went to the concentration camps. did we learn nothing?
I have attended so many rallies and have spoken up on a daily basis when I thought it was the right thing to do. I remember during the government shut down the same hand wringing was going on. Have we no souls? Are out lives just always about me?
I listened to Ms. Harris yesterday and I wondered why can we not believe in anything we say? Did she not remember last week. We need to stand for something and fight for it.
We all get tired of being sick and tired. Get to the streets and defend our democracy from traitors
3
The biggest breaking news every day is that our forty-fifth president is still president, and Charles Blow, more than any other American columnist, understands thia.
1
Agree, Mr. Blow....
With one correction:
Trump also doesn't care about MOST of the majority either,--at least those that aren't wealthy, or resists being manipulated into voting for the interests of the wealthy.
This is about preserving wealth. This does not always fall so neatly along racial lines. That's why we see some black and brown politicians who are Republican. It's about the $$.
Republican ideology can be summed up in one word: "Mine".
6
Langston Hughes knew of trump and his ilk, and says it in his poem about America.
https://youtu.be/REQM1q0aVvQ
2
I continue to be speechless on the depravity, corruption, perversion, immorality, shamelessness, licentiousness, lechery, prurience, libertinism, sordidness, vileness, criminality, viciousness, brutality, take your pick of the Gutter Rat. The fact that my brother-in-law and my wife's BFF voted for him all for a few extra bucks in their pocket makes my head explode. I will have nothing to do with the BFF, that friendship is kaput and am dreading XMAS this year at his home in Atlanta.
6
Trump enjoys being cruel. All bullies and cowards do. He's always had his money to protect him from his actions. I wonder if he has ever been punched in the face by someone he's wronged. It would be interesting to find out. If he has I can only see him crying on the ground while screaming like a whiny child about "My Dad will get you". Such a puny, petty, sorry excuse for a man.
8
Catch and release Is open borders. Even if your plan is to demand asylum you can not ever enter America by Rio grande or climbing a wall . That’s illegal
5
I would only add that actually he doesn't care about anyone other than himself and possibly his family, although he reserves a special animus for non-whites.
8
You are right, "It's about the cruelty, stupid." The wonder is, it's taken so long for most of Mr. Trump's opponents to get this.
Actually, "It's the tough guy, stupid," is closer to the truth.
This is why the soldiers love him. He's singing their song.
And hunters. You have to be tough to gut a deer.
Which is to say, to have no sympathy, to be remorseless.
Fox News revels in the quaking and wailing, "Oh, this is so scary! Oh, he's so mean! Oh, I am so victimized by him!"
What Trump is saying is: "Don't be a victim, be a winner."
You may live in a mobile home on Social Security, but you can gloat about your self sufficiency and willingness to be "tough" while all those Democrats, bleeding hearts try to put Brown skinned people from South of the Border ahead of you in line.
Dems have not done their market research.
Trump has.
Keep writing, Mr. Blow. You nailed it, once again. The bully is cruel and he is a coward. I have never been so embarrassed about an American President in my life.
7
The man is a cruel, sadistic terrible person. There is no other way to say it. He wants to be like Kim and Putin and any other despotic dictator he can find and I have no doubt that he’d murder people if he thought he could get away with it. This is a national nightmare. Those who support him are absolutely no better than he is--cruel, unkind, ignorant, and greedy. Mr. Blow, keep using your pen. That, and voting, is all that can be done.
5
I must confess that I have not contacted my legislatures every time I have been made aware of a cruel or stupid or scary or ... action by Trump and his administration. Sever. aware that the whole department of agricultural scientist will be moved. An obvious attempt to get rid of many scientists who speak about global warming. It is stupid and reprehensible. And I have not written my objection to such craziness. I have not written my objection to the move by the Education Dept to make it easier for-profit educational companies to make a profit-at the expense of young people, of course. Today, after I enjoy some time outdoors before it gets too hot I will take time and write to my legislators. An important act on Independence Day as we remember the freedom we still have to express ourselves and object to injustices and cruelty and stupidity....
4
Thank you for a thoughtful, very sad reminder that the leader of our nation is a soul less, vile, disgusting shell of a man. Those of us that do not have your platform need to get involved, protest when necessary, volunteer to help get the opposing 2020 candidate elected. I personally cannot survive another term of this jerk and his cast of criminals and cronies who are removing every shred of American diplomacy and decency. Wake up America!...all of us...do everything, anything to get rid of him.
7
Yes, Charles. You are so right, as usual. Trump also does not care about the pain and hardship of women he’s abused, raped, belittled. He does not care about the pain and hardship he inflicts on anyone, read anyone!, he deems to be a lesser human being than his glorified self. He is a megalomaniac, sadistic, pathological. He is a grade B movie nightmare come to life.
6
Yes, "it's the cruelty, stupid." But unfortunately, many of those who aid and abet Trump's cruelty are not, in fact, stupid. They are smart and know exactly what they are doing, and why. That is a huge problem.
If ignorance is no excuse, what of those who are clearly not ignorant, and who tolerate, echo, or even act on Trump's unacceptable biases?
5
Charles. We are with you. Please keep writing. Hammer home your redundancy. Do not falter. We will not falter...especially on this 4th of July 2019.
4
One way to protest the inhumane treatment of innocent men, women and children at our southern border, is to boycott the July 4 celebration in Washington.
7
Mr. Blow, I'll tell you what I did. I held my nose and voted for HRC even though she completely and utterly showed disdain for most Americans when rather than campaigning in Detroit, MI she was in the Hamptons cavorting with "her peeps."
You pushed her candidacy, as did every other NYTimes columnist and the NYTimes editorial board. You should be ashamed of yourselves. You are part of the problem. You treated Donald Trump as a joke when the real joke was that HRC could win without giving every single minute of every day to winning, no matter how hard or uncomfortable.
2
On very important way to show "how you stood up" to this audiocrate is to support Progressive campaigns to remove "it' and his cronies from office - Kentucky - WAKE UP!!!!!
6
Charles - still waiting for you to ask AOC why she voted against humanitarian aid.
5
I will not stop speaking against this evil vile man and all who support and enabled his destruction of our beloved country. When I am asked I will be proud to say "I knew what he was/is decades ago. So did you. "
5
There has been nothing more disgusting in my 72 years than this lying, stupid and dangerous jerk who claims to be speaking for America. He is not. More people voted against him than for him and that will always be the case because he is barely human and appeals to only the basest instincts in all of us. Yes, we all have them but most of us do not surrender to giving up our brains and morals to worship the self-worshiping crud that tears apart our nation, our ideals and who we are daily. When he was elected I laughed at the notion he was the "anti-Christ". Not more laughing - he is the farthest thing from the tenets of Christ ever to crawl the Washington corridor. If you hear him say the word "Christ" you know he has broken the final barrier. "Christians" who share "prayer meetings" with him are of course worshiping something and somebody else because their concern for the rest of the world matches that of the Pharisees. Funny how the things about Christ dissing the rich and phony religious nabobs just seem to evaporate from evangelical babbling nowadays. Must not be popular topics.
1
Attention Speaker Nancy Pelosi! What are you doing over the July 4th holiday weekend?
Your homework is cut out for you. Ok, 1st, have your BBQ, watch the military tank and troop parade in DC. LIsten to King Donald's speech if you can bear it.
Then go to your task of starting the impeachment 'inquiry'. Start inquiring, pronto! Else, what's the meaning of your position in our govt?
Show to those pitiful caged migrants how the US democracy at least can start to act, to fulfill the meaning of its creed--- even as Trump tells those imprisoned migrants to go back where they came from if they don't like where they are now. Deplorable conditions and deplorable statement. Deplorable America?
2020? Any Trump voter will stay with him whether impeachment starts or not. Impeachment will not turn anyone more loyal to our esteemed dictator than they already are.
Trump tries to use the 4th of July for his own ego trip. But actually our Independence Day shows more clearly how our president has defied the American ideals, insulted migrants and everyone else from the WH, and is undermining American democacy.
America asserted its independence from the mad King George the 3rd. Can we assert our independence from King Donald the 1st?
2
Trump is a huckster, corrupt, petty, cruel, narcissistic and ignorant.
Yet his “base” (appropriate word) believe some other alternate reality show version, enabled by FOX News and the Republicans, where he is a smart, kind and strong leader - a “very stable genius”.
One can only hope this dark chapter in our history will be looked upon as an abberation.
2
...and so it goes on. Concentration camps on the border to house the brown undesirables (not illegals, but LEGAL amnesty seekers). So what will it be next year? Concentration camps for political opponents (Lock her up!)? Concentration camps for journalists (fake news!)? Concentration camps for anyone who dares oppose?
The world has been down this road more than once, actions point to same road, different actors, but same road...
1
No, we do not have concentration camps at the border. We have detention facilities for legitimate law enforcement and security purposes, facilities that were utilized--and expanded--under the Obama Administration. Jeh Johnson has admitted that the Obama Administration expanded family detention facilities. The facilities and other resources, as Secretary Johnson has noted, are being overwhelmed by the immigration crisis (you remember the crisis that liberals were just telling us a few months ago was "manufactured"--just another liberal lie). Johnson stated that 1000 detentions at the border a day would overwhelm the system when he was Secretary. We have been getting as many as 4000 per day. To insinuate that this is any way on a moral plane with Nazi camps is evidence of moral bankruptcy. The closest we have ever come to concentration camps in this country was under liberal icon FDR. The people who deserve condemnation for the their grotesque inhumanity are all those who incentivize people to come here illegally and to game the asylum system and those who voted against increasing funding for handling the crisis, the overwhelming majority of whom are Democrats or their fellow travelers. These are monsters who are willing to use the plight of desperate people for political gain.
8
I took to the streets in protest. I tried to educate people regarding the collapse of our democracy. I explained to my children that they would have to fight with everything they have to rid our country of this vile little man and his family of grifters. I will take to the streets, go to jail, risk whatever I have to save our nation from the evil that is currently in the White House
3
When a president "falls in love" with a brutal dictator who recently murdered an American citizen, Otto Warmbier, it's time to send for the "men in white coats" [aka invoke the 25th amendment]. When a president can view the horrific, intolerable, and inhumane conditions resulting from his immigration policy and not show a scintilla of empathy due to his Narcissistic Personality Disorder [Yes, it's a real diagnosis in the American Psychiatric Association's diagnostic manual], it's time to invoke the 25th amendment. When a president condones conditions that have led to the deaths of numerous immigrant children in his custody despite a report from his own agency, he is guilty of "crimes against humanity" and must be impeached. We can and should only celebrate Independence Day if the nation and its political leaders stop turning away from the wanton destruction of human lives by a cruel, mentally ill and evil man by removing him from office. #Where'sNancy?
2
Charles, why don’t you spend some time asking AOC and Omar why they voted against humanitarian aid. Put yourself to some good use instead of always whining about Trump.
2
What did you do? I wrote dozens of letters to editors. What did you say? I said separating children from their parents is insane. What good did it do? None.
Charles Blow is consistently on point and on the right side of history. Repeatedly, he has struck at this wanna-be authoritarian regime in a penetrating and revealing manner. We must dispatch the misanthropic and cowardly hater at the top of our government and expel his combination of racists and opportunistic right wing fringe administrative goons. Vote, demonstrate and do whatever you can to end this American tragedy- and be thankful for the eloquence of Mr. Blow. Thanks, Charles.
2
I am concerned, worried actually, about a comment made by Trump in an interview with Tucker Carlson about the Homeless. You notice I capitalize Homeless to give them identity.
President Trump said he was “looking very seriously” at how to deal with cities that he said were overrun with mentally ill and “sick” homeless people who ruin life for others who live and work there.“The people living there are living in hell,” Mr. Trump said, “Some of them have mental problems where they don’t even know they are living that way. In fact, perhaps they like living that way. They can’t do that. We can’t ruin our cities, I may intercede and do something to get that whole thing cleaned up,” though he did not elaborate on what actions he or the government might take.
What has he done with the Homeless in D.C.? Mr. Trump said he took action to clean up the nation’s capital so foreign leaders who visited would not see people on the streets.
If there is a god, he must be on a lengthy vacation.
2
Charles, one important point is omitted in your critique: he enjoys inflicting pain on others- it makes him feel good about himself. I came to understand this after the election, that there are those who want others to have less because they feel superior in doing so. This is a perverse materialism run amok. The president gets off, I think this is fair to say, by stepping on others, on precedent, on convention, on norms, on common decency. He is a bull in a china shop, and he is having a good time trashing everything around him.
2
Thanks Mr. Blow. Spot on.
If only this and the like was published 24/7/365 on Fox news.
3
Can we go ONE DAY without hearing from this disgusting, treasonous, hateful and insecure con man?
Trump's cruelty is the product of fear and ignorance;
Raegan: "Welfare Queen with 5 babies from 5 fathers."
It's been spiraling downward since.
White workers have seen their paychecks shrink as their prospects wither. Politicians of both parties took lobby money without creating new industries & opportunities. Complacency: "If it ain't broke don't fix it." Politicians told whites their problems are because of blacks, hispanics, muslims ...
The election of Obama shocked the country so we saw the tea party's blatantly racist posters of Barack and Michelle ... A coward spit on John Lewis ... 'You Lie' during a joint session of congress ... 'food stamp president' ... 'Armed and Dangerous'.
A festival of impotent anger & phony machismo. The Repubs needed those tea party votes. "One Term President" from the hate bitten lips of McConnell.
Conditions were ripe for Trump. Repubs said nothing when he insulted McCain, the Syrian couple, the disabled reporter ... He lies to unemployed workers about all he'll do for them; what do the repubs do?:
Shut up, slink back and support 'the leader'; a coward and bigot. Like them.
Be thankful he is so clueless, so willfully uninformed, so blatant. What if this man possessed a shred of calculus, a hint of perspective ... What if he were secretive, cunning ?
He will not succeed; in Jan 2021 as a private citizen the federal, state, local charges against him will make his life torture.
3
Thank you, Charles
2
There is no need for me to feel shame by his presence in the Oval Office. I didn't vote for him. I feel only disgust and revulsion. His stupidity and cruelty isn't a reflection of me. Let those who voted for him step forward and take ownership.
2
Yes. Exactly. The greed, vulgarity, ignorance, incompetence, lying and corruption of this vile “president” are abhorrent. But it’s the constant cruelty that is his most profoundly disgusting characteristic.
2
I wouldn't call Trump stupid; as he's got billions and still manages to hold onto his billions. No ones conned him out of his money, yet.
Keep writing Mr. Blow- my wife an I are with you.
3
"Tanks in the nation's capital and concentration camps on its border." That line really puts things into perspective. What have we become?
Blow has been writing essentially the same column every week for the past two years. As time has marched forward he's become more shrill, more bombastic and less effective. He's no longer persuasive. When he says "There are tanks in the nation’s capital and concentration camps on its border" ....I can't take him seriously. Is he trying to imply that the presence of tanks in a 4th of July parade is evidence we're slipping into fascism? If so that's absurd. Concentration camp is an emotionally charged word & Blow knows that. Frankly to compare what is happening at detention centers south of the border to what happened at Auschwitz-Birkenau or Buchenwald is revolting. It trivializes the Holocaust. It demonstrates a stunning lack of empathy, even understanding what was one of the greatest documented acts of genocide in the 20th century. A thoughtful person would realize that the sheer scale of the Nazi Final Solution bars any possible comparison. The Nazis forever changed the meaning of the phrase "concentration camp." It cannot be used today without evoking the mass extermination of humans. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez knew that. And she should be condemned for it as should this columnist. It's also hypocritical to take Trump to task for flattering Saudi dictator MBS when NYT columnist Thomas Friedman was on the bandwagon first and was much more effusive in his praise. There's a case to be made against Trump's administrtion. But Blow's over the top methods aren't the way to do it.
9
Concentration camps?? Hyperbole is clearly your stock in trade! How about reporting on the Tijuana trade where border crossers buy children to claim family asylum? CBP was not created to handle anything like this surge. You should be directing your anger towards the liberal politicians that voted against funding aid to assist these people.
4
“There are tanks in the nation’s capital and concentration camps on its border.”
There goes the benefit of the doubt.
3
Our president is a coward. I believe he cozies up to these murderous tyrants because he is scared of them.
Absurd. Charles Blow is absurd.
We do not have “concentration camps” on the border. To pretend we do is a fake as anything Trump is accused of—it is a lie. We do not engage in slave labor in the camps. We are not preparing human beings for wholesale extermination. We did not rip people from their homes and ship them to camps.
This is such a gross distortion as to discredit anything Blow says before or after.
The NY Times has taken to saying it does not have an anti-Trump bias. Who does it think it is kidding?
7
Donald Trump is a malignant narcissist. These people have no empathy for other human beings!
3
I'm with you, Charles Blow, 100%.
2
You speak my heart Mr Blow.
3
I am Jewish, more culturally than religiously, a visit to the Auschwitz exhibit in NY City or the Holocaust Memorial in Washington, as an example given. Then came Trump, then came "fine people on both sides" at Charlottesville, and so and so on. My senses were mildly alerted at first and now it seems like a five alarm fire, as the playbook against "the other" is in full swing. Hateful people that have hid in the shadows, now show up at Trump rallies, some armed. Commentators are literally suggesting that Trump, the "white" hope and his followers are showing these signs of force (tanks) in order to say to the rest of us, "you better beware". Hopefully the rule of law will prevail over this evil, narcissistic man and his minions, but in the mean time I am also armed.
13
I'll say he has my vote again Blow, cruelty, terror, uncivilized behavior has been alive and kicking long before Trump got in office. Obviously you and at this paper believe it only began with Trump, your phony outrage is duly noted, as always.
3
Thank you, Mr. Blow, for putting an imperative so plainly.
Here's my radio essay echoing the same theme, broadcast last year on our local NPR affiliate, WNIJ: "Stop the Cruelty"
https://www.northernpublicradio.org/post/no-more-milquetoast-democracy-needs-stronger-slogan
If there is anyone to “blame” for the current state of the Union, it’s the Republicans in Congress, in particular the Senate. They could shut this so called president down in a heartbeat if they had any moral fiber. Profit over people is the mantra here, and as long as racism, bigotry, gerrymandering misogyny, prejudice, greed and corruption have a high $ stakes, endgame, Republicans will continue to look the other way. The only thing left to do is to vote all of them out of office. It’s getting harder to be a practicing optimist. Thank you Charles Blow for once again being a consistent voice of reason.
10
Trump "cares nothing about the suffering of non-white people"? What makes Mr. Blow think Trump cares about the suffering of white people? The problem with Trump is worse than cruelty; it's a moral blindness that makes him indifferent to the needs and feelings of anyone outside his immediate family.
11
America the Not So Beautiful
So ugly now for Donald Trump,
For Mitch McConnell, too,
Who traumatize kids in a cage
Worse than a small town zoo,
Without a place to wash their face
Or brush their teeth or sleep
Without a way to watch parades.
With guns and tanks and Jeeps.
6
Trump shows off his tanks on July 4th a veiled hint at how he will rule us in 2021 as our first dictator. Dictators have always used tanks to threaten their citizens and impose their rule this is not an American tradition but one of wanna be dictator who is a blowhard draft dodger.
8
The disgust in this column, I think is misdirected. Trump exist because of the American people elected, and a large part continues to support him. So the disgust should be with us the American people.
Hector Rios
6
Thank you, Mr. Blow, for being one of America's and the World's most tireless anti-Fascists.
Yours is the work that deserves to be honored on our Independence Day.
8
Charles,
You are not redundant. You speak the truth.
I understand your outrage as many Americans do. Unfortunately the Republicans believe as the tweeter-in-chief does, that they agree with his racist beliefs and 100% in white cultural dominance. They must also believe that women are 2nd class citizens or they would not support this unhinged man. Or at least speak out against his outrageous acts. I have been outraged since he was elected. I have contacted my representatives and supported candidates that would change this debacle.
The voices that are most heard are from columnists like you and the power of the press. Keep it up as extensions of our voices crying in the wind.
7
Trump is abominable and his Administration is an abomination in the Biblical sense of the term. And yet we have a majority of Evangelical Christians supporting Trump and his administration's un-Christian behavior. How do you explain that?
4
I will say that I got up 2 or 3 mornings and served as an abortion clinic escort, outside and in all weather, as do so many other volunteers who take the time to protect others.
6
Cowards see cruelty as strength.
7
I write letters, I march, I donate, I mourn
5
Trump is a monster. But he's in power because important groups of people get something out of him, and that matters more than other people suffering. Blow is right: Trump's network is the dictator circuit. But dictators get elected.
27% of the voting age population voted for Trump. 32% voted for Obama in 2012. Gerrymandering, voter suppression, etc., are all powerful forces. But people need to step up. If you don't vote, or if your vote is wasted, you're voting for racism, hatred, and greed.
Forget about a million person march. What we need is a hundred million voters.
10
I say "ditto" to your every comment Charles. Thanks for continuing to be so repeatedly cogent.
5
"What did you do? What did you say? And for others in my profession, what did you write?"
Thank God we have Charles Blow to continuously write that the Trump administration is NOT the new normal. Please keep up the fight to protect American democracy Charles.
3
Well said and true, Mr. Blow. Until America fixes it's dismal education system so that young people can learn to make informed decisions and loose the chains of hand-me-down dogma, and until we have congressional term limits and meaningful campaign finance reform so that we can snatch America out of the hands of the oligarch, I fear we can only gnash our teeth, one against the the other, in protest. But until then--and I beg no "if"-- gnash I will.
4
Charles, I've commented that you write and offer your views almost as and endless loop. I've asked you, "what should we do" and, this morning, a light went off while reading "It's the Cruelty, Stupid"; yes; you MUST continue to focus your writings on this awful person and his minions. Yes, you must bang the drum and keep your writings and beliefs in the forefront. Yes, the free press needs to keep the results of this person who also has traitor like words and actions that must be revealed to all of us so will will not forget. The Rule of Law and Democracy is too important to be benign. Keep SHOUTING.
6
I have never thought America, or American leaders, were perfect. The country is comprised of very human, and imperfect residents.
America has done great things. We established a Democratic, capitalistic, secular government. I think the Capitalism has gone overboard, Religion governs politics and Democracy seems to be dwindling into Oligarchy.
We eventually stopped slavery, but still carry 150-year old resentments against people of color. At 12% of the population, African Americans cannot do this alone.
Perhaps, combined with Whites, Mexicans, South Americans and Asians, this group can change America for the better, by voting in better government representatives and getting rid of the tainted Trump administration and his Senate.
We fought against the Nazis and Japanese in WWII, saving Europe. Then we proceeded to reject Jews from immigrating to the U.S. For being a nation totally comprised of immigrants, save for our unfairly-treated Native Americans, we're very anti-immigrant.
We've become a nation where "out of sight--out of mind" dictates foreign policy, where no one can read or write, where people work two jobs yet Wall St. is revving, where POTUS okays pollution and foreign meddling in our elections.
Today, we have a dictator-style military parade in D.C., totally missing the point of Independence or honoring fallen soldiers.
Our votes, in 2020, can turn this around -- vote.
5
I've always wondered how the USA would/could become a fascist country. The process is still in the beginning stages, but I have a much better idea now.
3
Yes, we say "malignant narcissist," "pathological liar" and "lover of despots." But it is indeed the cruelty, and the wily manipulativeness as well. Has anyone started saying "sociopath"?
3
We stand with you in every instance.
4
When the TV stations cover Trumps’ event today they should place side by side on the screen the horrific footage of the suffering on the border.
3
To paraphrase Disraeli when referring to John Russell, Leader of the House of Commons: “If a traveller were informed that Donald Trump is the President of the United States, he might begin to comprehend how the (ancient) Egyptians worshipped an insect.”
4
FDR: "All we have to fear, is fear itself."
JFK: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country."
DJT: "I! Me! Mine! You? Don't matter. Don't Care. Me!"
Presidential rhetoric ain't what it used to be.
(And yes, Orange 45 has a cruel streak a parsec wide. But it's an offhand, almost unstudied streak, just a logical extension of the idea that the universe revolves around him, and that the only ones who matter are those who can help in his continuing self-aggrandizement.)
5
Trump is not indifferent to cruelty. On the contrary, he embraces it. It's his oxygen. It's his DNA. He wouldn't know what to do with himself if he didn't have The Two (orTwenty) Minute Hate each day.
6
Thank you, Charles Blow. I just read Frederick Douglass' Fourth of July Speech from 1852. The unvarnished truth needs to be stated clearly. The bad news is so astonishingly bad that the mind recoils in disbelief; but Trump and the GOP count on that to demotivate their opponents. Please know that you are a light shining in the darkness. Rev. Dean J. Seal
6
Beautiful piece but I think you're actually being too nice -- it's neither blindness nor indifference, it's full on glee, wringing every bit of pain he can from blacks, women, migrants, muslims, on and on... This guy is as bad as they come. But we knew that. It's his followers -- including friends and colleagues -- that disturb me more...
5
trump is all about himself , a very large man with very little self esteem.
Now he is aligning himself with brutal dictators like Kim Jong-un and Putin and tries to put down Angela Merkel, German Chancellor a physicist because he feels small compared to her.
America needs to wake up and see what a ruthless, cruel President we have and vote this man out !
3
Trump cares nothing for the suffering of anyone. He is void in compassion and empathy. He treats everyone except "strong men", whom he fears, with the utmost disdain. He is nastiest human being in my lifetime.
Yeah, he is a bit better with white men, but he will kick them when they are vulnerable as well. Ask his former advisors and appointees.
If he were a dog and that vicious, you would have to make a painful decision for the sake of others - maybe even yourself.
6
Agreed. This president is a bully, and bullies thrive on cruelty and subordination. They feel powerful when they can intimidate and frighten people. Have you ever noticed Trump’s many references to “begging”? His opponents are always “begging”him for what they want. Trump is a sadist who is intimidated by other world leaders who have been even more sadistic. He mistakes this for strength.
4
We are confronted with the same challenge as at the beginning of the Civil War. We cannot lose this battle against the forces of darkness. We cannot. The Insurrection of the South sought to sever our nation in 1862. This administration seeks to accumulate all power under Trump and leave democracy in shambles.
Whether you choose it or not, this battle is upon us. We cannot falter. The upcoming Mueller Testimony will be a trumpet call to those who've never known the damning evidence contained within. That momentum must be carried on to an Impeachment Inquiry and then on to the 2020 election.
The Democratic nominee cannot be "civil", cannot "rise above the fray", but must engage the darkness by the throat. While North Korea has a dictator that allows sexual attacks on women, our President COMMITS such acts himself.
Fear not the blood of battle, fear only the loss.
6
Sadly, the words of Martin Niemoller (They came for the socialists, and I did nothing....) used to only be a censure of the beliefs that led to horrors of WWII. Now they seem to be a formula for the future of our country. It took centuries of degradation of the Jewish people to form the mindset that led to the Holocaust. Yet ordinary European citizens knew of the situation and did.....nothing.
Today we have visual proof that children are being held in cages like stray dogs, but on our Independence Day millions will venerate and celebrate the man who put them there. A raging fire of hatred is burning up our country. A huge portion of our citizens are adding fuel to that conflagration, and calling it patriotism and calling themselves Christians.
Hatred is not the mindset of true Americans or Christians. God save us from ourselves.
6
I’m in complete agreement with Mr. Blow. This is my letter-to-the-editor, published in the S.D. Union-Tribune on 6-28-19:
Not until Gov.Newsom apologized to Native Americans did I know California’s first governor, Peter Burnett (1851), said: expect “a war of extermination...until the Indian race becomes extinct.”
Related, racism holds back, incarcerates and sometimes kills African Americans. Discussing reparations couldn’t come at a better time—unless in 1865, instead of paying white slave owners for losing slaves, freed slaves were compensated. What’s the value of one’s life, freedom & time on earth?
Fear & anger some Americans have for immigrants & refugees may be projections of unconscious guilt for our forefathers’ sins—immigrants will do what our white forefathers did.
If we could bring some justice to these wrongs, maybe we’d also have a saner immigration policy. Mitch McConnell said no need for reparations, wrongdoers are dead, we elected Barack Obama. Remember, McConnell & GOP leaders met during Obama’s first inaugural ball & agreed to oppose everything Obama did, with one goal—one term.
Cheryl Martin Ede
4
Good column and spot on, but it is no longer about Trump being a dangerous egomaniac, and self serving conman, or is it about the brainwashed idiots at his rallies chanting lock her up.
But it is now about The complicit and truly worthless Republican Party. They see no evil/cruelty, hear no evil/cruelty, or definatly speak no evil.
But now equal to the Republican Party is the Democrats led by a spineless senior citizen that is sitting on irrefutable evidence of Trump's high crimes and those of his complicit enablers because she thinks prosecuting his high crimes and overt cruelty via an impeachment trial is bad politics.
I know Trump is a bad person, but when good people such as Ms Pelosi, with the Constitutional duty and power to expose, accuse, and possibly stop this cruelty normalize it in their business as usual strategy until 2020, they are equally as cruel and worthless.
2
How long before we face the reality of what WE, THOSE IN THE "LAND OF THE BRAVE, " THE HOME OF THE FREE" start to realize we have no reflection visible in any mirror????
I keep wondering what it takes to numb a soul into utter submission......And I keep watching us allow atrocities on desperate people and their children, cozy relationships with murdering leaders, and treating all who do not worship at the feet of this man as enemies of us all.
I never believed it could be done so easily by such a cheesy, nasty and second rate reality show persona.......
Exactly what do we have to celebrate on this Independence Day?? Seems to me it is a day Mr. Trump celebrates our surrender.
1
Trump is obviously mentally unstable and in decline mentally. I'm not letting him off the hook. I also hold accountable the republicans in office in Congress. They are the ones allowing this to go on at the expense of our nation. On this day in particular I say shame on them for letting this obviously unhinged man take over our nation. Vote them all out.
5
My heart bleeds, my soul cries. I send money where I can (raicestexas.org, the aclu, my favorite candidates).
3
Trump has a dictator fetish. That's exactly what it is. Charles Blow, thank you for once again perfectly capturing the cruel bizarro presidency we can't believe is unfolding in front of us.
5
Never forget that the monster trump is controlled by pure evil Putin and the Kremlin. Putin has his dagger in the back of America, and trump is twisting it.
1
"We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”
- Elie Wiesel
Thank you, Charles Blow, for reminding us of the importance of bearing witness to this awful Ugly-American-In-Chief who keeps dragging us deeper into his psychological black hole.
Words do no justice in describing the depth of this President's moral, intellectual and economic depravity as 35% of Americans cheer on this negative electron.
Where will you be, 2020 American voter, when you have a chance to deliver electoral chemotherapy to Donald Trump and the Republican cancer that aided and abetted him ?
We have met the enemy... and it's wearing Russian-Republican clothes.
7
They are volunteers. They voluntarily... demanded.. access to the USA by illegal means. They can volunteer to leave too.
2
We are often reminded, and rightly so, that comparing political opponents to Nazis is hyperbolic, even outrageous. But all things considered, how different is the Trump administration from Germany 1939? Let’s all keep this in mind as Trump oversees his military parade on the 4th.
3
Mr. Blow: Thank you for your thoughtful column. That said, do us all a favor: Convince your Editorial Board to publish a NEW Pledge of Allegiance -- "I pledge ... to the "Constitution of the United States of America" ...
I ask your paper to do this every year, but no one listens. Get Mr. Trump to take that pledge on national TV -- and then impeach him straight away! Thank you.
1
It is sad to see how the Democratic party has become a stupid party. Any high school student can figure out where the power stays. It is the senate- stupid. Look at 125 plus federal judge appointment for life by the con man evil genius under the direction of cunning morally bankrupt McConnell. All of them are extremely incompetent and have no regard for the law. They are placed in all federal courts ensure that the spineless Republican Party stays in power for life. Voting right abolition, gerrymandering, right to discrimination are the weapons to achieve their goals. The objective is to get rid of democracy and become a nation like Russia or China or Venezuela. We have 23 wannabe candidates running for Presidency for the lust of power. Many of them have no qualification unless you want to use con man’s example. We can win Montana, Texas, Colorado senate seats. But three top tier candidates are in utopia land for a miracle to happen. Donors supporting them should reconsider their support for them and the harm on our nation. We can easily take back senate next year with those 3 candidates. Shame on them, their lust for power hijacked their common sense and what is good for the nation.
2
Trump is not the lone lunatic here. You have a severe, entrenched, embedded network of support. Rid him and it won't be Bliss. It's galvanized, propelled cruelty from the beginning of this Nation that has resurfaced.
1
I understand the sentiment, but please refrain from equating the immigrant detention camps with ‘concentration’ camps. It is not equivocal and it minimizes and trivializes the systematic destruction of 12M people at the hands of the nazis. I understand condition at the immigrant processing centers are sub-optimal, but let’s be clear that they are not at all the same thing.
3
America is a violent country. It always has been. And violence breeds cruelty. Having escaped a former communist country in Eastern Europe and risking my life to cross borders at the height of the Cold War I know a thing or two about violence. I feel it here, it creeps up on you quite often, it's creepy!
The kind of violence that lurks under the skin of America runs deep. The causes are many. We know them. We know all too well that we are a violent nation. In so many ways. And yet we do little to tame our violence. Trump unleashed the ugliest violence America has been/is stoking and we are now slipping into fascism.
We must face our demons: racism, the hubris of slavery, the putrid religious bigotry, the unbearable ignorance, all packed into an armed to the teeth jingoist monster, with its grandstanding MAGA; base swagger in the face of humanity.
America at its most deplorable is here! A rich and yet an utmost Deplorable Country, A Cruel Oaf of A Country, The Shame Of Civilized World!
1
Charles Blow, I think the stupidity is on US, the nation, now!
There may be enough stupidity to go around, even to the Times.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes, what about the NY Times? When will you admit to stupidity?
Let me suggest the use of symbols and repeated catchwords.
Take the US Flag, shown here as a pin on Trump's jacket.
Now, turn the flag upside down, to form a distress symbol.
This nation is in distress, as Trump trumps democracy, daily.
Use the upside down flag symbol, constantly to remind us?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Times has wonderful stories, wonderful commentary, but
I am afraid the impact on the nation is very very small, indeed.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
If your house was on fire, would you write an essay or call 911?
1
I so appreciate Charles Blow. I am so disgusted by Donald Trump and his minions. The only way to make America America again is to dump Trump. The sooner the better.
2
It is called Fascism Mr. Blow. I am still proud to be an American but wonder how long we will be able to hold demonstrations before he stars the mass arrests we see in the countries he fawns over. Where are our Marches in protest? The last time we Marched as a country was the woman's march. How long will we sit as concentration camps are created on our soil?
1
Home Run! If the nation survives, history scholars will debate the how and why. We see the how and why because we have seen this before. Trump has created a new “Andersonville” complete with the filth and stench of death because he lacks the capacity for compassion. I, for one, will never rest until every person involved in this freak show is discovered and brought to justice. That’s what I’m doing.
2
After having already experienced as a citizen too many months of this Fake President being in office, I “say” that this amoral agent of cruelty is a sadist, Charles. Trump delights in and derives great pleasure from his cruelties, be they small, middling, or great ones. He is, unequivocally, a SADIST.
1
Where are the so-called CHRISTIAN leaders? Why aren't THEY outraged about the border situation?
You know, the ones who want protect the unborn?
Where are they when they REALLY need to speak out about loving your fellow human being?
1
Evil has a way of showing up in national leadership in any country eventually. It usually coincides with rapid national decline, as in France under Charles VI, the Dowager Queen in China, and Germany under Hitler.
Toynbee wrote about this well, and discussed how spiritual decline predates the loss of global prominence, military capacity, and rational decision making.
Charles had an excuse. The Plague made all of Europe crazy. The Dowager Queen Cixi in China went from concubine to crazed empress. Hitler came to power soon after the collapse of Germany in the 1920's, along with lingering madness from the slaughter of World War I.
We do not have any of those excuses for electing Donald Trump. His pathologies were always obvious, and the fact that he didn't actually win- there were shenanigans in the three states that swung the election- is no excuse.
The only conclusion is that American culture has become ignorant, degraded, and easily manipulated by political monsters. Even worse, millions of suckers are being manipulated by focus group tested television advertisements and fascist harangues, on Fox, talk radio, and now even in our movies. Yes, America, Hollywood is now a joke, full of adaptations and cartoons.
This has happened before. We did elect Andrew Jackson and Ronald Reagan, he of the jack o lantern face and vicious policies.
Don't know if we'll wake up. We'd better, and soon. The world is burning up, even without a big war.
1
One has to put in a word for the phenomenally brilliant photographers at the disposal of this paper's editorial pages. Today there is another classic elsewhere in the paper from Damon Winter (who did so much to capture Trump during the election campaign), this time of a figure at the Lincoln Memorial. Here, Gabriella Demczuk has furnished as fine a "capture" of the underlying madness in the President, as anyone living has ever seen. So Charles Blow doesn't write alone, we don't read by only one light, and history is comprehensible in real time.
1
Well written Mr. Blow! Keep speaking truth! My motto is, "What You Tolerate Becomes Your Standard"...if we don't speak out, then we are tolerating the evil and inhumanity that this dictator is responsible for!
#heisnotmypresident
2
One word: resist.
2
Trump is appalling and everything you say about him is correct, Mr. Blow. But let us not forget the money behind his presidency. Malevolent as he is, he doesn't have the brains to think or manage on his own. He's fulfilling his commitments to the Koch's , DeVosses, Mercers, Adelsons, etc. who got him elected and are the power behind his gold-tone throne.
2
Great article. But I wished you had omitted the first paragraph. In common usage, "concentration camps" usually refers to death camps whose purpose is to kill all its inmates. And tanks in the street, normally refers to a coup.
2
I wrote this about John Bolton; that there is blood on his hands that cannot be washed off. This also applies to Trump. He takes depravity to a another level. His inability to have any empathy towards the suffering of others is beyond reprehensible. It is truly foreboding for the future that his faithful are so blind to the true nature of Trump. They will follow him off a cliff and like Trump take the rest of us with them. The awful situation at the border and Trump's response to the conditions found there is a perfect example of history repeating itself. Throughout history there have been people considered "disposable" by men who use them to stay in power. The negative mythologies they weave cast a spell on many. Who would have thought that 74 years after the liberation of Europe from Nazi tyranny that the US would be lead by a pretentious bigot in search of a balcony? Who would have thought that there would be tanks on the streets of DC & on a national holiday no less? Who would have though that there would have been a president who has such disregard for the law? Trump is the straw that stirs the drink. He does not pull the trigger but his poison seeps into the souls of the depraved. Who would have thought that 74 years later Jews would be gunned down in a synagogue or a loser wear a shirt with a quote from Hitler on it? Our nation
is in a very dark place as the lights of compassion, dignity & reason burn out.
2
Trump is a madman and white supremacist, yet even so he is not the main problem. It is the sane ones who stand by with their heads in the sand, enabling him and selling their souls for power.
If Republican legislative cowards would do their job to check and balance Trump, the madman would be impotent or out of office.
Republicans are trading in cruelty and silence. They sacrifice people of color on the altar of power. They sacrifice our nation's integrity and security for a man child incapable of governing.
3
The man has been a bully since he was a child. Cruelty, lack of regard for others, have been his drug of choice for his entire life. Stiffing those to whom he owes money-- hardworking men and women, the US government, and others -- has been his main occupation. The only things that have changed is that he now has the entire world to bully and white supremacism gives him an excuse and an approving audience of racists as he twists the knife in extra hard.
2
Good job, Charles. Trump is setting the agenda and you and the rest of the media are taking the bait.
1
It is obvious Donald Trump is a cruel, sadistic President.The worst part is more and more Republicans, are approving of this type of Leader. We have to take back our Country in 2020.
2
Do you think the abomination of a human being occupying the White House, somebody who has never experienced hardship or adversity for the entirety of his life, cares about the hardships of anybody regardless of their skin color? It Germany invaded France do you think he would bat an eye if he could sell US made military weaponry to Germany? What if after Brexit the Brits kick out all the French. Do you think he would say anything unless Fox raises a stick? Really sick of the identity politics... We're all in this together.
1
I used to think that people voted for Trump in spite of his cruelty and lies, because the people thought he was the only one on their side. But actually they like the cruelty and the bullying. Even the evangelicals, who profess to follow the word of Christ as expressed in the New Testament, revel in the cruelty. This is really depressing, but what it means is that a strongman with far greater skills than Trump (for Trump is a buffoon who has no idea what he's doing) could quite easily wrest our democracy from us. As long as he's cruel to to the 'correct' people.
9
It seems implausible that someone indifferent to cruelty would consistently do and say cruel things. It’s more plausible, if one considers all we’ve seen and heard of Mr Trump, that he is sadistic. He enjoys it.
8
I don't know how much more of this cruel dictator I can take...everyday it's something else. He and his enablers are insane and becoming more emboldened by the hour.
5
This is nothing new for Trump, only a projection of his perverse character on a larger scale. As a businessman, it is well-documented that he cheated, undercut, refused to pay and in some cases bankrupted architects, vendors, contractors, laborers and others. When these "little people" protested, Trump responded "Sue me!", knowing his army of lawyers would easily stonewall their attempts at justice, grinding them into resignation. For Trump, people are mere objects to be used, ignored or discarded to suit his purposes; he is completely devoid of empathy, compassion, human sympathy or anything similar. The man is a narcissistic sociopath.
11
I cannot celebrate the 4th of July this year..... Trump is the president..... and letting families suffer at the border is inhumane.
7
I do not disagree about Trump being a white supremacist but where is the courage on the left? If more than half the people see Trump as an unhinged racist why don’t they have the courage of their convictions and make change with solutions instead of whining. There is zero courage in preaching to the choir Mr. Blow.
1
I remembering read your first column immediately after donnie took the election and have read every column of your's in the NYT...(p.s- happy you are back !) I remember you saying we can never let this become "normal" to us. I amnot sure WHAT has happened over these past few yrs but it seems that for many, it has become "normal". While I do feel despair over and a sense of having tied hands.... I, too, will continue with my outrage, continue with my phone calls to my representatives and using my credit card to support EVERY SINGLE candidate running people like Collins, McConnell, Graham... just to name a few. We allow this to remain our "normal" after 2020, then I fear we will have finally lost to tyranny...
6
Really getting tired of the endless histrionics, ad nauseam, concerning illegal foreign migrants and their children. We have over 20 MILLION illegal aliens residing in this country, with tens of thousands more trespassing across our southern border every month...enticed by the Democrats’ promise of free health insurance, birthright citizenship, and sanctuary from immigration law enforcement.
What....we don’t have enough cultural and ideological divisiveness, poverty, homelessness, and violence in this country that we have to import more chaos? Our hospitals, schools, infrastructure, welfare, and environmental resources aren’t sufficiently burdened?
Unless you dream of living in an impoverished, overpopulated, environmentally degraded third world country without ever leaving home, you will immediately come to your senses and demand an end to the brazen exploitation of our country’s sovereignty and citizenry by foreign nationals who are NOT entitled to be here.
3
Yes, Trump is a died-in -the-wool racist. His core supporters will accept nothing less.
Do you think his intractable followers would pledge allegiance to someone promoting equality and fairness?
Hate is his raison d'etre.
There's a feverish glint in the eyes of those attending his rallies: a gaze of admiration for the Great White Hope.
6
Hes lining us up and cleaning house. Democracy in Chains....incrementally upping the ante.
4
I truly wish this histrionic show will end soon after the 2020 elections.
The crazy and cruel plans of this abominable president must stop and “ we the people “ must vote to change this kafkesque political drama .
6
He does not care about the pain of racial minorities? He cares about it intensely -- he loves it.
3
There is nothing I could add to that powerful editorial. Thank you, Mr. Blow.
6
Trump is awful in many ways, and he really is racist, divisive and cruel, and he's doing huge damage to the United States, just as the Russian Tsar Putin put him in office to do. He LOVES brutal dictators, the more brutal the better; these are his peeps.
He's mocking the spirit of the 4th of July with his childish military display.
In these interesting times, we need less racism, not more, and we do need to understand our enemies (e.g., Trump).
Mr. Blow, I think injecting the phrase "white supremacist" into your piece weakens your message. This paragraph is simplistic and it jumps the shark:
"There is a through line in Trump behavior, and it runs directly through his perception of white cultural dominance."
Yes, an important concentration of Trump's supporters is white supremacist, and Trump speaks for those people, but that's not Trump's political strategy overall. His overall political strategy is to be more like those brutal dictators he so loves, to undermine the rule of law and the US Constitution, and to weaken the US overall to get what he wants.
Mr. Blow, to resist Trump, running to racist assertions too fast and too completely is counter-productive. Please don't.
2
Comparisons to the migrant holding cells to concentration camps requires a warning to its inmates: DON'T USE THE SHOWERS.
I also have given up friendships because of the monster in the White House. The truth is I was never able to be truly close with a Republican. I know that sounds terrible. But to me, it says everything about who you are and how you see the world. Do you have compassion for all people and want to do something about it? Or are you comfortable with your money and don’t want to share? Do you see the injustice of someone born into poverty, struggling like heck to get out, taking on massive debt, vs someone born into money and having an excellent education handed to you? Are you able to empathize with those who have in the luck of the draw been dealt nothing? And since Trump it’s gotten worse. To support him is to support cruelty and racism, don’t fool yourself if you think otherwise.
4
I believe you are missing something. He is not a white supremacist, he is a Trump supremacist. He embraced the cruelty towards non-whites as a means to an end. He does not care one wit about anyone else, white or otherwise. There is no empathy in his tiny, Grinch-like heart. His followers actually believe that he is acting in their interest. He does not act in anyone's interest but his own.
2
I am a big fan of Mr. Blow and admire his passion, patriotism, and concern for our country. My problem is, there are so many outrages every day, on every issue, that I just don't have the bandwidth to focus on each and every one. All part of the authoritarian playbook, no doubt. But I can't even get my (fairly) progressive US Representative to call for impeachment. He says it would cost too much!!!
I send money to progressive causes; I call my local, state, and national elected officials; I march in the streets; I support progressive community groups; I stop people in the street and ask if they are registered to vote; I attend town halls and voice my opinion. Is there something more I can do? I'm not wealthy; I can't afford to go to the border and observe the humanitarian crisis there. Your suggestions are welcome!
Keep up the good work, Mr. Blow. And keep the faith; we are going to prevail!
Get out the vote!
https://www.turnoutpac.org/
4
"There are tanks in the nation’s capital and concentration camps on its border. The slide of this nation into a nearly unrecognizable state continues unabated. Donald Trump is recreating America in his own image: an abominable one."
Incredibly well and powerfully said. Wow. Spot on.
- S
6
Sigh... the very moment he first called me "Your Excellency" -- I knew it was for real.
"Donald Trump is recreating America in his own image: an abominable one."
AND HOW DARE HE????!!!! How dare he, his money-grubbing family, and sycophant administration be allowed to do this to our country? How are we allowing ONE MAN to obliterate our standing in the world, emulate dictators, and have the majority of us live in fear that he may not willingly leave office?
How does this stop? Is there nothing in government besides a limp House of Representatives save all that we cherish and so many have died to protect?
Enough is enough. How does this end and who will lead the charge? I think it's us taking to the streets. What else is left?
4
I agree with everything you said, but tons of people are saying the same things, including me. What I want to know is, HOW DO WE STOP IT? WHY is this ugly slide into dictatorial, horrific abuse being allowed? Why wont anyone stop this criminal? WHY CAN'T WE STOP HIM?
4
Thank you for your impassioned and true words.Yet I remain in despair because there doesn't seem to be anything that can stop this abomination and his entourage of warmongers, hypocrites, cowards, racists and airheads ( guess which family members) that seem to have seized the tiller of our ship of state. As you say, this is not truly us but here we are seemingly helpless citizens while our institutions split hairs over whether clearly illegal and unconstitutional behavior should be stopped, manacled and hauled off. At any rate, keep on inspiring us!
4
He doesn’t care about the pain and hardships of white people either.
He cares only about people who can actually do something for him personally.
1
I would expand your thesis to say that trump doesn't care about cruelty and pain inflicted on anyone. He is a shallow, insecure, inept narcissist who cares only about his own personal comforts and pleasures. He doesn't even care about his own family. His behavior his whole life demonstrates that. (Ask his multiple wives and children.)
3
Many of us have said a lot. Too few of us have done very much other than say a lot. Key are efforts to get out the vote. Once Trump is out of office, he and his clan must be held accountable to the full extent of the law. Anything less is complicity in what appear to be international crimes under Nuremburg.
We should never tolerate a repeat performance of Obama's turning a blind eye to the war crimes of Bush&Co. Never again.
1
If your name isn't Trump he doesn't care about you. And even then, it's conditional.
3
Depravity is the only word that will suffice.
Kids in cages; Kids with no soap, potable water
toothbrushes and bathing facilities are Trump's calling
cards. Cruel is the understatement
3
What actions have you (the reader) taken to make clear that we want this president STOPPED?
We can’t just speak up or write.
1
Once again bravo Mr Blow. And finally bravo to commenters for their support! For once the comments section is not riddled with mindless antipathy for the truth! Happy Fourth y’all, and enjoy ignoring the desecration of the Lincoln Memorial!
1
"What will you say?" - This is what evangelical activist Ralph Reed had to say recently: “There has never been anyone who has defended us and who has fought for us, who we have loved more than Donald J. Trump. No one!”
The American abomination is going to get worse before/if it gets better.
3
Economic migrants parading as asylum seekers are abusing the system. They don't deserve our sympathy, they deserve scorn.
Many of us feel the same outrage as you do. Journalism is a great tool to express an opinion in a concise and clear manner.
My outrage has come to the point that reading or watching the news makes me angry and powerless.
Everything he does or says makes me angry, sad and frustrated. For others is just normal, he can go down 5th Ave and shoot someone and get away with; it it seems.
My fear is that this becomes the norm so worse deeds can be made normal. When enough is enough?
What can I do as naturalized american who love this country, take pride on the concept of freedom that is a beacon for the entire world?
How long can we endure seeing children in camps under sub-human conditions? How long the daily lies remain normal? Since when America values dictators? What was the price for freedom that so many fought for?
I am at loss and I need guidance, so help me God🙏🏼😢
1
Mr. Blow,
I applaud your attempt to bring to attention the outrages committed on both citizens and non-citizens by this administration.
I hope that your writing, somehow, breaches that impenetrable wall created by Fox, from which the supporters of the current abomination in the White House get their "news".
Most recently the staged inspection of the detention facilities at the border by a group of right-wing Hispanic evangelicals ( from the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference) is promoted as "debunking" what has been reported by others, including the Border Patrol's own Inspector General. (https://www.foxnews.com/politics/immigration-border-facility-aoc-hispanic)
I doubt that Fox will inform its readers about that report.
White supremacist patriarchy is exactly what Trump champions and exactly why his supporters, who too well know that he is a liar and a fraud in nearly every other respect, make excuses and hem and haw to stick by him through thick and thin. When it comes to white supremacist patriarchy, Trump is the real deal, utterly authentic. He is their man, like no other. What he represents can't even be called white nationalism, because Trump is willing and his legion of supporters willing to fall in line as he betrays the nation to its totalitarian adversaries and showers contempt on its democratic allies. It is the sum and substance of "Make America Great Again." It is the meaning of Trump's otherwise useless Great Wall. And that deep corruption and seething white racial resentment of a large swath of the American people is why Trump believes, perhaps rightly, that shamelessly, brazenly ratcheting up cruelty on the border is nothing but a "winner" for him. He will not stop. He can only be stopped. More importantly, his supporters must be taught at the polls that some variety of fascism cannot bring to life their nostalgia for patriarchal white supremacy; that American democracy is stronger.
3
Donald Trump isn't indifferent to cruelty. He is stimulated by it. It is what gives him emotional and possibly sexual gratification.
2
Thank you Charles for once again articulating the tragic details of our American decent into Madness! Our so called president is a sick man and his Republican minions led by Mitch McConnell are 100% complicit in the erosion of basic decency in our society. Trump is a wannabe dictator who admires the cruelest of them. Please continue to tell this story. As they said in Star Wars and I paraphrase, "Charles, you are our only hope!"
1
Keep it up, Charles. We can not get accustomed to the cruelty and the takeover of America by this ignorant brute who has somehow managed to stage a coup right on the nightly news as we stand by "twitter"-ing our thumbs. His love of dictators is outrageous and against everything we are supposed to stand for, everything we are supposed to be. He has disgraced us all in the world while he tramples on children and the vulnerable with his designer shoes. We must continue to speak, to write, to think and to come out of our cozy hiding places and face the horrors that are done in the name of the American people. We have a mad king who laughs at us while his cruelty and greed grow.
We should be better than this.
I will bear witness, Mr. Blow, that you have never faltered in your position regarding the issue you so eloquently expressed here.
Trump just loves to push our buttons and loves to see us get bent out of shape. His love affair with despots is just one of the buttons he especially loves to push. Its the same joy that the kid with the magnifying glass gets when he cooks ants on sunny summer day.
2
Most adults love something, their wife, their child, their siblings, their parent, their dog. Trump cheats on his wife. He loves, in a sick sense, his oldest daughter but only after she has reached adulthood. Does he have any contact with his sister even for that awkward Thanksgiving dinner? Has a pet ever been in his 72 years of life? Without love there can be no empathy to the difficulties of life that others have. Trump has always been about himself so the sad eyes of a diaperless two year old does not affect him. For all his gold toilets, and lush living, he is really quite pathetic.
2
Cruelty was and always has been the point of Donald Trump's rise to becoming President of the United States.
While some really stupid people laughed and mocked him.
But 63 million Americans including 58% of the white voting majority made-up of 62 % of white men and 54% of white women delivered him a meaningful Electoral College majority victory.
Neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton ran covert stealth subtle campaigns. Every American knew who both were and were not and voted accordingly.
Trump can't be blamed on divine royal sanction selection nor an armed uniformed military coup.
1
In 2017, because of Trump's travel ban on Muslims from proscribed countries, Yemeni mother Shalma Shileh was unable to visit her terminally ill 2 year old son in California, taking away precious time with him during his final months. Her husband Ali Hassan, an American citizen, brought the boy to California for treatment, where he applied for visa waivers unsuccessfully while their child was put on life support. Ultimately, he was put in contact with CAIR who sued the State Dept and she received a visa. But by the time she received permission to join her family, she had a scant two weeks with her child before he died.
It's all about the cruelty. Keep speaking out.
1
You're right. You explain very well the reasons why we won't go back to USA. Indecency. We're white, and we can't stand this white supremacy attitude.
That the current administration can still win next elections is beyond understanding.
Good luck.
Racial minorities are an important asset to
America. The world is shrinking and America like other countries needs diversity, fresh thought and introductions to the world at large—its people and it talents. I am white but I welcome with open arms people of every color who bring fresh thoughts to America’s stagnant narrow and bigoted society.
1
This kinda reminds me of the dark ages. Science was tethered by religion and replaced by myth. The plague devastated Europe. Powerful feudal leaders preyed on the peasants. The crusades swept across Europe, eclipsing freedom of thought and devastating Muslim communities. Sound familiar?
Do we never learn?
I'll say that despite my being a heterosexual white male I neither participated in nor sanctioned Donald Trump's persecution of "the other." I didn't vote for him, have actively campaigned against him and would no sooner support him- or any of his elected lickspittles- than I would lie down naked between two beds of nails. Please, Mr. Blow, bear that in mind when you reference the concept of a white supremacist patriarchy (and while you're at it please direct your next column on this subject to the "Honorable" Justice Clarence Thomas who just recently disagreed with a Scotus decision to negate the death penalty conviction of a black defendant found guilty by a jury that was rigged to exclude his fellow African Americans).
5
North Korea under Kim not only “restricts all civil and political liberties, including freedom of expression, assembly, association and religion,” it systematically extracts “forced, unpaid labor from its citizens,” and “women in North Korea suffer a range of sexual and gender-based abuses” that include “rape and other sexual violence and torture in detention facilities, sexual exploitation, or forced marriage of North Korean women in China, and sexual and gender-based violence and discrimination.”
Both share many values. It's love on third sight.
I will say that not only is Trump a narcissist, he is also a sadist. He is cruel, yes. It’s more than that. He enjoys the images of the people in cages at the border. Those images please him. This man is more vile than we allowed ourselves to imagine. He has a sick and twisted soul.
He is attracted to the power that people like Putin and Kim Jong-un wield. He wants to be able to hurt, torture and even kill. He wanted to bring back waterboarding because he likes thinking about it! He wants power over life and death. A tank is what he needs to gaze upon because it shows power and strength. Tanks are killing machines.
He is getting worse. If people refuse to see this, then they’re not really paying attention. Charles, please don’t stop speaking truth. We must not normalize what Trump does. We have to face the fact that a truly evil man occupies the Oval Office.
2
I will say that there are people who lack the genes for empathy, and so, on a virtual spectrum of altruism, lie nearer the reptiles than the honey bees. Many such people are not well educated, and appealing to them with logical argument is almost pointless. I will say that Trump and his ilk have tattooed on their souls the word "Untermensch," and that they encourage petty officials to treat such sub-humans as a from of pigmented vermin. I will say that this is not new, but that humanity has struggled through the ages to free our better angels. There have been bright, bright spots of encouraging success. Right now however, tanks and vile camps dominate. Will the sun rise again when "nobler men keep once again Thy whiter jubilee?" We are all called to be nobler.
Trump's cruelty isn't just due to indifference, or as a deliberate tactic to achieve a goal, but he takes delight in inflicting pain.
His malevolence is so undisguised that it can remind you of silent movie villains, twirling their mustaches, and almost drooling.
He actually is as evil as those scenery chewing stock villains. It's not just innate buffoonery.
If he had no restraints he would be every bit as vicious as the three Kims.
Saddam Hussein's hero was Stalin. Trump can trump Sadaam. He is his own heroic monster.
3
Thank you, Mr. Blow. I have always wondered whether, in my lifetime, I would be called to stand in maintenance of my principles. This is that moment.
Donald Trump is a fascist, and anyone who doesn't resist is an enabler.
3
I stand with you Charles M. Blow. Your op-ed exposes the rancid stench of Trump and his Republican enablers. Every day that passes with Trump in office is a step backward for the principles established by the Founding Fathers of our nation. The Democrat Party needs to wake up and do its duty and impeach Trump. His crimes against humanity must not be allowed to continue lest we too become or at least are seen as complicit in his crimes.
Mr. Blow asks:
1. "Why does the American president have such an affinity, a fetish even, for the world’s dictators while at the same time spurning many of America’s traditional allies?"
2. "And how does this turn to the darkness reposition this country in the annals of history?"
I believe the answers are right in front of all of us:
1. trump lusts for absolute control and zero accountability. He wants to be president for life (passing the torch on to one or another of his mini-mes when the time comes). To do so, he must get rid of everything that gets in his way: political adversaries (meaning anyone with a sense of patriotism towards the US rather than towards Dear Leader), a free press, a judiciary willing to defy his will, etc.
2. If trump succeeds, in future centuries the US will be remembered as the leader of the free world until, sometime around 2020, the free world ceased to exist. Because with the US joining the likes of Russia, China etc, I think there is little hope the rest of the current free world will be able to remain intact.
3
What we need is to turn handwringing, disillusionment and anger into action. I have devoted myself to raising money for the Democratic Party in my county so that we can reach all these non voting democrats. I am asking my friends in blue states to send their money to swing state coffers. You too can do the same and ask your friends to join you. We need to make sure that all our friends and relatives in swing states are registered to vote. Then we must reach out to them during election time. We must push vote by mail which has the highest voter turnout. ( even taking into account bad signatures as our analysis revealed). Our party chairs of all 67 counties are working hard. Here in Polk County we started the day after Election Day. Let’s not despair, let’s get to work. We are located at 1549 s. Combee road, Lakeland Florida 33801. Let’s get strategic! Reach out so we can unite and win! This is what I’m doing with stage 4 cancer. Please join me.
3
Trump could not do all this without the support and encouragement of the Kochs, the Mercers, the Murdochs, the Uihleins, the Spencers, the Adelsons, the Wilks, the Spencers, ..., and their lackeys in the GOP, the NRA, and their hugely successful propaganda machine on radio, TV, on Social Media, and on the web.
1
What do you expect of a narcissist on the sociopathy spectrum? He has no conscience and no real feelings, not even of love. He is an intellectually, psychologically and emotionally vacant man who can only preen and prance and look at himself in the mirror to fill his own human emptiness.
The Spectacle of July 4th in Washington, DC, has NO meaning for the rest of America. This is Trump's chance to tell the USA and the world yet again how wonderful he is and how lucky America is to have elected him. Except for the 3+ million voters who gave Hillary Clinton the popular vote, which irks him so grievously that he has to call it, like everything else real and true, rigged and fake news.
The biggest fake this country will see today (and everyday) is donald j. trump. This country has done some pretty awful things in its history but putting us on the path to home-grown fascism is just about the worst that can happen. That it is happening in my lifetime is shocking. I was born in the middle of the Great Depression and I clearly remember World War II. The rest of history I can digest with great difficulty and disgust but that man is beyond redemption.
Will no one save us from this evil, war mongering, hateful clown? I suppose we'll have to do it ourselves on Election Day, 2020.
VOTE FOR ANYONE - NOT REPUBLICAN AND NOT TRUMP. Just get him out and we'll deal with 2021-2024 in a more adult and responsible manner.
HE HAS GOT TO GO!
1
Thank you, Mr. Blow, for continuing to remind us: THIS IS NOT NORMAL!
1
The hopeful chant of "Vote Blue 2020!" does little to assuage my fears that djt has done irreparable damage to this country. Even an abbreviated litany of his crimes and indecencies would exceed the character limit of a NYT comment. As Mr. Blow explains, djt's worst sin is that he's empowered the very worst demons of our nature--abject indifference to both the suffering of others and moral principles in general. This administration has proven that ideals, compassion, and morality are inadequate checks on rabid self-interest.
1
Thank you Mr Blow. As always, a cutting, sharp analysis. But what can we do? I am in a constant state of anger, rage, fear, disillusionment, disbelief. How can the average Joe/Jane channel these feelings?
I’m terrified the Dems will blow this election. Then, what???
1
Excellent !! Thank you !!
Trump: offend; demand; demur.
Thank you Charles!
Donald Trump is the epitome of vehement racism and xenophobia.
2
Thank you for your redundancy, Mr. Blow.
What did I do? With a few friends, I joined my local Indivisible group, sent postcards to registered voters and registered voters before the last election in 2018, and called the DNC to see where I could be of help. It's easy and not time-consuming. It helped me curb my outrage and my ability to breathe, and yet, I still cry for my beloved country.
1
Trump has rode a wave of ignorant White racism and extreme resentment of Obama to power his base. Whether he deliberately planned this strategy due to his own hate or just opportunistically exploited it politically doesn’t matter, because the end result is the same. He’s not the only Republican to exploit racism ( Willie Horton! Welfare Queens!) but he brings it down to the gutter, with snide viciousness and ugly triumph, consistently... is he the last gasp of hundreds of years of cruel White Supremacist ambition in America? Let’s hope so.
1
I offer a prayer:
Dear God, if you are listening, please arrange for a massive thunderstorm to be centered over the Lincon Memorial, to begin at 6:30 PM this evening, and to continue for at least an hour.
Also, Dear God, please help us to remove this terrible, terrible, terrible poor excuse for a creature from the office of the presidency that he stole with massive Russian assistance.
2
This German feels offended by the willfully exaggerated use of the term "concentration camps". Is this any better than Republicans denoucing Obama as Hilter? Please, Charles. You can do better.
1
We are living in a state of "LET THEM EAT CAKE".
I hope that no one shows up today at the Lincoln memorial (who probably is turning in his grave) to listen to a speech about FREEDOM.
Our illustrious President knows nothing about freedom or how much it means to these poor individuals just trying to be free by coming to our country and raise their families without the fear and poverty they left behind.
No one wants to leave their homeland unless they must.
Mr. President, why not spend your July 4th visiting these concentration camps and see what it is like, then make a comment about "how much better they are in detention than where they came from".
PLEASE AMERICA DO NOT LET HIM GET A WAY WITH THIS.
WE ARE NOT SEEN AS THE GREAT DEMOCRACY ANYMORE BUT ONE MORE DICTATORSHIP.
Now on Independence Day lets take back our government and stay away or protest in Washington.
4
Trump supporters say only what he and Fox and Alex Jones and QAnon and Evangelical preachers tell them to; they don’t know any better. They love the cruelty and think it’s patriotic. They think today is about them.
3
Excellent commentary. But it's so troubling that you are so accurate and that we have such a heartless cruel leader in the White House.
3
Donald Trump continues to remind us that — his supporters do — not care about the pain and hardships of racial minorities.
1
What next: Trump burns down the Capital Building? Smashes windows of businesses owned by Democrats and non-whites?
Hey America, can't you see what's going on? Where we're heading? Read "It Can't Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis.
We can't just sit back in our recliners and let this degradation continue.
3
There, you said it:
"There is a through line in Trump behavior, and it runs directly through his perception of white cultural dominance."
For the "first time" in my personal life, I repeat for the "first-time"... I have started to hold someone's political views as a way to distance myself from them.
To continue to support Trump, no matter how good he may have done for the so-called economy, which in my opinion is hogwash, hiding what is truly happening to lower income strata and wages... after these many years of blatant racism, misogyny, ample evidence of recurrent lies upon lies, adulterous affairs, and possible rape, of ostracizing foreign allies and being chummy with outright dictators, for getting us out of Pan-Pacific Trade deal, of getting out of Iran deal, of not signing up for the Paris Climate accord... even after all that if you still support this man-- then-- (for me, at least) a red line has been drawn.
Then, it means you're okay with a racist, a pathological liar, a purveyor of the ugliest rhetoric ever heard from WH.
I've asked this question often, would you let a morally bankrupt man like him your personal life... to which, mind you, none of my acquaintances who're conservative were able to look me in the eye...
I simply have now walked away from quite a few, who support him.
This is the least I can do.
It has become a moral issue. If denial leads people to not acknowledge the truth, I've learned, it is their dilemma.
I need not be a part of it.
4
Until donors are no longer walking a red carpet (and given free admission!) to view Trump's obnoxious, wasteful ,grandiose display of militarism- to thrill the MAGA audience, the atrocities will continue. It's for the donors.
2
What I say is that Trump's abhorant actions against anyone of color are designed to inflame his base through fear and hatred of those who do not look like them. This is classic fascist behavior and anyone who does not think that we can lose our freedom and our beloved rule of law is naive. His flagrant and daily violations of his Constitutional oath and his stealth campaign to incite militias who are poised for civil war will go done in history as the lowest point in our history next to the Civil War.
Lock him up! Do not think that talking about policy will win the next presidential election, for Trump will continue to denigrate those of color and will glorify those who hate them. One defeats a coward and a bully by directly challenging him or her with truth. His supporters will never change so we must persuade independents that he has done nothing for them or the economy.. Did his tariffs help the economy? I could go on but Trump is a scam artist and people better wake up to that fact before then lose their freedom.
2
Although Trump is alarmingly callous and vile he does appear to manifest his greatest cruelty for people of color. I had somehow become inured to the US government's cruelty toward so many of its citizens but there is no ignoring it with Trump leading the hate.
He is a vile and degraded man for whom I feel only contempt. But what troubles me even more are the millions of Americans who find his despicable actions acceptable. We need to remove the bronze plaque with its lies about giving us your tired and your poor. A more apt rendition would be, let us abuse them as long as they serve our purposes and then demean and degrade them until they are dead. Not nearly so inspirational or pretty but much more true.
1
An accurate sign of the readership of any NY Times editorial columns is the ratio of positive/agreeing comments to negative/disagreeing comments. For Charles, that ratio is approaching 100 to 1. One could interpret this as Charles must be right as everyone agrees with him. I believe the more correct interpretation is that those who disagree with him have stopped reading his columns. That is unfortunate, as if we are to make progress we must listen to both sides of an argument and seek compromise. Charles will have no effect on any of the concerns he raised if his writings are only read by one side. The only one who can fix this is Charles. If his approach was less bombast and hyperbole and more nuanced and balanced, the general readership would regard him more seriously.
Much like the white regime in South Africa, the Republicans of this country are having one, last bout of cruelty before they are permanently deposed.
The difference is, that transition occurred surprisingly humanely, despite the many decades of oppression non-whites suffered under the Afrikkaner police state.
This time, methinks, will be different.
1
There is another motivation for Trump's behavior - he wants to flip the world order. Imagine a world where Putin, Kim, Trump, Erdogan, etc., were in control. We aren't far from it; they're already "in love".
Our government is already committing the atrocities of fascists and dictators to the non-white, non-male "vermin" in the U.S. It's a free-for-all hate fest, and all that's left is for everyone to admit it. The Republicans in the Senate could stop it, but don't. If we had an honorable Senate, most of this wouldn't be happening.
If Trump can win in 2020 and continue to convince his supporters that we're holding hands with dictators simply to "make the world a safer place" then he's in - he'll assume his place as dictator in 2020.
What did we say, write, think, discuss? We write, we protest, we call our Congresspeople by the millions. Most of us have to take a step back from politics every now and then just to stay sane.
In the midterm elections, we took the House in spite of the gerrymandering of every district in the U.S. It has helped, but we need a Democrat as POTUS and to oust McConnell in the Senate to stop this free-fall into white supremacy and fascism.
If it's our conscience that you're questioning, you're writing for the wrong paper.
1
Where are the youth of America? It used to be said that if you’re not a liberal when you’re young you don’t have a heart. I guess millennials are just too busy liking on Facebook and too lazy to take to the streets.
It isn't just Trump who is responsible for the un-Christian inhumanity which is still taking place at our Southern border. It is actually being made possible by his Conservative Christian supporters.
As an LGBTQ person who was born in this country in 1955... this is the sort of Conservative Christian cruelty and ugliness which I have experienced my entire life.
Perhaps there will ultimately be value in America being able to see just how blatantly obvious the theological stupidity and the fundamental spiritual evil of this community truly is.
If you think that evil is too strong a word... I suggest that you pay a visit to the many thousands of God's children who are being held in cages throughout our Nation.
Hopefully the citizens of this country will never allow these mean and cruel so-called Conservative Christians to ever use the phrase "Family Values" in public discourse ever again.
2
If you believe the detention facilities on our Southern border are concentration camps I can only assume you are not a student of history.
In the alternative, I propose that our government create a program that will allow our citizens to sponsor these families and house them in their homes. If such a program were to be implemented, how many families would you sponsor to live in your home? Just curious, because I believe some people would step forward and take up the cause, but let’s find out.
2
A third rate despot, with a fourth rate “ mind “. Sir, you are the voice of reason, clarity and truth. Thank you.
Charles M. Blow's Opinion echoes my fury, shame, frustration, worry and pain at the inhumanity of Trump and his administration. With all of the unconscionable acts that we are aware of, there are so many more. How many know that Trump is destroying our knowledge base at one government agency after another. With all of his predatory behavior, cruelty, sexual abuse and dishonesty there is no bottom. Donald J. Trump has no conscience. No conscience. The horror of this is that it goes on. He bangs around in our heads and we spit him out of our mouths, but we haven't stopped him, yet. Can we? It is on us, the United State of America. Happy July 4th, Independence Day.
2
trump has multiple personality disorders. By all objective evidence he is a sociopath. There is no soul. There is no empathy. He is about as evil as a person can be. If the republicans in congress will not join democrats to impeach him promptly then we must all work hard to get out the vote and remove him via the ballot box. If the DOJ will not indict him while a sitting president hopefully the State of New York will under New York laws for the financial crimes he has serially committed. Let us not forget that Al Capone went to prison for tax evasion.
2
Where is the outrage on the part of the Dem "leaders?" Where are Schumer and Pelosi and Feinstein and Menendez and Cuomo and and and …? The Republicans can block their legislation but they can't stop them from shouting and pounding the lectern. Where is Obama? Where is Michelle? Where are Bill and Hillary? Why is Bernie a laughingstock for being outraged?
2
So. Much. Hyperbole. The rehashing of uninformed talking points is just pitiful.
1) Military parades are not uncommon at all in this country: your criticism is completely ignorant of historical fact.
2) Calling detention centers “concentration camps” is a pathetic and fallacious attempt to play on emotions formed in the darkest moments of history. Those being detained are free to leave and return south of the US border any time they like... unlike those who were actually held at actual concentration camps. They are also being held in those detention centers because they violated US law. They are being held there because 90% of those “seeking asylum” never attend their hearing: they use the process to enter and stay illegally.
3) Children are separated because 1/3 of them are brought by people who are not relatives. These children are victims of human trafficking, of rape, and neglect. When a relationship is established, they are reunited, but when there is no relationship, they are protected.
4) The Castro brothers are brutal dictators who oppressed their people too, but Obama was celebrated for debasing himself with his pathetic displays to them.
5) Jamal Kashoggi was not a US citizen, nor was he even a legal permanent resident, as the press has claimed. The US has no business involving ourselves in the affairs of foreign nationals.
6) Saudi Arabia is the biggest check against Iran in the Middle East: their alliance is vital to stability in the region.
1
I would like to know how much he has increased our national debt
2
"It has always been about bending the rest of America, the rest of reality, really, into subordination to the white supremacist patriarchy."
How about "the white supremacist theocratic patriarchy"?
1
I could care less of a litany of evils by our current dictator. I care and fear more from at least half of all Americans who all share those beliefs. Even as they lie about how good they were at 'church'.
1
I'm just impressed by the man's stamina. Every day a new stunt to impress his sadistic followers, to wear down his opponents. It's truly terrifying the energy he has. Unrelenting.
2
The border situation is solely on the shoulders of a generation of senators and congressional do-nothings. Shut the border. Problem solved. Have these immigrants finish all necessary legal hurdles prior to reaching our borders. Then, once completed, travel here. We can’t have hundreds of thousands of these entering our country each year.
My heart bleeds along with you each time I read your words; I am embarrassingly turning into a cliche, a blending heart liberal." But it is a painful truth that its the racism stupid and has always been that with this president.Oh yes and his narcissm, ignorance, mendacity. In my private life I can be supportive of people of color I love but I know this is not enough. I will march, make calls, donate what I can, but it is depressingly true that that is not enough either to fight this wave of hatred stoked by Trump. Perhaps that is why so many are so depressed and feel so helpless being governed by a hateful fool and his enablers.
1
I think it is not only his racism. He abhors the poor and downtrodden of any color or creed. He is the epitome of the Republican philosophy of Social Darwinism — survival of the economically fittest. Why else would he try to do away with Obama Care which benefits the poor and working class? Why pass a sham of a tax cut that hurts middle America? He uses his racism to stoke his base even though he despises them and betrays them time and time again. Truly an evil genius.
2
Wow, where to begin! This particular op ed is so full of untruths and over statements and blaming that it might take pages to address them all. May I just say one sentence to try to express my overall disagreement with Charles Blow's (false) premise that President Trump doesn't care about minorities and the border crisis. It is Trump who has pushed the reality to the House that there is a border crisis and we need the funds to address this crisis; and it is Trump who has paved the way for the minorities in our country to now hold more jobs than at any time in our history!
Every word is true. Except the implication that Trump would care if the cruelty were aimed at white people. He wouldn't. He might say he cared, as he says he loves this country, but it would be a lie. He is apparently incapable of caring about anything outside of his own head.
1
Americans have the President that they want.
Cruel:
1 : disposed to inflict pain or suffering : devoid of humane feelings
2a : causing or conducive to injury, grief, or pain
His supporters LOVE his cruelty. They themselves are cruel and love to bond with one another at rallies by cheering cruel words and actions perpetrated against those they hate and fear; their fellow citizens.
The more cruel he is, the more they cheer.
They are not unlike those who held picnics, etc. with wives and children, and stood smiling for photographs alongside people who were lynched, burned, or murdered through other means in order to bond through the brotherhood of cruelty and hate against those they deemed undeserving for whatever reason.
Now they have a champion as head of state, they will not stop until all they fear and hate are cleansed. Matters not if they are children, elderly. Upholding the tenets of this Republic does not matter as long as they feel good about hate.
Goodbye America. It was nice knowing you.
1
"There are tanks in the nation’s capital and concentration camps on its border."
A bit too catastrophic an assessment? When I was a kid, there were tanks in the streets of D.C. due to rioters destroying neighborhoods. And if "concentration camp" can now mean any place where people are concentrated, then all camps, prisons and such fall under that incorrect definition. The people in the camp are there because they violated the law and were caught. From Trump's perspective (based on his mental illnesses and politican con man chops), if you built a wall, then these people would not be able to break the law easily and that would reduce the need to try to catch over tens of thousands of people coming illegally each month.
Yes, it's the cruelty.
Trump and his cohort are set on creating a fascist dictatorship in America with the Great Taker as the Franco/Pinochet/Kim-like military despot.
Wake up, America. Where do you think this is going? What do you think has been going on since 2015?
He is bending the 62MM vacuous cult followers who voted for him to his will and will use them to enslave the 80% or 265 million of us who did not vote for him.
We have thus far not descended to the viciousness of his mind and methods, and in this game so far that has been a weakness.
Trump has not revealed 1/100th of his depravity yet; if he's re-elected you will see things you dare not now imagine.
The military in Wash. DC today is prelude to using it in the streets of Democratic cities (NYC, SF, Boston, Chicago) to arrest Trump enemies (US citizens) and to face down Democratic governors and mayors who go to court to protect their citizens.
In a second Trump term, minor heretofore local and state crimes will become federal crimes--i.e. speeding on a federal highway--to remove US citizens from the protection of Democratic cities and incarcerate them in federal (privatized) detention.
It will be a reversal of forty years of Republican orthodoxy which has favored a weak federal govt. and strong sovereign states.
Trump will create a strong federal machine to reach into Democratic cities and states and arrest his political enemies.
Detention/concentration camps in the US? You haven't seen anything yet.
1
The Democrats in the House, who are against the wall, who are for the rule which encourages migrants to bring minor children across the river, and who cut funding for them after they arrive, are heartless indeed.
The only way to end this migrant crisis is to vote these awful "MA-NU-FACT-URED CRISIS" people, who play politics with the lives of millions, out of majority in 2020.
And increase the Republican majority in the Senate to a supermajority.
"Indifference to cruelty"?
Hardly! The man lives for it. It's his food and drink. It animates every policy, twit and outburst.
Nothing is more contemptible than a man who loves to strike another whose hands are tied.
And that's Donald J. Trump.
1
Thank you Mr. Blow for speaking out. I entirely agree with you.
Cruelty has been in this country’s DNA since its inception, and we are still living with the vicious legacy of slavery and the genocide of Native Americans. Cruelty and lack of empathy were always part of America - Trump merely adds his own personal touch of degenerate narcissism.
2
For quite some time I have had difficulty deciding which is worse: guilty trump, or the rest of the Republican Party who enable him?
We have a known sexist (likely a rapist!) and full-blown racist ‘president’ who lost the popular vote by nearly 3,000,000.
The Supreme Court is illegitimate, partisan and has granted the right to politicians to choose their own voters - rather than the other way around.
Meanwhile, the earth burns ...
I hope everyone who reads this fights tooth and nail to elect a Progressive House, Senate & President next year. This nightmare cannot continue.
1
I say why is McConnell able to let Trump go full Mad Hatter crazy without any oversight? The Republican Senators are sitting on their hands while our Democracy is disintegrating. I think the House Democrats should start an impeachment inquiry immediately. Only 1 Republican (Amash) has questioned Trump’s truly bizarre and highly suspect behavior.
1
It is sad beyond words that Trump's cruelty makes him loved by so many. He is a hero to the same kind of people who turned up in droves to watch and cheer lynchings, the kind of people who felt good about that dead body on the lawn at Kent State, the people who love the fact that his vulgarity makes him real.
1
Wow Charles! The image you paint of the concentration camps at the border and the tanks in Washington is so powerful and so true! This is what we have become under Trump. There is nothing more that needs to be said, and that image will be associated with the USA for decades to come. Surely this country’s policies have been awful and immoral and racist for a long time, but not to this point, so out in the open for the world to see.
It is the Fourth of July but my heart is not rejoicing in the meaning of this day because too much has been done to defile that meaning and render it just words with no meaning.
1
On 23 June 2018, Maureen Dowd wrote, “As a former top trump administration official recently told me, ‘donald trump is the meanest man I’ve ever met.’”
We were warned.
2
Nice work!
The case is not complicated, he is cruel and shows this trait with pride, because it is rewarded by the American electorate. Let's just say that he is the symptom of society in general, and that's how most white people feel about how minorities should be treated.
As long as the media keeps covering his cruel and bizarre behavior, he is in the media spot getting coverage and repeating his message of hate, the media needs to stop showing his picture and pronouncing his name to stop his media campaign.
Every time his name is repeated is a hit in his media ratings ,to deflate him and lessen his chances of winning a second term, the media should refer to him as the dude who occupies the White House after President Obama.
1
One more thing you might do, Mr. Blow because you have the voice and the forum and the fire, start calling out the members in Congress by name who are enabling this horrid affair. Say what they've voted on. Say who they are. Publicly shame them for enabling this tragedy.
The light of day can cleanse a lot of things. Shout until people are forced to listen.
1
Horribly, shamefully true: tanks in the capital and concentration camps on the border; a sick manchild playing with soldiers and with the lives of our southern neighbors. But as so many have said, What to do?
I have great admiration for Nancy Pelosi, but surely an impeachment inquiry must be begun. And, as one of the respondents wrote, mass nonviolent demonstrations must be taken up again.
Donate to defeat Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham and Susan Collins and John Cornyn. Send Justin Amash--of Palestinian descent--a word of thanks. Pursue further investigation into Pompeo's petty improprieties And, Richard Neal, get Trump's state taxes from New York state.
The plan is to be released while their asylum case is pending. Then skip out on the court date. And disappear into the general population. And you’re in.
irvin silverman
The position of Blow is powerful...he is on the side of justice for
all regardless of race or creed.
Professor Irvin Silverman
Department of Foreign Languages
Hanoi University, Hanoi, Vietnam
Donald Trump has no idea what true, enlightened leadership involves. He is not a leader... he is a self-absorbed bully. He serves as Putin's Puppet. I hope and pray that Middle America wakes up and realizes that Mr. Trump has no interest or desire to improve or enrich their lives. His words and actions are utilized to feed his own... insatiable ego and also to enrich his bank accounts and those of his wealthy masters. He has no interest in preserving or protecting the American Democracy. He walks, talks and acts like a wannabe dictator/monarch. I hope and pray that a WIDE & Diverse group of people in every state of this country votes him out of office in 2020. If we don't... the coming generations will never forgive us.
14
I agree with almost everything you've said, Charles, but I will add my own thoughts as well.
Trump is trying to be tough because he knows he is weak. His father and his mother were both tough characters. While they told him, no doubt, he was a little king, their attitudes towards him probably convinced him otherwise.
The world revolves only around Trump, in his mind. The poor, the brown and black are losers to him. He has to win. He doesn't empathize with anyone's circumstances.
That his cruelty affects lives is of no matter. Those who believe his lies and boasts are what matter to him.
Kids in cages? Why do they deserve anything he thinks. They shouldn't be here. Their families are doing this to them. Not Trump, he is being tough so Mommy and Daddy and Putin and Kim and the other autocrats will be proud of him.
Cruelty? That is the brand. That is what makes this man.
9
“It’s the cruelty, stupid. It has always been about cruelty: racial cruelty, gender cruelty, religious cruelty. It has always been about bending the rest of America, the rest of reality, really, into subordination to the white supremacist patriarchy.”
Thank you for your courage, Charles. You speak for me with these strong words. The acts of this administration, shocking and bizarre at first, have now become atrocities, we have seen for ourselves the conditions at the border. It falls on intrepid reporters to shine the light on them and gifted writers to call them what they are.
So we do our part and hope for the day of reckoning to come.
But there is no way one man could do these things alone. Without the complicity of his party, his voters and contributors and his family, he would not succeed. Sadly, I have to add with the inaction by those who could do something, namely, the House leadership, he feels omnipotent.
8
Trump's logic is the same employed by terrorists.
Kill a couple of innocent persons and terrify millions with your cruelty and inhumanity.
Trump needs enablers to enforce his cruelty and his Border Patrol fits that role to a tee.
He states that they are not Hospital workers and need not practice Humane treatment to immigrants.
Trump is correct. You need to be human with a human conscience and a human heart to be a Hospital worker.
The Facebook postings of the Border Patrol officer community proves that they lack those "Better Angels of our Souls".
8
We, all must own this moment.
We must stop letting those in power use racism, hate and fear to keep us divided.
Ignorance is used to gain and keep power.
We have stopped seeing each other as worthy of grace.
We have been sold and chosen a self centered and greed driven "dream" that we have accepted. We have bought into the lie that says more is what is good and those with less do so because they have not earned it. We use our own level of comfort to justify being lulled into to complacency and self righteousness.
We have let Greed and entitlement to be driven into the mindset of Americans as a means of justifying the abandonment of those who can be defined as not working as hard, being less than and not worthy of receiving our help. This also positions those who are "less worthy" to see those who have more in opposition and uncaring. The system has not lifted those who need it. It allows those with the real power and money to continue to pay unlivable wages.
We must unite to redefine the power structure by voting for those who would work to stop it from being used to divide us.
Racism is also a tool used to keep us divided by those who have the most can continue to keep what they have. If we fight with each other, they can continue to control the vast majority.
We also must not be blind to all of our fellow Americans suffering. Black , brown white, Color has no meaning when injustice and hungry children are involved. Poor is poor. Hunger is hunger. Pain is pain.
5
My question is not "Why does the American president have such an affinity, a fetish even, for the world’s dictators" My question is much more frightening. Why do so many Americans have such an affinity, a fetish for him.
11
USA military should say nothing and just do a fly over of North Korea and drop guns from the air so the citizens can take up arms and overthrow their despot leader. Maybe attach pamplets telling them to overthrow their despot government and how they could become a Democracy under international rule or whatever. Say nothing and do something campaign could also drop off solar powered laptops with access to western world news. At least it's a start towards changing that nations cruelty - let the citizens of that nation do all the fighting for their freedom. Actions speak louder than words. Gun drops - gun drops not gumdrops!
2
Thank you, Charles, for your sharp reminder. Thank you, Susan of California, for your justified criticism of the word “indifference” where Trump clearly enjoys his cruelty.
What to do? We influence policy with our words, our votes and, most of all in this day and age, OUR MONEY.
Ask yourself every day how you can change your spending patterns to channel less fuel to those who promote politics / business that exploit the social / economic / intellectual weakness of others.
I was recently sad to see Charles Blow write about Uber as something normal:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/09/opinion/dc-pride-2019.html
1
Don’t ever think you need to hold back the truth based on facts Mr. Blow. You are right that those who turn a blind eye to the atrocities this administration and their followers are committing are complicit and will someday have to confront their cowardice. Continue to speak truth. Your bravery is inspirational.
6
Charles, everything you say is true, but let's not get too sanctimonious about us losing our 'moral authority' somehow.
The US coddled dictators, overthrew democratic governments to install murderous military regimes (eg, IRAN, CHILE, CONGO, GUATEMALA, the PHILLIPINES, VIETNAM, etc etc), Intervened in other countries' elections (ITALY, GERMANY, etc), set up an academy to train police in methods of torture (google 'School of the Americas'), sent out assassins to kill foreign leaders (see Castro, see Diem in Vietnam, see CONGO again) and on, and on, and on, throughout the cold war.
OK, maybe we aren't so bad anymore. Maybe a kinder gentler cop is on the beat. But let's not fool ourselves, because the rest of the world isn't fooled. Our hands are not clean and they never have been.
America's 'moral authority' mostly exists in our own minds.
5
Lets take the money that child Trump has allocated, stolen from the national parks, (probably a fortune), for his own show of force parade, and spend it on solving the immigrant crisis and finding a solution to caging innocent children. Lets use it to prepare for the tornados and floods and wildfires caused by an unstable climate. Lets use it for solving real and urgent problems and not for boosting trumps ravenous ego and flaunting the war machines. The idea is to solve problems and not to cause them. Alternatively, lets give it back to the parks, who need it and who provide a real positive service. This is a bit like taking money that is needed for funding basic services and blowing it in minutes on a huge fireworks display. Fiddeling while Rome burns. Stupid and more importantly, done for the wrong reason.
5
Thank you, Charles Blow, for your clear-eyed account of the current dismal state of our nation under the worst president ever. His vision for this country, if he has one, is to make himself the supreme leader like those he so admires from North Korea and Russia. We must all speak up, speak out and never give up the fight to oust this monster from office. The stakes are too high.
5
Please ,don’t worry about being redundant! If a tornado is sighted and headed your way you don’t stop the warnings!
Trump is worse.he is adding his brand of poison into every State,
City ,and town that exists in our constitutional republic.
The racism that was here all along ,Trump is whipping up
And adding t o without any checks or balances to even slow the destruction .
7
About Trump’s behavior: that’s just what sociopaths DO. (I once had a boss who was a sociopath, so I got to observe the type close up.)
What really worries me is all those people who voted for Trump and who approve of everything he does and says, even the most cruel and disgusting stuff. Are a third of the American public sociopaths, too? If not, what explains their approval of Trump? Is it some kind of mass hysteria, or the vicarious thrill of having ABSOLUTELY NO LIMITS—of being able to do anything you want, insult anyone you like, have any woman you want, and, if you don’t like a situation, just send in the U.S. Army?
I wish someone could explain this collective madness to me, so maybe we could do something about it. I mean, if Trump were the only bad actor around, we could fence him in and keep him on a leash, so he couldn’t do as much damage; pretty much what Democrats did to Nixon (who, in retrospect, looks pretty good by comparison). But with all of Trump’s fanatic followers, in and out of Congress, that’s just not possible.
P.S.: about my sociopathic boss: eventually, the board of directors got wise and fired her. Too bad we can’t do that with Trump.
5
What to do? Go out in the street and demonstrate against this monstrous regime. Demonstrate massively, your honor is at stake.
7
He enjoys the cruelty. So does his base. It props up fragile egos . This is more than not caring.
8
What will I say Charles? I'll say that you and the democrats are really out of touch, tone-deaf, whatever you want to call it, and Trump, as personally despicable as he is, will almost surely be reelected.
“I keep my ideals, because in spite of everything I still believe people are good at heart.” Unless you’re a republican whose moral foundation is predicated on cruelty.
3
Trumps racist and autocratic tendencies have been on full display since the day he slithered down the escalator and announced his candidacy. The more infuriating aspect of the reign of Trump is the total abrogation of congress' duty to act as a check on a rogue president. Enablers like Graham, McConnell and the so called "Freedom Caucus" are the problem, more concerned with maintaining power than protecting us against a tyrant and putting our national interest first.
6
I never agree with Mr. Blow and find him quite tiresome but when he boldly states he will continue to write about "white cultural supremacy" I don't think any regular reader would doubt that as it's as sure a bet as Trump will tweet something idiotic today. Perhaps Mr. Blow could also enlighten us as to what the "emerging world culture" he writes of might look like. Perhaps he might give us an example of a country that is in the vanguard of this emergence and how it is infinitely superior to what we have now. And where was I when the migrant father and child drowned? I was volunteering at our local free clinic providing medical care to "others" who are very much like them. It's what I do when I'm not being part of the evil "white patriarchy".
Where are the House Democrats we elected in 2018 to stop this madman?
Time has run out for Pelosi.
Her inaction and total failure to defend the U.S. Constitution and initiate impeachment proceedings against this criminal president, Trump, are grounds for her immediate removal from the Speaker position.
The evidence of obstruction of justice against Trump is absolutely overwhelming and yet Pelosi does nothing.
Trump's lies, his illegal actions, his cruelty become more outrageous each day and still Pelosi does nothing.
She allows lunatic Trump to repeatedly defy Congress, ignore subpoenas, obstruct justice, and violate international human rights. Yet she does nothing.
Pelosi needs to go.
2
Has anybody ever detected a beating heart in Trump?
America is not only losing its heart, it is losing its soul.
1
Yes, yes, yes! Please persist, Charles. This is NOT normal and is NOT acceptable. How can we open the eyes of the ignorant masses who choose to turn away and refuse to see the truth? That is is question of our era.
4
Trump's behavior is so despicable as to be almost nameless, beyond horror.But he is a symptom of the society within which we live not the cause of the illness.Has he made things unbearably worse for millions?Yes. Was life made worse for millions by other leaders before he arrived on the scene?Absolutely.This current nation named the United States of America may be "strong," "rich" beyond reason and think of itself very highly for proselytizing "high ideals" but it's foundation is weak,indeed,rotten.The foundation is based on the entitled massacre,genocide, cruel subjugation and dehumanization of 100,000's of thousands of human beings residing on the North American continent before (white)Europeans sailed to its shores.The "leaders" then proceeded to "build" "their" nation on the backs of brutally enslaved citizens from Africa.These humans were considered "non-human,"were stripped of any dignity,rights or humanity and used brutally .The "Constitution" in and of itself as written is a profound document but every one of the signers of the "Constitution" was a slave owner.Would you expect a house with such a foundation to stand for long?There are so many, many wrongs that need to be acknowledged let alone be righted(with reparations, etc)for the foundation of this society to be truly functional.High ideals are meaningless in a vacuum of integrity and honesty.Trump definitely should not be re-elected but the work for "honest" Americans goes far beyond getting him out of office.
2
I'm too afraid of my government to really say or do anything. I'm afraid of my neighbors, too: Trump is beloved here in Florida. It would be a waste of time, effort, and energy; moreover, it would just stir up a hornet's nest; it would make their day.
That's what I'll say.
Sure, I've written my representatives, but that's easy and safe; and I vote, but full commitment? Nope. Not this old Vietnam vet. Been there, done that. Such thankless tasks are behind me. (I had ONE person thank me for going to Vietnam -- another vet who worked with depressed, suicidal vets.)
I've got my funeral arrangements made, and I'm just waiting in the lounge before checking out soon.
I think that this storm will pass someday, and maybe you guys can make repairs, but I fear that it's all over but the shouting.
America was really doomed from the start: slavery, genocide, sexism, xenophobia, low IQs, uncultured, violent, ultra-materialistic, and hypocritical. How long can such decadence be expected to last anyway?
Charles Blow, you are the conscience of our nation. Stay strong! We love you!
4
It's no longer okay just to say you disagree, we have to appeal to our representatives in Washington to stand up and say "we aren't going to take this anymore."
Just today, he has decided that the Supreme Court of United States got it wrong on an opinion....solely because he didn't agree with it. He has turned our nations most important celebration (The 4th of July) into a Trump rally. This holiday is now not about us as citizens of this country, it's now about Trump and his lofty goals to turn the United States into an fascist oligarchy.
I often get made fun of and hear "oh it will be okay, this is just a blip"....This "blip" could potentially turn into a regime in no time at all. I remember "fondly" when Obama was president, the far rights biggest fear was that Obama would refuse to leave office, he did, with the grace I always knew I could count on from him and his family. But, this administration, projects it's own deeds on past history, and that should worry every voting American today.
1
The inability to feel for, or even a perverse delight in, the suffering of others is sociopathic. This is not strength, or decisive leadership, or the basis of policy, it is pathological.
1
As always Charles, you keep on keepin' on; keeping us honest. I have been thinking about the concentration camps at the border and wondering how do we stop this? It is time for us to converge on D.C. - the White House and the Senate in huge numbers: a two million human march. This can be a sacrifice for many folks - making the trip to D.C., but we need to sacrifice what we can to rescue these people and to let Trump and the world know that this is NOT us.
1
It’s the “futility of evil” all over again.
1
The through line is White Supremacy. As it has always been, it is cruel and inhumane. Extracting all that it can with thought only of itself.
It will take those who continue to benefit from White Supremacy to be loud and insistent that annihilating White Supremacy must be our first and foremost goal. Patches and fixes are not enough as they are what has brought us to this point in history, and history has already judge what is happening now as simply evil.
1
and worst of all, I don't think we've reached bottom.
Charles, I love your insight & gladly read your op-eds the minute they appear. But would you please do us a favor and not publish it with a picture of that shameful despicable thing? It’s enough he appears seemingly everywhere, but I would rather it not pollute your wonderful essays. Thank you and please keep up the good work!
1
"What will you say?" That each of US, ourselves as well as with others, wherever we are, by choice or not, in our toxic,WE-THEY culture, which enables violating created, selected and targeted "the other(s)," daily, in a range of ways,MUST go beyond words. Voiced or written. However transmitted. Shared. Words themselves, void of powerful expressed random and planned actions-interventions, are not likely to make needed differences which achieve sustainable differences for civil, equitable,menschlichkeit. Which enable and foster active mutual trust. Active mutual respect. Active mutual caring. Which empower kin, ken, and stranger to risk mutual help, if and when needed. The words of greeting, on France's gifting of the Statue of Liberty, to seekers of democracy, safety, solace, inner peace from outer conflicts, a range of freedoms of...with opportunities to freely take on, and share, daily responsibilities, are inadequate to meet today's enabled Crimes against Humanity in the USA. In Camps for Seeding Traumas!Child abuse. RACISM.The harmful behaviors of selected and elected policymakers, at all levels, who DO, or DO NOT DO, with impunity. Enabled by toxic complacency of the WORDLESS-willfully blind. Willfully deaf.
Willfully ignorant.
Willfully hating.
Willfully dehumanizing.
Willfully excluding.
Willfully discriminating.
Willfully violating.
Willfully silent, when an outpouring of targeted- volcanic-active outrage is called for!
July 4th. And all the days which follow.
Words are failing to state my outrage and so I count on your excellent ones to propel us to contribute to causes, march, and counter the falsehoods, till we meet at the voting booth,
2
As long as Trump is President our country is in great peril.
2
Sock it to him, Charles!
These are the sorts of words we need to hear from the lips of the Democrat presidential nominees, and the one to do it most effectively seems to be: Kamala Harris.
2
Thank you for continuing to speak out with such moral and psychological clarity and discernment. I believe you are absolutely right about the link between Trump's fascination with autocratic leaders and his deliberate -- not just indifferent -- cruelty. Not to mention his pathetic narcissistic July 4th power-flaunt. It is all of a piece with his deeply disturbed, insecure and insatiable psyche. A danger to all that is good.
2
This is not surprising since there is a fear of extinction among European Americans so they use fear and intimidation to keep minorities down. We must all get together to defeat Donald Trump next year. As Bernie said Trump is the most dangerous president in our time
2
Some days in these times, yours is the only writing I can stand to read. Otherwise I'd probably be completely broken.
1
"Now, if you really want to fix the Crisis at the Southern Border, both humanitarian and otherwise, tell migrants not to come into our country unless they are willing to do so legally, and hopefully through a system based on Merit," trump tweeted. "This way we have no problems at all!"
I don’t think I have ever seen a more vile statement from an American president.
He is truly evil.
The magnitude of his cruelty is immeasurable.
Is this really the president we want? Is this the president we deserve? Is this a person Americans can support. Is he even a person or some other organism?
Remove him! By impeachment or by vote come November 2020.
1
At least he's patriotic even though he's a bit over the top. Happy Independence Day USA!
Thank you for telling the truth.
Amen brother!
Don't just b e outraged--do something! Anything!
Contribute to refugee organization, help provide bail for mothers in immigration detention, whatever you can! But do and say something!
3
I disagree. Donald Trump very much cares about the pain and hardships of racial minorities. He wants them to feel as much of it as he can possibly inflict on them.
It's not an indifference to cruelty that leads him to admire ruthless, vicious dictators, but enthusiasm for it. He envies their ability to punish whomever they please and make their subjects obey every whim.
2
Great headline.
As for Trump's "indifference to cruelty," that's inaccurate. I would say, not cynically but with mountains of evidence, that the word is not indifference, but "love of."
This bizarre creature lives to spread chaos. Everyone calls him stupid but he's a genius at malicious mischief. When he was young, his parents sent him to military school.
That didn't work. I suggest impeachment in the short term, and prison for treason — selling his office; placing the country and the world in direct danger (climate change, hate speech, et al); disregard for law and the public weal, ad nauseam — in the long term.
4
Not only is the Republican party and Trump tolerant of cruelty, it is their essence, their creed and their raison d' etre!
2
On this Fourth I sit in Red State Georgia and instead of thinking about all the GOP travesties that have been committed in this state, and the imposter President, I reflect on two men in Georgia who symbolize what this country should be all about: John Lewis, my US Representative and on
Former President Jimmy Carter.
Both have given their all for the country and both have openly declared the current president to be illegitimate. Neither require Twitter of a military parade to be honored for their accomplishments.
Carter knows a thing or two about how a presidential election can be rigged by the GOP. We all know now the dirty work of William Casey in negotiating a deal with
the Iranians so Reagan would credit for the hostage release.John Lewis knows what it is like to have government suppression of human rights and has fought his entire life against white supremacists. I was at Ebenezer on MLK day when Trump had just unleashed on John and the entire city of Atlanta because John declared Trump as an imposter.
Yes these two know a thing or two about cruelty and the human condition unlike the sadist in the White House.
So as Kim Jun Un's lover and MBS coddler in chief and Vladmir's stooge puts on his military show, think about Jimmy and John to remember what a great country this is.
2
Regrettably, for President Trump and his many constituents, an accusation of cruelty is not an incitement but a compliment. And doubly so, coming from the NY Times.
They are not in the least ashamed of their accomplishments, they are proud.
3
"Trump cares nothing about the suffering of racial minorities here — other than to increase the pain — nor does he care about the suffering of nonwhite people abroad."
I agree Mr. Blow. But Trump does not care about the suffering of white people here either unless they are the oh-so-persecuted rich whites. You don't seriously think he cares about the people in his MAGA-hat-wearing base, do you? He only cares about their votes, not about them. How often do you see a sea of MAGA hats and flannel shirts at those gatherings at Mar-A-Lago? That would be never. Trump would never in a million years associate with any of them; I have no doubt he and the rest of his rich cronies make fun of them as soon as they hit the top of the stairs on Air Force One after one of his taxpayer-funded rallies.
Care about non-rich whites? Surely you jest. Neither Trump nor the GOP see the "base" as anything but very cheap and disposable means to power.
4
Dear Mr. Blow:
This may be your most important essay. Thank you.
1
I believe, you speak for a preponderance of Americans whose hearts also bleed today for the shame and despotism Trump has brought on and to America. Today I heard the Declaration of Independence read out loud on NPR. Because I do not know it verbatim, while listening there were times I thought they had interjected new words that spoke to our country's condition today. Every American needs to hear it read out loud as it could have been written to wannabe monarch Trump, today rather than the King George the II.
https://www.npr.org/2019/07/04/733431874/a-july-4-npr-tradition-a-reading-of-the-declaration-of-independence.
Keep repeating and repeating the truth. The 4th estate is the backbone of a civilized and democratic nation.
1
Thank you for continuing to point out the darkness that our president is bringing to our country. His mistreatment of people who are not his type is disgraceful. This vile and despicable man has put a stain on our country that will take a long time to erase. I urge all of your readers to do whatever they can to ensure that Trump and his Republican enablers are voted out of office in 2020. Doing anything, no matter how small, will help you sleep at night.
2
Cruelty is the Trump Doctrine.
Cruelty is the icing on the cake for Trump.
He relishes it.
In Trump's mind, cruelty makes him look strong.
Remember, Trump brags about punching his second grade teacher in the face, giving him a black eye.
Trump has always been cruel and mean and rotten.
It's his natural state.
Vote Democratic in 2020.
Every office, every seat.
3
The immigration "policy" is cruelty as a deterrent to its victims and as sadistic entertainment for the haters. It accomplishes what lynching did in a slow-motion, mostly non-lethal manner, but with the same goals.
3
Since the US Congress and courts seem to be cowed by Trump it is time haul this sorry excuse for a human being before the World Court for crimes against humanity. This neutral forum may not prevail but would put the appropriate mark on this awful man.
2
Thank you Mr. Blow. Impeach- what are we waiting for? At least we will not go down without protest or a voice. We will be on the right side of history.
2
What’s new? The whole Trump Family is cruel.
2
I believe Trump has made our country sick with hatred. We see this in the statements by border patrol agents and in their obscene doctored images.
1
your right about everything, but you need to activate all those effected to vote.thats the only way. there is no room for equivocation
or division
2
Trump has never cared for anyone but himself, which is the definition of a narcissist. He's had no problem associating with racial minorities personally, since to him they are no better or worse than other white people. His contempt for humanity is equally spread. What he has found is that kicking minorities pays real dividends politically, because it energizes white racists. It's a major reason he got elected.
Whether Trump truly believes in white cultural dominance is debatable. He's shown little regard for Western civilization too, though clearly some people in his administration believe in its superiority. Point is Trump has never been restrained by shame, so he has no problem playing this card. And I'm afraid it is a powerful one, not just in the US.
1
I hope I to say the same.
1
Part of what I'll say is I read from the works of Charles Blow. Another part of what I'll say is that I wrote countless messages, letters and essays, that I made countless calls and donations. I went to countless meetings. Whoever is the nominee for the democrats, and his or her running mate, they must repeat over and over and over that trump lies. They must say it to his face. They must say it to voters, to the press, to the world. He is a liar, he is thief, and he is a traitor. They must not hold back. They must say it over and over. What trump fears most is truth. He wins only by its distortion or its denial. He must be made to pay for this through his defeat and quite possibly, imprisonment. There must a reckoning, and the sooner the better.
2
I will say that we need to persist, resist and vote. This is no time for complacency. The American Democracy is facing more danger by the day. When you are ruled by a would be autocrat, inept and corrupt, a liar in chief who takes his orders form other autocrats, what do you expect? This is the most fraught Fourth of July I have ever seen. Poor America!
2
Most of us learned the basic rules in Kindergarten.
Don't hit or bite.
Share.
Wait for your turn.
Sometimes these simple rules have survived to adult life. Before a reorganization, Google's motto was "Don't be evil". Now it is "Always do the right thing". I once worked on a project team that had two rules:
1. Don't do anything stupid.
2. When you violate #1 (and you will), don't do it again.
I was well understood that rule #2 was more important than rule #1.
Our developmentally challenged president has learned none of these rules. According to his wife, when someone attacks he will strike back harder."
Our president is cruel and heartless. It is time for him to go. He should be forced to leave the Whitehouse by January 20, 202, at the latest.
2
The republicans are sycophants and part of the problem. They follow Trump to pervert the courts. To gain tax advantage. To obscure voting rights to protect against demographic change. There is also financial greed. Most of all out of fear of losing their power.
The most important asset the resistance has is the press. Yes, so much that is reported sounds redundant. That’s because it is redundant in purpose. Every day a new unmentionable, another attack on our imperfect but somewhat civil society. Daily attacks on the rule of law and our constitution. We are all in danger of becoming overwhelmed, desensitized to the tragic dismantling of our society. Looking for distractions.
Stay strong Mr. Blow. Stay in our face with the truth. Don’t let us look away.
2
Donald Trump is the worst thing that has ever happened to our country. He daily tramples every symbol of our decency. One might expect him to take Lady Liberty from the harbor and to move Abraham Lincoln to storage at the Smithsonian. These are just the symbols; Mr. Blow is right "It's the cruelty" that matters. Our president is without a conscience, some might suggest a soul. He shows no compassion for anyone.
He's not in Love with Kim or Putin, he envies them. They have no checks on their tyranny and he wants the same circumstances. Sadly, the GOP members of Congress are facilitating his assault on our democracy. But there is resistance and we will not go quietly. Vote for decency, vote for sanity, vote for our future. Shout till you're blue in the face "how dare you?" do this to my country?
2
I continue to be astonished that whatever coalition Trump has assembled, let us say the summation of the rural not-well-educated,immigration fear-mongers, reflexive Democrat haters, non-college educated white males, etc.,taken together accept this man with his numerous depraved tendencies, as their standard bearer. It just sickens me to my core, and I’m not sure things will ever be the same after Trump leaves office.
2
If you've read the book "Many Lives, Many Masters" by Brian Weiss, you may believe in reincarnation. In that case, let us all hope that Donald Trump is reborn as an hispanic woman from Guatemala. He has many sins for which to atone.
2
Dear Headline Writers,
Please stop using the "It's the ___, Stupid" headline. It's cliched, rude, and insulting. Yes, I know the origin story. It wasn't even that clever when Begala coined it.
So well said, Charles Blow!
I hope all public voices ask themselves the same questions and answer them with such clarity and integrity.
5
Powerful words, and only my little bit to add.
I think, hope, pray and want to believe that there is a storm gathering across this nation. The majority of America does not approve of this cruel, yes cruel, ignorant man, who found himself president.
With every day, another outrage, another insult, more lies, more destruction, degradation, rending of the Constitution and endangering of all we hold dear, including the freedoms we celebrate today.
We don't wear red hats, we don't openly brandish weapons or taunt publicly, humiliate and mock those we don't agree with. But I think there will come a moment, a bridge too far, when we will collectively state loud, clear and with unyielding defiance, say "enough". We will be in the streets and at the gates, and say no more will you do this in our name.
The many men and women who put their lives on the line for 243 years to give us this day, deserve nothing less than our courage and willingness to do the same, that their sacrifice was not in vain.
When that day comes, sign me up. We've all got to go sometime, if this is that moment, that time, for those who will come behind me, I'd be honored to do my part.
With tears in my eyes and an ache in my heart, because I love this place, warts and all, I refuse to give up on it.
9
Thanks. I agree that it's easy to get weary of speaking out against the horrors that Trump and his minions have inflicted, tolerated, and encouraged, but we can't give up and we can't stop. Keep up the good fight.
6
President Trump should spend 24 hours in the detention conditions he condones. That’s the only way he can prove to me that they are not inhumane.
7
No, it's not about the cruelty. It's about the complete lack of empathy, or even knowledge that such an emotion exists. I've always believed that there is a little good in everyone, if you dig hard enough. In trump's case, absolutely nothing comes up.
7
Trump's cruelty cannot be intentional because to have intent one must first engage in a thought process, even a very brief one. And Trump doesn't seem to ever think, to deliberate, to weigh choices, but instead viscerally reacts immediately.
5
The cruelity is intentional and we must work to stop it asap. Many people are demanding this and in the end we will win and hold him accountable. This is my ardent hope.
4
Is it possible that one of the most appealing features of Mr. Trump's personalities is that he just comes out and says what he thinks? Is it one of the least appealing, too? It certainly makes it easy for his opponents to attack him and hard for his supports to defend him, but it's the real Donald Trump. At least we can all say we have a president who is who he says he is. And perhaps, just perhaps, have some groups in our society gotten too used to feeling sorry for themselves and putting the blame on others? Well, at least something to think about, No?
19
@Ronald B. Duke, I'd say you describe Trump's base as much as anyone. And I don't think he tells them what he really thinks of them at all.
31
@Ronald B. Duke I agree that there are some groups in our country who have gotten too used to feeling sorry for themselves and are putting the blame on others. They’re called old white males, evangelical Christians and the Republican Party. Sorry if you are offended by this. I’m just someone who says what he thinks.
37
@Ronald B. Duke
No. It is very possible that you do not understand Trump in the least. He is not who he says he is, nor does he say what he thinks. I would suggest you read about personality disorders regarding this. As to marginalized persons blaming others.... I would suggest you think about protests. There is no blame there, only action. Trump on the other hand is a master at the blame game.
2
The cruelty of djt took center stage the day he mocked the disabled reporter. Our fellow citizens’ indifference to his cruelty took center stage the day he was elected president.
16
Mr. Blow, I read the headline of your column, and am about to read your column. But I wanted to correct the headline's subheading, which says that Trump doesn't care about minorities. He doesn't "care" about anyone. He caters to his "base" in public because he wants their votes - but he doesn't "care" about them and certainly doesn't do anything to actually help them. He "cares" about Donald Trump (and maybe Ivanka). That's it.
15
And I would add, yes, that cruelty "is" the point.
2
It has been said that Kim Jon Un, North Korea's despotic 3rd generation ruler, appreciates our president for his non-judgemental attitudes about morality, and tolerance for Kim's lack thereof. Their disregard for morality have made Trump, Kim and Putin, among others, international pariahs, cruel and loathsome in the eyes of the world, but tolerated due to a present lack of alternatives.
5
Trump is not indifferent to cruelty -- he likes it. Witness the many cruel things he says in just his tweets.
10
Words mean nothing unless they are backed up with actions. Evil exists when good men do nothing. Most of these evil nations exist because they allow their evil leaders to exist. USA would not exist if they didn't fight for their independence. Lots of these nations with evil leaders exist with the permission of their citizens otherwise they'd do what the pioneers did, to get USA independence from Britain. No one likes to go to war but they have to to get a better future for their children and nation.
The world can't blame the USA for the worlds problems if the citizens in those countries don't take up arms and overthrow their dictator government.
And that leads me to another train of thought, all those refugees, in the USA, that haven't stayed in their own country and did some hard slog, like the pioneers did, to make their nation better; what are they going to do if the USA gets attacked by a foreign government? Get in a boat and become another refugee in another nation, or stay and fight for the USA's freedom. Food for thought.
1
A house divided against itself, cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become lawful in all the States, old as well as new — North as well as South...Abraham Lincoln. So what is different in the year 2019???
3
I agree. I don't want to be perceived as someone who sat around and dithered. So, I do a podcast, I've protested a bunch of times. We need to get all people out on the streets. A work stoppage.
5
we are living in trump's Divided States of America -- a putin dream come true. trump and his lieutenants will be celebrating that today, the 4th of July, at all taxpayers expense.
8
I think Joy Reid nailed it. Cruelty is a campaign tool. He wants his supporters to see him being cruel to these kind of people. Next up, Ice raids and the homeless.
8
You nailed it. But, then, you always nail your target; always eloquently.
6
"What is happening at our border is unconscionable, a violation of basic human rights, a complete moral violation. "
And this "violation of human rights" is a direct consequence of the historical laxness of border protection and progressivist bleeding hearts, which the would-be undocumented immigrants are taking advantage of. Where do you think this upsurge of children crossing the border comes from?
The Central Americans have figured out that this is what works well with mainstream media.
2
@Kai So your solution would be to ratchet up the cruelty and inhumanity until it outweighs the death and poverty they are attempting to escape.
1
Trump has always been about cruelty: racial cruelty, gender cruelty, and religious cruelty. He is simply being himself. It is the rest of us I am worried about.
6
In the future, I will say that not a day went by that the Trump administration did not make me feel sad, sick to my stomach or outraged - sometimes all three at once. But right now I say we harness everything that we have all been collectively feeling to oust this abominable man out of office. We all need to stand behind ONE candidate and give of our time, money and influence to make sure there is no second term for this corrosive president. All we can do is fight the good fight and not let up until it's over.
12
I cry for America today. The majority of Americans do not agree with the approach today's administration is using, yet we have yet to rise up and cry out. This is "my America" and I won't take the theft of democracy and decency without protest and more importantly, voting. Every American should be alarmed at the backwards progress of Trump's administration and Republicans. Keep up the good fight, Charles. We are behind you.
7
"I believe that it speaks to a blindness, or more precisely, an indifference to cruelty." For now. That's what we see now. But you have to ask, how much of it is indifference, and how much is a predilection for it? Trump's first wife did initially accuse him of violent rape, as did Ms. Carroll. Many years ago he called for the death penalty of innocent young men - and never recanted. He pardoned a man accused of running concentration camps in the desert, he wants to pardon various soldiers for war crimes. Most dictators, when they get enough power, don't do the killing themselves, but they like enabling/ordering others to do it. For what it's worth, I'll go further and say I think that Trump enjoys cruelty and violence, and would have no problem ordering the death of journalists if he had the power to do it. Never mind soap, he's perfectly satisfied with children dying in his concentration camps. This psychopath is daily grabbing more and more power, becoming ever more ruthless as he does so - and nobody is stopping him. If somebody doesn't put the brakes on this guy, he's going to keep going until its too late, until he declares martial law, and the United States, as we know it, dies forever.
6
First, thank you and never flag in expressing your -- our collective -- outrage.
I am working on voter registration and, next year, voter turnout.
I do not shy away from making these points to anyone who needs to hear them, including family.
We do not take to the streets willy nilly, as individuals. We will when it is organized and impactful to do so.
3
One thing I would say is that national media coverage of Trump’s militaristic, demagogue’s campaign address on a National Holiday reeks of complicity. I agree with everything Charles Blow just articulated. Media outlets like CNN and MSNBC cover these events and by doing so, lend credence to what is clearly a political event. They might as well write out a big fat check to the Trump re-election committee. When will they ever learn.
6
@J They aren't covering. MSNBC, CBS, CNN and ABCare not covering Trump's rally. If you want to see it , and I don't, you have to watch it on CSPAN or on Fox,otherwise known as State TV.
Trump purposely used cruelty as a tool to extort the nation for his border industrial incarceration complex funding.
The 2016 DHS budget states that they had 34,000 beds for detainees and additional funding set aside for an anticipated surge in family crossings.
He purposely arrested hundreds of thousands by classifying them as criminals and packed them into these facilities like sardines. He used the children - like a gun held to the (nation's) head to get his $50B blank check.
It all played out like a non-negotiable ransom scenario where inflicting pain and cruelty compels you to meet their demands.
2
Add to your outrage the pardon Trump just gave to Navy SEAL Mr. Gallagher. He's the man who stabbed a wounded captive prisoner in the throat. He's the man who his comrades testified about the war crimes he committed in Iraq in 2017. He's the man who had inappropriate photographs taken of himself next to a dead prisoner. And he's the man who got kudos and a pardon from Trump. "Glad I could help," said the president.
3
Mr. Blow is absolutely right about the increasing prevalence of cruelty and hardship towards racial minorities in our country. Therefore, this is my Cri De Coeur on the 243rd anniversary of our Independence Day: from Washington to Trump that is.
Tocqueville opined: “America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great”. In some ways, I think we have reached this inflection point as we are committing “Human Rights Violation” in the detention centers of the migrants who came here for “Life, Liberty and Pursuit of happiness”.
Emma Lazarus’ quote (“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free”) on the Statue of Liberty is becoming increasingly hollow as innocent children are separated from their parents in these detention centers.
“All men are created equal” notion exists in our “Declaration of Independence” yet we have simmering racial tension in our country and significantly high percentage of African Americans are incarcerated for minor offenses. Women’s reproductive rights are also being violated.
In order for us to remain “Great” as defined above by Tocqueville, we need to stop our internecine fighting and we need to treat each other as “Human Beings”. We should also always remember that as a country, we are judged on the basis of how we treat: minorities, women, elders, children, poor and the disabled.
Let’s not let our country slip into dystopia
3
They came here illegally and voluntarily... they can leave legally and voluntarily anytime they choose.
2
@Bummero
It may be a bummer to hear this, but the actual situation is that the vast majority came here legally, seeking asylum in accordance with US law. The treatment of these people by our government is more than shameful, it is inhuman, both in connection with the government’s complete egregious failure to observe current US asylum law as well as the inhumane conditions that have been documented despite the imposed secrecy.
The vast majority of aliens living in the US illegally are those who entered through normal points of entry and simply overstayed their visas.
Of course, if one simply objects generally to any immigrants coming into the country, and doesn’t find the current actual treatment imposed horrific (and we likely have only seen the tip of the iceberg in this regard), then I would not be surprised if such a person would be in favor of this administration intentionally terrorizing, dehumanizing and otherwise extremely mistreating many many actual human beings, in defiance of law, reason and any degree of compassion.
4
Seeking asylum is not illegal. It something generous and magnificent that America offers to people seeking a better life.
2
Please give details on just how children and/or adults would be able to leave the detention facilities they are incarcerated in and "self deport". Could a child do it? Would a parent leave without their child? What would CBP do if someone attempted to leave a detention facility? I shudder to think.
2
I urge everyone to read the Declaration of Independence today, July 4, 2019. When I read it out loud today with my fellow defense attorneys at our Tarrant County courthouse steps and as defense attorneys read it simultaneously across Texas, it brought chills across my body. What has our nation become in just 2 1/2 years?! The Declaration of Independence was written to fight against the tyranny of the King of England, to establish our free nation. Our president’s ongoing hateful and divisive behavior makes a mockery of this foundational document. He is a heartless, soulless amoeba.
6
Trump has lots of company in his attempts at reversing the slow progress to peace and justice for all. Making America Great Again is also a chant coming from Wall Street, the Senate, Congress and major corporations. They seek the increased subjugation of population groups as sources of cheap labor. We already have a Capitalist superstructure. Trump is merely one undereducated, egotistical braggart who is willing to front for the exploitation of resources and eternal racist domination. It did not work in the land of his paternal forebears and it precipitated a Civil war within these borders a few generations ago.
4
The fact that Trump lacks ANY sense of morality must NOT come as a surprise to anyone.
This man has committed just about EVERY immoral act, possibly barring an actual murder. He has ALWAYS been like that. The only reason there is more discussion about him is because he is the POTUS.
And that allows him to inflict even more cruelty - such as by separating little children, including toddlers (one was a four-month-old baby) from their parents.
How much more sadistic can one be???
If a person - who ALSO happens to be a father and grandfather - deliberately allows trauma to happen to little children, things like pain and hardships of racial minorities are the very last thing in his mind.
The immense damage he is causing to the American society will be felt for many many years to come.
Also, it's not just Trump. He has enablers, namely the GOP. WITHOUT enablers and the FLAWED American democratic system, Trump could not do what he is doing.
In a Parliamentary system, someone like Trump would have been hung drawn and quartered by the opposition for the kind of lies and insults he spews. The convoluted Senate system - in which Wyoming sends two senators just like California with SEVENTY times population - allows a concentration of power.
And then there is the infamous Electoral College system which has NO parallel among major democracies.
Put all these together and you get a situation in which someone like Trump can not only appear but also can survive and thrive!
4
cruelty isn't the motivator, though cruel conditions are the byproduct and result. the motivator is simply power and ego and the myth of his own self-madeness being equal to that of the world's most heinous autocrats, because all dictators and autocrats are examples of a sick self-madism and trump wants to be their peer, in the clique, move in their circles, because he wants the unattainable. mere allies are too boring.
minorities, refugees, and the less fortunate are just obstacles who didn't earn their self-madism badge: insignificant, inconsequential, details to edit out of the big picture. i don't think he cares particularly about cruelty one way or the other: if we do cruel things, oops. if somehow migrant refugees or inner city blacks had a top-rated television show, wow, great, he'd invite them over for hamburgers! he thinks it's up to them, which is the twisted logic of his fierce fallacy of self-madism.
However, his minion stephen miller (architect of policy while trump is preening) really does believe in cruelty. there's your real sadist, working in the shadows.
2
Yup.
The cruelty is a feature (the main feature), not a bug.
3
Call him the Banana Republicans' Gas-Lighter-in-Chief. I don't know if DT is working consciously toward racial supremacy, but he's creating a way too solid footing for racists, misogynists, rapists, criminals, haters, doubters, underminers and, yes, supremacists. I may be the "right color" according to him, but let's not all fall for any notion that he cares about whites (or me, the female, non-10 subset) any more than other races: DT is all about DT; whatever gets him to the winner's circle fastest, and enriches him the most, that is the group he embraces... until he finds another pot of gold somewhere else. At the end of the day, it's all about HIM and how he rises out of the mess and confusion he creates, snagging benefits for himself, while everyone else is looking everywhere else. He thrives on all this and yet we keep feeding the monster. The real question is not to solve just how bad he is, but to focus on the most efficient way of neutralizing him between now and 2020, and then to vote him out! The week that happens, I propose offering a special one-time lottery ticket: a cash prize but ALSO an in-person opportunity to boot him and all his trappings to the sidewalk. He can walk home, too, as far as I'm concerned.
1
To cut the funding to Central America, to foster refugee caravans to our border, and then employ on them psychological torture through the separation of children and parents, and cage them like animals, and cause 7 deaths and counting - is the most diabolical illustration of racism and hate to date on this large of a scale at one time. I will continue to cite James Baldwin's dictum that America will either confront and move beyond its' racism or it will destroy itself as a nation. And to those that say it can't be done - I say that it is because you have been kept from the Gospel by fundamentalists and their pagan gods of violence. We can change the conditions in Central America, just as we created the mayhem there through our past policies of corporate exploitation of workers. We can live without the tyranny of a white minority ruling America. We can be better than this monarch king's family dynasty built on hate. Freedom is our future. It is built on love and social justice. Fear and hate is our enslavement. Starting with our environment and the inclusion of dignity and freedom for all our humanity we are being called to choose life and live. This is what the Fourth of July is about.
1
I will continue to speak truth to Trumpists in my town until he goes away
1
In my spiritual life, I have come to believe that evil does indeed exist. And it sits in the Oval Office.
1
Trump supporters when justifying their cruelty to asylum seeking immigrants that they have broken our laws so they deserve what they get. But there has always been a higher law that Evangelical Christian Trump supporters use to give lip service to and that is basic decency towards others, do unto them as you would have them do unto you. It is written into our declaration of independence as the unalienable dignity of a human being. To the bully Trump to be tough is to be cruel and to be humane is to be weak and with that attitude Trump leads us into giving up everything that makes us a great country or even to be human beings.
1
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it?”
Jeremiah 17:9
Jeremiah told us we have a dark side. It is a side that controls many of our thoughts and actions. It ensnares the rich and the poor, the smart and the dumb, the privileged and the non privileged, the healthy and the sick. In today’s world it undermines many of our economic, social, political, philosophical and religious institutions. It may be about to end our life on this Planet.
A weakness in our brain cage is the cause. Jeremiah warned us:
Just a glance at any newspaper or other communication will confirm it. The American political/economic scene today with its Donald Trump turmoil and secular emphasis is giving us warning.
www.InquiryAbraham.com
1
Thank you for summarizing so clearly and truthfully the cruel pain this administration is causing as unending evil actions are taken every day.
1
I will say that Charles Blow and other journalists of integrity told me the truth. And because I knew the truth, I kept speaking out.
Thank heavens Trump and his ilk haven't managed to silence the real press yet, although I'm sure they'd do so if they could get away with it. In the end, history shows that writers like you may be the only thing standing between us and the fall of our government as we know it.
I'm exhausted watching this hideous monster take a wrecking ball to our society, and I hate waking up every day feeling outraged and helpless. Your rallying cry helps enormously - thank you.
2
The barrage of Trump’s atrocities and human rights’ violations he uses as a weapon of democracy destruction. Each day he brings us closer to the chasm, to the brink of war against our democratic principles and our allies and closer to bonding with his autocratic strongmen.
Words are not enough; we must take collective action to defeat Trump the terrorist who will destroy our country. Impeaching him is only the first step. His assault against the rule of law and his obstruction of justice should earn him a long prison sentence,
He is an abhorrent aberration, whose cult followers believe they can follow to unleash their in humane ravings.
Until we change leadership, no country other than those with autocratic cult of personality leaders will give us the time of day and rightly so. Until we stand up to this tyrant, we are not free or brave.
2
It’s not that Trump is merely indifferent to cruelty when it happens to black or brown people. It’s not even that he’s trying to uphold a white supremacist patriarchy—I doubt he’d even agree such a construct exists. It’s rather more calculated and simple. Anger is the most useful tool to inspire the irrationally loyal devotion among his supporters that Trump needs to stay in power. And the easiest way to inspire anger is to stoke racial resentments and fears. So long as the right people are suffering, the cruelty is the point, and no amount of moral outrage will change his supporter’s minds. It’s not for nothing that Trump read Mein Kampf.
2
I will say: "Exactly!"
This so called man has shown beyond any shadow of a doubt that the base of his persona is cruelty and evil.
He is worshiped by his uninformed very base base because he gives them permission to be cruel and evil.
He is worshiped by so called religious leaders who have once again crucified the Man they purport to follow.
His cruelty is not just to people of color, or women, or those different from him. His cruelty extends to everyone who is not him.
If We the People do not come out in overwhelming numbers
in November 2020 and send him and his cult/party to the ash heap of history we will find the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the very soul of this Nation on the ash heap of history.
Keep up the good fight, Charles. I will say "Me Too!"
1
A flag will not be flying at my house tomorrow.
No doubt the president should spend less time embracing our flag and more time embracing what our flag stands for.
2
You have, again, written another great column that makes me weep, Mr. Blow.
Continue on your mission. Continue to use your voice to speak for me and others who believe in your words, ideals and share your outrage.
Please. Don't ever stop.
2
"What did you do? What did you say? And for others in my profession, what did you write?"
One doesn't have to be in your profession to want to write. That's why I write more and more to nytimes.com.
Virtually everything Trump says is shocking. Not just what he says but how he says it. Despite thinking himself to be a "stable genius," he has the vocabulary of a ten-year-old. And he makes George W. (far from a genius) sound like Winston Churchill.
2
What will I say, Mr. Blow? I say that as an American I am appalled as you are at what our country has become of – not just at everything you have mentioned, but also at what has become of our military.
We continue to wage war in Afghanistan, though that war was lost the moment George W. Bush decided to invade Iraq.
In Guantanamo, we continue to hold those picked up on the fields of battle in Afghanistan, but because they were subsequently tortured by Americans – and thus won’t ever be convicted or even tried, we will likely keep them in their cages until they die.
LGBT citizens would not be allowed to serve in our military if Trump and the Republicans had their way, though their own sons and daughters are loath to serve.
We continue to lavish money on the Department of Defense, though the brass roaming the halls of the Pentagon are fiscally inept and utterly incapable of spending this largess wisely – much less win a war with it.
These are random thoughts, Mr. Blow, of an angry, frustrated father whose youngest son will next week begin yet another military deployment in our “Global War on Terror.”
1
It’s July 4th, the day NPR reads the Declaration of Independence, the day we celebrate America’s mythology. We’ve spent 246 years congratulating ourselves for overthrowing tyranny, opening our doors to huddled masses, fighting wars to show the world that our way is the right way.
We paper over our national sins with self-righteous rhetoric, but those tanks on the Mall tell it like it really is. So do you, Charles. Keep “Blowing” hard.
1
Please, please , please keep saying it...Please keep writing it, until this nightmare is over. Please.
2
Trump has no difficulty cozying up to scoundrels, because he relates to them. He thinks that there is no right or wrong in his world. He is so used to being written off as an unlikable sort, that he has no difficulty embracing others who might fall into that category. In fact, he would prefer to be around them, because it justifies his existence.
I think it is very clear that our country has been released from the burden of seeking out a better America, and is only interested in a game of winners and losers. The election of Obama has been received by a number of persons as an awakening that they have the ability to have their time. Of course, this all begins and ends with a dramatic hatred of government.
Let this be a lesson to all people in this country that when you criticize the government, you could end up in a much worse place.
2
"And for others in my profession, what did you write?" Your colleague Bret Stephens is writing about Nike shoes.
1
We are uncomfortably close to Washington, DC in Gilead, the fundamentalist regime that's taken over most of the US, as it was portrayed in a recent episode of 'The Handmaid's Tale." The Washington Monument transformed into a cross, the Lincoln Memorial shattered beyond recognition. Far fetched? I think not. Thank you, Charles Blow. Never stop holding all of us accountable.
2
Well said, Mr. Blow, and I am right by your side. My outrage at Trump increases by the day and he astonishes me with his lawless antics on an almost hourly basis. He stated today he was going to defy the Supreme Court and put an illegal citizenship question on the next census, clearly devised to depress minority participation. He is a madman. He is, indeed, a psychopath. He is dangerous. He is evil. And, yes, he is the cruelest of the cruel.
What astounds me most is the cowardly, feckless challenge to this man by Democrats in Congress and the current crop of Presidential contenders. Why are we not impeaching this criminal President? A few members of Congress make frequent appearances in the media and say occasionally strong things about trying to deter Trump, but then they do absolutely nothing. And the only person who seems fearless and candid in his appraisal of Trump amongst those running for President is Joe Biden. But apparently Americans could care less.
The Democrats want to simply ignore Trump and believe in less than a year and a half we will have a new President. I am seriously starting to believe Trump will be handily reelected. And then what do the Democrats do? Another term for Trump and this country will be unrecognizable from any of the run of the mill dictatorships around the world.
We spilled a lot of blood to gain and maintain our freedoms throughout our history. If this man is not stopped by all peaceful means possible, what then?
3
Ignoring others' suffering is not the same as cruelty. We all do it - more often than not.
And that tendency certainly doesn't come from some white supremacist ideology.
There are plenty of non-white people around the world, let's say middle east, Sudan, etc, who are not white and are just as good at ignoring other peoples suffering as whites are.
The fact the donnie enables and promotes this kind of attitude in this country is nothing less than abominable.
The fact that the author sees it as an extension of white supremacist ideology is really more telling about the author's background and insecurities than about reality.
1
Trump cares nothing for anyone but himself. It is apparent to me that Mr. Blow suffers from the same weakness I do: an inability to verbally express the complete and utter contempt we have for Trump. The man has no redeemable qualities, none whatsoever. I have made public my strong opposition to him on multiple occasions. I finally abandoned the effort as an exercise in futility. I keep thinking I should try again but to what avail? Just for the record, which should not matter, I am a white male over 65.
1
The pen is mightier than the tank.
2
I believe Mr. Blow goes to right to the heart of the matter. It’s clear that cruelty is Trump’s m.o. Inflicting pain on the vulnerable is what gives him pleasure and makes him feel big. And he is devoid of empathy, which makes him a sociopath. Think about it.
2
"What will you say?"
I have already said it. I can't wait until Election Day in 2020. I will "vote blue, no matter who." As horrible a person as Donald Trump is, what power he has to inflict cruel policies on a host of recipients is made possible by the silence of Republicans who now hold office, both state and federal. Name one Republican in office who has decried the border policy, who has objected to his tearing up the Iran deal (that actually brings Iran closer to a nuclear weapon), who is not fearful of Trump's "base" and thus being "primaried." 2019 is not an election year but the campaigning and fundraising has already started. I plan to support Democrats financially with the message attached of "impeach him now." Vote against all Republicans if you think Trump is a terrible person and terrible President.
2
Thank you Mr. Blow for refusing to back down, for refusing to compromise with the truth. And the truth is that we have had a rancid dictator in the White House for the last 2 1/2 years. We have had a malignant-narcissist who is interested in himself and in nothing else but his own personal fortune and all the attention that can be lavished on him at any given moment.
Thank you for bringing the question up to America over and over again: is THIS the man you want in the White House for the next four years? Is THIS who you want representing America?
There are those of us in this country who want Donald Trump defeated so soundly that by doing so we can use the example of this man and the damage he has done as a reminder of what must never again happen in this country.
1
I think it's worse than Trump and his minions not caring about cruelty, I think they revel in cruelty. It's part of the appeal.
Cruelty is manly, they believe, and its opposite, kindness, is believed to be deplorable weakness associated with femininity. In order to protect their beloved patriarchy, which they have confused with the United States of America, they feel compelled to promote cruelty and belittle kindness. And yet they call themselves Christians, proving they have no idea what Jesus was talking about. Sad.
2
Shame on you, NYT. We are living in divisive times, and opinion pieces like this only serve to further that divide.
This article is nothing more than a jeremiad against the current administration lazily dressed in a racial context. Trump's praise of Saudi Arabia may certainly be despicable in light Khashoggi's killing, but that has absolutely nothing to do with race or supremacy. Trump's actions with North Korea may seem suspect given the nature of that regime, but again, that has nothing to do with race or supremacy (and it's also a sophomoric point to drag into the discussion anyway: global politics necessitate dealing with governments that suppress their own peoples; Trump and North Korea are hardly the first instance of such).
The crisis at the border may indeed be a humanitarian crisis, but again, this has absolutely nothing to do with race or supremacy.
Any one of these points is a perfectly valid argument to be had against Trump. But throwing them all together in a careless mash in order to claim "it's all about racial cruelty" is sloppy and incoherent.
Thank you for speaking the truth.
2
Not just cruelty. Evil.
Trump and anyone helping him abuse those children is engaging in willful, purposeful evil. Trump may think this is a great strategy to "own lives," but all he's doing is cementing his slot in history as one of the worst people to ever hold public office.
Hopefully when all is said and done, not just Trump, but all the people staffing those camps will be charged with criminal neglect and child abuse. They deserve no less.
1
Charles, there is only one thing left to say if this country ism to undo some of the damage done.
Vote them out of office. Trump and his GOP sycophants. All of them.
1
Where this President has taken our Country in 2 + short years is so shocking that I would have laughed at anyone ridiculous enough to predict it . That we are now a Country that embraces the most vile dictatorships on the planet, that commits the most egregious human rights violations on our borders, that is determined to return us to polluted air and contaminated water, and denies that we have created and continue to contribute to climate change that is already a threat to our existence would have been incomprehensible 3 years ago. This President is the disease, however, he is enabled and empowered by a Republican Senate that has turned it’s back on America and the Constitution. As important as the next election for President will be to rid our Country of this despot we now have, it will be equally as important to flip the Senate, as they have been Trump’s willing ally in destroying this once great Country.
2
It's too easy to ascribe Trump's actions and beliefs as stemming from his perception of white cultural dominance. If that is his sole modus operandi, he would not chum up to MBS or Kim.
He cares nothing about the suffering of anyone. He finger-points minorities to incite white America and to create cultural and racial divides that benefit him politically and financially. Both groups are pawns/rubes in his pursuit of power and wealth. This is his orientation. The world he wants is one where the wealth and power class rule over all others. Oligarchy.
172
Back in the 1950s I saw a movie entitled 'The Bad Seed' with Patty Duke. It was about a young girl who possessed no moral convictions and enjoyed harming other people, including her parents because she was unable to understand that such things are wrong. A friend I saw the movie with, a premed student, said that there is a medical term for bad seed and that it is a real syndrome called 'constitutional inadequate'. Trump seems to fit that type rather closely, though one could also impart a second meaning to the term _constitutional_ inadequate.
2
They say its good for a person to practice gratitude. I am so grateful for you, so grateful that you write for this paper that gives you such wide exposure, so grateful for your clear and elegant prose and for your compassionate heart.
5
"I plan to say, or have my work say, that I never faltered, that it never became normal to me, that my heart bled as well as my pen".
Some of us will say that our country was under siege, and that alien corn grew high as an elephant's eye, revealing our true colors in the face of power;
Some of us will say that a ruined billionaire tried to take this Land, our Land, with threats and ill-measured acts of cruelty. It was a moment in history, where a dark cloud covered the nation; where we sent our children out to play, while we revisited the land of Narnia in search of Aslan.
But we never faltered in our love for country, or our belief that America would trump the lost man, who sought to impoverish our spirit. The Nation paused. We remembered the heart that once truly loves, never forgets, but as truly loves on to the close, as the sunflower turns to her creator when he sets, the same look that he turned when he rose.
10
How come the Democrats don't hold some rallies themselves, in this coming primary season?
They could have all the candidates attend and emphasize what Democrats have in common, which is opposition to Trumpism.
Get Democratic musicians to donate 20 minutes each.
Think outside the box.
18
Justin Amash just quit the Republican Party. He's written an article in the Washington Post about why he did that. We need more people like Congressman Amash who is standing up for what's right in an impressive way!
19
Mr. Trump is, by education and inexperience, clearly unsuited to be the President of any country, let alone of the United States. Its people had a chance to deny him that office. It was given to him by the Constitution’s manner of counting presidential votes.
The Democratic Party truncated itself during its time in office by election loss after loss, and ultimately put up a problematic presidential candidate, full of herself, unfortunately physically ill with diffuse venous vascular pathology, including intracranial thrombosis, and with pneumonia during her campaign, grossly careless with national security, and overtly verbally dismissal of a voting segment of the population.
The problem of world wide peoples’ migration is not limited to the United States. What must be made clear to its people that if they are to bear the economic and social burden of virtually uncontrolled immigration, that they must accept the accompanying burden of taxation and population and cultural diversity, including that which overtly calls, in the words of a leading Democratic Party candidate, for “political revolution.”
Failing that, Mr. Blow’s extreme emotionality will accomplish nothing at all.
A practical, ‘middle way” must be found, and soon. It may not satisfy all sides, but may be able to accomplish what is actually achievable, providing realistic asylum to a substantial number of migrants, and promoting their true integration into the existing legal and socioeconomic structure.
2
Never normalize Trump has been your motto from day 1. And it is mine.
We need to hear more of this from the media - and from ourselves. Thank you, Charles.
33
@Kenny G. Are you kidding? That’s all you hear from the media.
So perfectly stated. Thank you, Charles. This column is a keeper and a challenge to all of us who are appalled by this administration. We cannot sit back and think that the "pendulum is going to swing back to normalcy". We must get involved. We must educate ourselves, then speak, write and act to achieve change, to emerge from this nightmare.
25
Denunciation is not enough.
Practical efforts are needed, reasonable proposals pushed, for remedy.
Take as an example the border. Trump is wrong. But where are the efforts and where is the money to house people better? Those denouncing Trump won't appropriate for doing better because it would enable Trump, and make his actions less unsavory.
It would be better to show him up by doing right by people at the border, or at least trying. Polarization has gone so far that doing right has fallen away, in favor of screaming at and about each other.
11
The Congress has passed a bill and it has been signed that provides about $4.6 billion to help with the humanitarian crisis at the border. Hopefully the executive branch will spend it as appropriated to provide better housing, food and other necessities along with more judges to help with the asylum process.
Impeccable. Captures this moment in history in an unflinching and powerful way.
30
This editorial is right on the money. I am so upset and outraged by this administration and what it says, does, and advocates that I can't even focus on one or two things to fight for. Every day there is something new to be livid about. Meanwhile we are losing our democracy.
55
@Beth Hunt
Your're right, but you still must pick one or two things a focus on them! Otherwise, he wins (they win). Courage!
Don't worry about redundancy. The condemnation of this man and his actions needs to be repeated over and over again. His actions desecrate our country and its values. We need to be reminded of that constantly until we take back our country.
50
An interesting approach, which may in fact reflect the fundamental problem with the progressive agenda. Mr. Blow is concerned about how his reactions during this time of selfishness and callousness will be perceived. He's interested in how he will be looked at by posterity. I am more interested in how the Democratic party will win back power. To do so requires pragmatism and realism. But too many of these folks are ideologues concerned about their appearance. Exhibit A: The recent Democratic Party debates. I would argue that it's exactly people like Mr. Blow that share in the responsibility for today's political quagmire.
10
@Independent
Pragmatism and realism require recognizing and naming fascism when it is in our midst and determined to finish 'making America great.'
1
@Independent
The democrats and journalists are not to blame here. Instead it is the 74K voters in the electoral college that put this person in office.
@Independent
You're full of it, plain and simple.
Mr. Blow is stating the moral element at the basis for decency and effective, humane policy.
You're just pointing fingers.
I'll say that it is so much bigger than Trump. The Republican party has morphed into the pre-civil-rights-revolution Southern Democratic/Dixiecrat Party. That was a political entity that was calmly at peace advocating and sustaining the cruelty you so well describe here Charles. Segregation was a target of that cruelty, not its reason to be.
That Trump's reelection in 2020 is considered a credible outcome, is evidence that old segregationist DNA is not only re-emergent, but on a much grander, more powerful, national scale.
32
Thank you, Charles Blow, for your passionate cry of and for resistance. Cruelty isn't just the mode of contemporary America, it's baked into the human condition. No generation of people will ever escape the question, "What did you do in the face of human cruelty when you were alive?" The future of our species on this lovely planet hangs in the balance. There is a simple and direct way to facilitate our self-preservation, i.e. Take Responsibility for our choices and actions. Facing the world means facing ourselves and taking personal responsibility. Existentialism: existence precedes essence. In other words, who we are is based on our choices and actions. Nobody is born good or evil. Everybody makes choices.
I believe enough people will stand with you, Charles, without fear or anger. We will sacrifice ourselves to overcome the dark angels of our self-defeating and self-destructive choices. There's more on the line than who our next president will be.
20
I think that Donald Trump sees cruelty as a sign of strength. He's not sadistic, though. He actually has shown a few signs of being able, very briefly, to feel sorry for the pain of someone else who's extremely unthreatening to him. Mainly, though, he doesn't want to have to think about other people except in terms of whether or not they like him, and whether or not he can use them. And I really believe that he'd find it distressing to watch someone being tortured. Therefore, he'll try not to know about it, except in the abstract.
57
@Stephen Merritt I think that the few signs of empathy you are referring to reflect the pain of universal censure and bad media coverage rather than anyone else's pain -- he is obsessed with his image and all his family follow after him -- surface over substance is what defines this shallow man and his family.
67
@Stephen Merritt And how does this make it better for our country?
7
@Stephen Merritt
Every bone in his body is cruel. He has no capacity for empathy.
Self promotion,disparaging others, and a need for power are the traits he exhibits daily.
If you believe he could not watch torture, can you explain his actions towards the Saudis after they tortured and killed Jamal Khashoggi? Friends?
16
I escaped a communist Romania in March 1981, after crossing the Danube, Yugoslavia and the Alps, risking my life. A refugee in US soon, I worked very hard, saved money and in 1983 I opened a first bakery-cafe in Anchorage, Alaska, one of many other businesses. I employed hundreds of American born employees and many immigrants. I paid a lot of taxes.
I was stopped a year ago on I 90 through north-east Wyoming for driving 3 miles over the speed limit (out of state plates). I was given a cruel treatment by an officer half my age. I produced my American passport and told the officer that I got my US citizenship in 1987. I was interrogated about my whereabouts, my history in the country, why I own commercial properties in Ohio, and on and on... Then followed a car search for drugs that lasted half an hour. I asked the officer why he treated me such, and if it was because of my foreign accent. He lashed at me and told me that he could take me in for insulting an officer. I responded that he was abusing his prerogatives, his duties, that contrary to securing the country he was an abusive individual who was not doing his job; moreover, that his was in flagrant violation of duties and brought gratuitous insults to a good US citizen who contributed substantially to the country.
Furthermore I informed the officer that I could take it to his superiors and inform the media. He was fuming.
I had similar encounters, and from fellow immigrants I found out this is common. This is cruelty!
66
@Nicholas
Remember Trump once advised police officers not to be so gentle when putting suspects in police cars.
They have presidential permission now.
36
@Nicholas
I know this was unpleasant for you, but I'm glad you stood up to that officer. I was born in the US and am white, yet I was once followed and eventually by a state trooper in CT because I did not give him the right-of-way when HE had the yield sign and was not showing any signs of urgency--no lights, no siren. I called his commanding officer and complained. That too was an abuse of police power.
30
@Caded It gets crazier. I was selling a 6-plex and 4-plex in eastern Ohio to a young IT man who lived in the Bay Area and hired a local attorney to do the papers. The attorney would not believe that I was a citizen even though I presented the passport. I was an immigrant, had to be treated with disrespect, make it har or impossible. It was utterly dumb.
So it is not just Trump, it is a culture that has gone wrong in parts of the country, where all that is ugly has been brought to the surface and amplified by the barking dogs of the far right, indiscriminately, nonsensically. That is why US is losing friends and allies overseas and is squandering the good will it so hard fought to accumulate. It is a sad time in the life of America; this must be dealt with squarely; democracy is tenuous, and the unfortunate normalcy bias makes many lazy at upholding democracy. We must wake up and step up the fight against this type of Trumpian fascism that is creeping up under this monster and usurper of democracy - Trump!
3
Indeed, he is totally indifferent. Contemptuous, really. He is the living, breathing (apparently) embodiment of shameful entitlement and disregard.
Tomorrow will be a sad day on the Mall—defiled by military flyovers, tanks used as props around our great civic monuments, with exclusive, ticketed seating for donors, paid for with precious funds stolen from our National Parks. As all this happens, that man will not think once about his brothers and sisters suffering in overcrowded, filthy cells at the border, or seeking justice all through the land.
201
The Manichean contrast between the squalid conditions in the migrant detention centers and Donald Trump's July Fourth exercise in pathological narcissism is an absolute obscenity, and a national disgrace. It italicizes the mendacious banality of Donald Trump. The contrast is the perfect metaphor for his utter lack of humanity and basic human decency and " the whole world is watching ".
290
"There is a through line in Trump behavior, and it runs directly through his perception of white cultural dominance" - note, that's white MALE cultural dominance.
16
@KEF It's not the way we would like for it to be but it is the way it is. We have to work within the system.
They’re making a fool of our nonexistent system. Wake up, please.
I want to read the beautiful letters.
11
Writing about the atrocities of Trump is necessary.
Writing about the betrayal of the Republicans in Congress is necessary.
Writing about the propaganda misleading Americans is necessary.
Writing about the Fox audience of white racists is necessary.
But what we really need is for ALL MAINSTREAM MEDIA to blast news of these ills nonstop.
And even more important, we need someone to step forward and lead The People to the streets to oppose what is happening to America. Republicans in Congress aid and abet Trump's cruelty and demeaning of America. If Congress won't do its job then it is up to The People to save America.
28
@JABarry I am in. I have expressed this to no avail many times. See my last line. I have yet to read many comments like yours supporting a mass demonstration on Washington. Is it the lack of a leader to spearhead it? Is it the inability of a group like Move On to mobilize it? Is it the lazy days of summer? Is it missing a paycheck (Saturday)? Is it just complacency? Is it the excuse that marches don't spark change (Womens' MeToo March, Parkland students NeverAgain and MLK Civil Rights)? Is it the unrealistic hope that 2020 will change a GOP Senate)? Is it that everyone is worn out? Is that boycotts are more effective)? Is it that there is still an unrealistic hope of impeachment? Is it the excuse that Hong Kong is small? If the answer lies in some of the above, one should turn to the Parkland millennials for guidance and get a blueprint of how they pulled off a massive national protest in only five weeks after the massacre.Turnout all over the country and even in other countries was estimated to be between 1.2 and 2 million people making it one of the largest protests in U.S. history. Maybe it is the next generation that can inspire this one to march and give us hope through their energy to do something now. After all, they will inherit what this administration has done.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/26/us/march-for-our-lives/index.html
Reply to this comment. I volunteer to see if any of them are here for the summer to talk. I'm weary of just complaining with words on paper.
2
@JABarry They are too busy thrashing the candidate who has the best chance of beating Trump.
@JABarry
As long as the people in the streets are peaceful.
We've all known people who are mean for the sake of being mean. That's Trump, and his supporters are just like him, and are relieved that they can display their cruelty. The only solution is to keep them in the minority and make sure they're not in charge. The Germans learned that lesson the hard way.
28
@Kristine That is a superficial understanding of human nature. People have a reason for behaving the way they do. Truman thought he had a good reason for dropping two bombs on Japan that killed a lot of innocent men, women, and children. George Bush and Dick Cheney thought they had good reasons for lying the country into the Iraq war. Truman ended World War II, Bush started the chaos we live with to this day in the Middle East.
Watch his rallies. Look at the faces. The cruelty is fun for 40% of the country. Fun enough to accept his lies. Fun enough to vote for another term.
The cruelty is toxic.
Toxicity = dose.
The only way out of this is to dilute this 40% is with an overwhelming turnout.
34
Charles Blow has the gift of weaving his feelings movingly into his writing, as he does today. I wish that the Times had given this piece more prominence today. Yes, we need to take stock of what we are doing and will realize, as I do, that we must do more. The challenge is immense because the appeal of cruelty in support of white supremacy contributes to the stability of Trump's polling numbers.
18
Bravo Zulu (Well Done! in Navy parlance ) Charles. I am a Navy Veteran ('65-''69) and a retired federal prosecuting attorney.
Readers should not forget the mastermind and,indeed, architect of Trump's cruelty policies: Stephen Miller.
Miller, like everyone who works, or has worked, in Trump's administration, has forgotten that they are, if nothing else, public servants. I took pride in my work and took my responsibilities very seriously.
So imagine my astonishment as I watched the tape of the DOJ attorney pathetically attempting, and failing to make making an argument to a Federal District Court Judge that detained children were not entitled to a toothbrush. Disgraceful!
26
I'm with you, Mr. Blow. As an older, white woman, born here in the USA, I am appalled at the number of trump-supporting Americans who were apparently just in hiding about their racism all along, until trump came along and normalized it all. You are totally correct - white cultural domination is absolutely what trump and his followers are all about. I feel like a stranger in my own country.
It's disgusting. But more than that, it's frightening.
32
I feel sorry for the next President because if you think a defeated Trump is going quietly - think again. Trump will troll the next President like nothing we have ever scene. He will think he has a right even more than he did when Obama was President.
I hope the media can get together and decide to ignore this man when he is done. That is the only way to end this.
12
There are many other ways.
2
I say I agree with Charles M Blow's every word in this article. I also hope someone would find a way that carries out all the well written words into an action that will rid us of all the Evil Not my President and the rest of the Republican party evil doers.
15
Thank you Mr. Blow. Yes it is the cruelty. And the inhumanity.
We the people must act, legally and peacefully, to stop policies that harm people.
As a former Goldwater Republican who joined the U.S. Public Health Service in 1966 to control air pollution, I slowly learned that Republican policies were harming people in many cruel ways.
Elections do indeed have consequences for good or evil. We must act on the existential threats of inequality, injustice, and instability that we all face. See
https://www.legalreader.com/elections-for-the-people/
12
Thank you, Mr. Blow, for your eloquence and honesty. The cruelty of this president, and his minions is unconscionable. History gives us all too many lessons about the price of silence and the endurance and courage required to take down despots. The responsibility for change is up to those of us who find cruelty reprehensible. Talk out loud, not just to like-minded friends; write, to representatives and demand more action; write for a local paper or newsletter; talk to people who think differently; be uncomfortable at a family dinner; march; sing; stand; demand. I grew up learning about the tactics of Roy Cohn and the question "what did ordinary Germans do?" We have concentration camps at our southern border and Roy Cohn in the white house. What will each of us do?
9
“ . . . psychopathic individuals do not simply lack empathy. Instead, it seems as though for most of us, empathy is the default mode. If we see a victim, we share her pain. For the psychopathic criminals of our study, empathy seemed to be a voluntary activity. If they want to, they can empathize, and that explains how they can be so charming, and maybe so manipulative. Once they have seduced you into doing what serves their purpose, the effortful empathy would though probably disappear again. Free of the constraints of empathy, they is then little to stop them from using violence.”
- Kristian Keysers -“The Empathetic Brain”
6
Blow dedicates his weekly Opinions to to vitriolic political rhetoric about "the pain and hardships of racial minorities".
In doing so, he reinforces the stereotype that black Americans, as a group, are separate and different, from all other Americans.
His rhetoric is damaging to all Americans, especially black Americans, since the goal should be to view black Americans as Americans like all others..
6
From the comments thus far, so desensitized are we to our own racism that, very sadly and painfully, the author’s argument is lost here.
2
I don't believe Trump is blind to cruelty, I think he craves it. He believes that cruelty towards children, minorities, the poor, or women mean that he is strong and courageous. Apparently many other Republicans share this belief.
8
It must be a thankless task to be forced to write a regular column describing the obvious relative absurdity of a platypus compared to all other creatures. A creative thinker might ask: Why is this one so special that everyone can’t help but stare, laugh or cry?
The Chinese have a piece of wisdom, that corruption starts at the top and flows down, while punishments start at the bottom and slowly rise.
Trump's cruelty has brought out the worst in his subordinates and has had a corrupting influence on our government at every level, down to functionaries at our southern border.
Trump is standing atop the cataract and his cruelty is crashing down, with the most lowly paying the dearest price.
Who ever said that trickle-down doesn't work?
9
Trump has made it very clear. Those who join him tonight in front of the Lincoln Memorial are "The Real" Americans. The rest of us?
When talking about the kidnapping and abuse of the migrant children, people who value human decency are derided as Un-American because don't you know, we have Laws! and they need to be followed! and they just should stay home if they don't want to be put in cages!
Why am I not 'American' if I think people especially children should be treated with minimum standards of health and safety?
Why would I be less an American because I think that there is money to supply soap?
The purposeful cruelty of the Trump administration and it's supporters is scary. But then again I am 65 yo and white and thus have not had to see the ugly before. The inadequacy of our government is scary. It seems like it can't do a darn thing to stop the cruelty and I have to ask why? Do our laws not work anymore?
I see little to celebrate this 4th and hope that will change.
6
At this point, I can only say what just about everyone here in New York City is thinking:
We tried to warn you about Donald Trump. You didn't listen.
And now the country is paying for it in a way too terrible to imagine because all the venal hatred, racism and cruelty that he has unleashed since being in the White House has poisoned the national waters and will last long after he's gone.
How Trump has been able to get away with all the things he's said and done -- and with help from Mitch McConnell and a Republican Senate, simply flies in the face of everything this country is supposed to stand for and represent.
I have never been as ashamed and appalled by America as I am now.
I don't recognize it anymore.
And worse. I'm not sure I even want to.
16
@N. Smith
Beautifully expressed. Thank you.
NOT my president
"He brags about trading valentines with the ruthless North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, saying at a political rally in September:" And Joe Biden was roundly criticized by all the media outlets and accused of "being hurtful" for relating how he tried to work with DULY elected members of Congress who were segregationists. Everyone including this author claims to want to beat Trump but then demonizes the candidate with the best chance of doing just that. The media and race baiting blacks are Trump's best allies.
1
@dbl06 Everyone is going to be vetted. EVERYONE. Hopefully, Joe can come up with better responses next time.
Any list of Trump’s many crimes against the United States should certainly include his “secret” conversations and conspiracies with Vladimir Putin and other Russian operatives, as well as his determination to cripple our nation and undermine our government with the help of America’s most relentless enemies.
As the Mueller Report makes clear, Trump is facing much more than felony charges of obstruction of justice. His conspiracies with foreign dictators against the US and his many, many apparent acts of treason are all capital crimes, just like rape and murder.
Capital crimes used to trigger capital punishment. But today, a death sentence is usually commuted to life in prison. Either way, Trump must receive the harshest possible punishment for his war on America, our government and our citizens.
6
Great piece, Charles. Thank you.
5
This is an an excellent column and I believe an accurate description of the abomination that is the president. What is more disconcerting than Mr. Blow’s words is the realization that a significant number of people support Trump. And that he has raised many millions of dollars for his re-election campaign. Who are the donors? Why are they supporting such an amoral, abhorrent individual?
7
Completely correct. Trump represents sadistic cruelty elevated to a political philosophy. We have refugees streaming across our border. Even if we are going to send them back where they came from, can't we at least be civil and respectful to them as we do it? Trump relishes the sadism of it all. It was the same on his TV show.
The sooner he leaves, the better.
7
There is no doubt about your courage and tenacity, Mr. Blow. Thank you for that and please continue to speak the bare-naked truth about this horrible man and his facilitators.
I’m astonished daily by the indifference of Republican politicians who choose to ignore the damage being done to our country by this man. I hope for change but fear where we’re headed.
5
I have come to the realization that Trump must face impeachment. Even if he is re-elected, for the surivival of the United States and the world, Turmp's policies and the dishonest and unethical way he lives his life must be discredited.
We will soon have a generation of Americans who think anything is ok so long as you can get away with it. Consider how dangerous that will be.
7
Thank you for this article. We need to look straight at what this abomination of a president is doing.
6
Not indifference to cruelty, Mr Blow. Enjoyment of it. A seeking and celebration of it. For both the would-be dictator and his followers, cruelty is pleasure; if you have power and are decent to people, what demonstration of superiority, what warmth of dominance, is in that? It's when you force people to do what they would never choose--to live in squalor or lose their children or be put in camps or watch their nation be dragged into shame. It's when you threaten, bluster, chant, shoot, lie, and people tremble. That's when you feel the surge of power that's a bully's treat, a tyrant's addiction. It's a deep sickness, one that can infect a nation and if it should continue long, destroy a world. It must not stand.
13
Beautifully, perfected written. Thank you.
Mr. Blow, thank you for this. Very hard to know what an individual can do that can make a difference. I keep calling Mitch McConnell’s office - never once have I gotten through to leave a message or to speak with a person. If I go to his website I have to make up a Kentucky zip code in order to enter an email that he will accept (and then I admit I lied about the zip code so as to be an honest citizen). What is happening regarding every issue you mentioned is beyond outrageous —- our country is committing crimes against humanity. The silence is hurting my soul.
4
Toothbrushes or tanks?
Donald Trump is not a racist. Do you really think he cares about the loss long term of markets for U.S. Farmers?
He has disdain for all colors but green, silver, and gold.
1
I don't think it is limited to minorities. Trump experiences empathy rarely, if ever.
1
There is not one iota of indifference to cruelty in this administration. There is an unbridled enthusiasm for it, a relentless devotion to it, a deliberate planning of it again and again and again. And with good reason. It obviously thrills the base. Very few of Trump's supporters are holding their noses. They love everything they see.
There were demonstrators out there, expressing their support for our concentration camps. What could better tell the tale?
4
Charles, I've sometimes wondered how accurate your own use/love of hyperbole was, but it's become abundantly clear that you have a well intentioned conscience guiding your typing hands as you passionately communicate your ultimate concerns to the Public. Trump, on the other hand, lacks conscience, reason, informed (meaning "unformed") moral sensibilities, and sound governing skill. Your call to action in this article, reminiscent of George C. Scott's Oscar winning rendition of Gen. Patton's opening salvo in the movie "Patton," is no doubt intentional, and well crafted. Will Simon and Garfunkel now come forward with an updated version of "The Boxer?" Will Aaron Sorken come forward with at least a few more sequel episodes of "West Wing?" Will current and former members of the U.S. Senate, of whatever party affiliation, champion the Spirot of Jimmy Stewart, as if Good Government, and fair dealing actually mattered?
1
"Trump will likely spend millions on his vanity spectacle just weeks after his administration argued in court that immigrant children didn’t need to be provided soap and toothbrushes."
He will also demand adulation and loyalty in front of the Lincoln Memorial, on the nation's birthday just as he announces his ICE roundups of people for deportation.
I don't think we can keep calling Donald Trump an ignorant or careless president. He knows full well what he's doing, who he's hurting, and does it anyway. In his perverse way, as Charles points out so well, he even enjoys it. Payback for President Obama making fun of him in 2011. Payback for a lifetime of listening to a racist father rant against people of color.
I don't understand why Donald Trump is so angry that he takes it out on the world.
But I do understand that we're reaching a point of no return; and unless we're willing to resist oppression as those New England farmers did over 240 years ago, we may regret our acquiescence.
6
It’s not just his indifference to cruelty that attracts him to these other tyrants. Indifference only explains why he excuses them.
As the extreme narcissist he is, it’s that he recognizes himself in them; he really did fall in love because he saw himself, or his idealized - however horrible to us - version of himself, an ‘adored’ dictator with the backing of military might who never backs down.
2
i will say good bye to the US.
even if you get rid of trump there are tens of millions of evangelical christians who will gladly strip rights away from women, there are tens of millions of blood thirsty gun owners and tens more millions of americans who get their news from fox and are ignorant enough to vote republican. republicans won. it may not descend all the way to genocide. but we are most assuredly heading in the direction of genocide AND/OR civil war. with the conservative majority in the supreme court gerrymandering russian intervention and mitch mcconnell democrats won't have any power for a long time.
i don't know how i will be able to live in another country. but i can not with a clear conscience continue to pay taxes to fund this country's government to pay the salaries of trumps to pay for armed patrols to take babies from their parents. america today is germany in the 30s. run for your lives.
7
What then, are we supposed to do with all of the people flooding across our borders? Legally, we cannot hold families for more than 21 days and just lettting them go is crazy - they do not show up for court dates and simply melt away into the shadows. I don't like the cages and inadequate facilities either, but this is a problem CONGRESS should fix. It is their responsibility. The Excutive branch of government is bound by the Constitution to enforce the exsiting border laws as they are; not as you or anyone else wishes they were. John Kelly had it right when he told Congress, "if you dont like what's going on at the border, shut up and change the laws".
3
Screaming outrage about Trump is entirely appropriate, necessary, essential, but the fact that it does not come, in almost any form, from Republicans shows that the problem is not just this one out of balance, uneducated, inexperienced real estate promoter in the White House. Republicans are silent. They look the other way when Trump laughs it up with Putin and goes kissy faced with the murderous North Korean sadist.
Why? What happened to patriotism and country over party? Of course, they are afraid of Trump and his tweet storms and afraid of losing re-election. This should go on their tombstones: "I was silent."
We are buried in rancid partisanship, us versus them, which hold that NOTHING our guy does is half as bad as their guy. This is a sickness of partisan fever that has infected our nation to the core.
We must understand, however, that Trump's excesses are an expression of long standing distortions and problems.
Cruelty to border jumpers was occurring before Trump. People were dying in the southern deserts because border agents were kicking over water containers designed to save lives. Millions of undocumented immigrants were being deported regardless of the legal status of their children.
We have failed to fully and finally address the massive damage of racism. We spend billions on poverty programs but workers at low end jobs don't make enough to support themselves. Still, no complete answer to health care although we spend more per capita than any other nation.
4
Let me state for the record, I am against Trump and everything he stands for. He is an abomination, a disgrace to this country. I still cannot believe he is president. I will never get used to it.
On a related topic, I just read where the 90 year old founder of Home Depot is donating part of his legacy to the Trump campaign. That did it for me. I will shop at Lowe's or Ace Hardware. They may also be for Trump, but I am nor aware of it at this point.
5
Mr. Blow, you probably wrote this piece before this mockery of a human being tweeted that many of the migrants in crowded, uncomfortable and questionably sanitary facilities, separated from their families, were "living far better now than where they came from". I am sure this gives great succor to the thousands who have no idea what tomorrow will bring, or if they will ever see their children again. Welcome to Trump's America.
And tomorrow he will make a mockery of Independence Day, turning our celebration of a separation from an oppressor to a paean to a would be oppressor. Trump has an affinity with thugs and tyrants because he in his heart of hearts also is a thug and tyrant.
Thank you for throwing out a challenge to your readers to not sit and numbly watch the desecration of what those brave, true patriots started over 240 years ago. The values and ideals that have made this country great cannot be taken for granted. They must be fought for, in any way possible.
4
I always used to wonder, had I been born into Germany during the rise and triumph of fascism, who would I be? Would I hunker down and ignore it? Would I embrace it and cheer it? Would I wrinkle my nose but profit by it? Would I wish to fight it but be too afraid? Would I have the courage to speak out and lose everything thereby?
I always wondered, but I never, ever, ever wished for the opportunity to find out.
Yet here we are.
6
Perhaps this is just semantics, I don't think Trump "cares nothing about the suffering of racial minorities." I think he takes great satisfaction in that suffering. It shows to his cult his power to dominate those they together view as worthless, dirty, disease-ridden. The suffering of those under his foot is the visible proof of his power to dominate.
I think we should all be paying serious attention to Tucker Carlson's remark the other day, by way of praising Trump for his affection for Kim Jong Un, that in order to run countries "you need to kill people." Trump is steadily pushing at the boundary of what he can get away with in terms of cruelty. People like Carlson are helping. Mr. Blow is right; we are all in great danger, some physical, some moral.
5
This essay could be seamlessly directed to the collaborators Mitch McConnell and the Republican Party. Dictators require apparatchiks to really flourish.
7
I do agree with the basic premise of this opinion piece, as I have with many others which all say essentially the same thin gs about Mr. Trump; he is cruel, selfish, greedy for attention. and ignorant.
However, it's to the detriment of nuanced reportage that he is parsed so closely to accentuate or illustrate these yucky traits. When one cries wolf too soon, too often, and about too small a wolf, when the big bad wolf rely does come along no one is paying attention anymore. That's the conventional wisdom about wolves, and to extrapolate, about evil deeds and those who perpetrate them.
We have a real problem in this country and it is getting worse. I would fervently request that those who speak about it - incipient fascism, in a nutshell - emphasize not the petty but the really significant problems and actions we are facing and on which they are impelled to report.
1
"God help us" - a mantra infused throughout the commentariat. America's cruelty is on display for the world.
News flash! God will not help us. It's up to US. Only massive demonstrations will turn the tide and stop the madness until we the people can get into the polling places and crush the party and people of hate.
2
I am watching the Democratic debates closely and have my favorites in mind. Wichever candidate gets the most support will get my vote in the general election. I am liberal but my vote needs to go to a democratic candidate that can win to beat this horrible sham of a president.
VOTE in 2020
3
Thank you Mr. Blow, for expressing my feelings so perfectly. Trump, whose campaign was a travesty helped along by the Russians, and whose speeches, comments and tweets reveal a sociopathic narcissism and unbridled racism telegraphed exactly what was to come, but his supporters failed to notice.
And today, rather than being outraged at Trump's lawlessness and his swagger as he destroys our nation's standing in the world, his supporters encourage more boorish and hate-filled vitriol, and ask God's blessings on him and his family. This is sick, wrong, and disgraceful. This isn't the country I grew up in - this is a foreign land I don't recognize, and half its citizens seem bent on its destruction from within.
What can we do as private citizens? I live a continent away from DC - marching in protest there is not an option. I speak out as best I can, but I genuinely fear for the America I love, especially if Trump is re-elected. I pray that our loving God will intervene on behalf of those who suffer under Trump.
Oh, and happy 4th of July. I fear that our forefathers are spinning in their graves as Trump tramples on their dreams.
4
Trump must resign immediately and be turned over to the World Court at the Hague for crimes against humanity.
What else is there?
6
Thank you Mr. Blow, for your clear-headed, articulate and forthright testament that is a condemnation of the policies and intention of the current administration. History shows that this attitude, this stain has been a consistent virus in Western culture and our country, and at regular intervals has been given the green light to bubble up out into the open. Like many others, I write, I call, I protest, I send money- but also, like many others I am slack jawed and feel helpless in my embarrassment and fury at what this country is ‘allowing’ to happen. Those with a conscience and power (including journalists with the power of the pen) must continue to speak it outloud. Our future depends on it.
3
The border detention units are handy in case a Democrat wins in 2020, and starts to build socialism and spend the country's resources on trying to change the Earth climate.
Then there will be a wall to try to stem the flow of US citizens fleeing to Mexico. And detention centers for the ones caught, before they are sent to GULAGs in Alaska...
PS As I come from Eastern Europe, I can assure you that you just can't build socialism without GULAGs. No way.
1
The problem is not only that this is a person full of hate, but that over 60 million Americans admire that quality. We could have prevented this if we properly educated our people instead of feeding them garbage for decades. Garbage is a cheaper and more plentiful source of nourishment. Blame goes to our leaders who for decades taught us to hate.
This man has been a clear and present danger to all of us since his first utterances when running for president.
1
Mr. Blow, how could we survive this time without you? Stick to your guns (metaphorical…). Never has your insight been more needed.
What will I say? I immediately started contributing to institutions that can help thwart all that DJT wants to do. I am paying attention as never before to the primary debates. I am reading the NYT and WP (and subscribing) to keep informed. And, in spite of living abroad for 30 years, I will VOTE.
2
“Donald Trump continues to remind us that he does not care about the pain and hardships of racial minorities.”
“I believe that it speaks to a blindness, or more precisely, an indifference to cruelty. This also crops up in domestic policy, where the indifference is particularly acute when those who suffer are somehow other: black or brown, female or trans, Muslim or migrant.”
“It has always been about bending the rest of America, the rest of reality, really, into subordination to the white supremacist patriarchy.”
So much of this echos the same divisiveness that Trump so wantonly promulgates.
Millions upon millions of Americans absent the ethnic, racial, religious and gender distinctions are the targets and victims of this presidents boundless bigotry, arrogance and indifference.
1
“It’s the cruelty, stupid. It has always been about cruelty: racial cruelty, gender cruelty, religious cruelty. It has always been about bending the rest of America, the rest of reality, really, into subordination to the white supremacist patriarchy.”
Thank you for your courage, Charles. You speak for me with these strong words. The acts of this administration, shocking and bizarre at first, have now become atrocities, we have seen for ourselves the conditions at the border. It falls on intrepid reporters to shine the light on them and gifted writers to call them what they are.
So we do our part and hope for the day of reckoning to come.
But there is no way one man could do these things alone. Without the complicity of his party, his voters and contributors and his family, he would not succeed. Sadly, I have to add with the inaction by those who could do something, namely, the House leadership, he feels omnipotent.
2
Charles, you buoy me with every heartfelt, passionate column. I have come to cling to you like a life preserver in this typhoon of duplicity and cruelty.
But huge swaths of this country do not know you exist. Fox News is on 24/7 in 80% of this once-great country. What Ailes wrought and Murdoch perpetuates has become the actual Voice of America--that and Sinclair Radio and Limbaugh and his imitators. How many followers does Trump have on Twitter? Sixty million? Liberal messaging has been effectively snuffed out in state after state.
What we now have is an Orwellian ubiquity. It can't be turned off--not in bars, auto repair shops, even hospitals. Please do not dismiss this as hyperbole. Millions upon millions of our fellow citizens have effectively become brainwashed.
I see the adoring faces of the Trump cultists at his rallies, and I have to suppress dry heaves of fear. There is a latent violence out there. Trump and his machine are hard at work every day trying to bring it to a boil. His two undying hatreds are for Obama and all Democrats. Liberals have become The Other, the scapegoat every autocrat needs in order to throw off the rule of law.
It can't be said strongly enough. We are in a war for the Soul of our Nation. The outcome is gravely in doubt.
6
Let's not forget his tolerance of incipient antisemitism. As in the past, we Jews and people of color are marginalized together. It is a sad state -- we must overcome.
2
Now more than ever everyone who finds the Trump regime abhorrent needs to speak out. Not just journalists but everyone, no matter what the cost. We're witnessing Trump's lawless regime trying to seize unlimited power. The trappings of dictatorship are falling into place. Unprecedented glorification of the military and its commander in chief. Concentration camps (that's what they are). Assaults on the press. Celebration of authoritarian leaders. If you want to save democracy and your soul, speak out!
4
Silence is acceptance.
Thank you to Charles, and all the others who speak out against this abominable administration.
2
It seems that Trump only loves evil world leaders when he lacks the historical knowledge and diplomatic and political skills to oppose them. By saying he loves them, he can be excused for doing nothing.
1
To cut the funding to Central America, to foster refugee caravans to our border, and then employ on them psychological torture through the separation of children and parents, and cage them like animals, and cause 7 deaths and counting - is the most diabolical illustration of racism and hate to date on this large of a scale at one time. I will continue to cite James Baldwin's dictum that America will either confront and move beyond its' racism or it will destroy itself as a nation. And to those that say it can't be done - I say that it is because you have been kept from the Gospel by fundamentalists and their pagan gods of violence. We can change the conditions in Central America, just as we created the mayhem there through our past policies of corporate exploitation of workers. We can live without the tyranny of a white minority ruling America. We can be better than this monarch king's family dynasty built on hate. Freedom is our future. It is built on love and social justice. Fear and hate is our enslavement. Starting with our environment and the inclusion of dignity and freedom for all our humanity we are being called to choose life and live. This is what the Fourth of July is about.
2
Charles is a great writer. The problem is anyone reading this paper is already on board. What amount of shock and horror is it going to take to make this country of ours realize what has happened? I am now seriously thinking of moving my family out of the U.S.
2
Just curious.... what would happen if the2020 Democratic ticket was Harris & Warren? it has been 2 men for 240+ years.... we can see how that has been working out
2
American "conservatism" has always been indifferent to cruelty.
2
If Trump ignores the will of the courts on the census decision— will the Democrats FINALLY begin impeachment proceedings?
2
I truly believe that 40 percent of our country is under the spell of some sort of collective mental illness.
How can any sane, kind and loving person justify the degradation of children and people trying to escape the misery of their countries for a better life here?
Tanks in the streets that the military doesn’t even want to do?
It’s sick, crazy and mentally ill. And there’s no low to him. That’s the really scary part.
I do have faith in our country, but I agonize over what’s going on every single day.
7
" Why does the American president have such an affinity, a fetish even, for the world’s dictators while at the same time spurning many of America’s traditional allies?"
Do you think the western traditional allies are any better? Look at what they do to drowning migrants coming from Libya. There they have threatened Libyan Govt. that if they don't stop migrant flows, they would attack Libya.
Britain and Italy sell bombs to saudi for bombing raids in yemen.
Thats western allies for you...
Mr. Charles Blow, Your column today provides the clearest , simplest, and most honest opinion on what is happenning in America , It is a call to not to let it happen, or be silent as the basic rights,decency and humanity that we took for granted are forcefully being derided, eroded, denied and debased. Trump and his followers actions do not need to be parsed, debated, or analysed in order to understand what he and is 30% intend. All it takes for a criminal and corrupt state to arise is for good and honest people to keep silent as others in their midst are torn from their homes and families and made to disappear. Only a frightened fool would speak to the nation from a rostrum made of tanks. This July 4th, stand up, say no to cruelty, do not ignore or accept lies. Continue writing. My children and grandchildren need your voice and for it to be heard.
1
Trump is cruel to racial and ethnic minorities, immigrants (both documented and undocumented) and members of the LGBTQ community because his base and the Republican Party truly hate these people and feel his cruelty is justified. When will we stop focusing on Trump and start focusing on the millions of our fellow citizens who no longer believe that over half of the people in this country deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, but, rather, deserve to be “owned” by the far right.
2
Keep writing, Charles Blow! We need your words and those of your colleagues with conscience and principles to write every day! The Trump regime is one of cruelty toward whomever they have deemed the other and will only become worse in spewing fear, hate, threats and in the adoration of oppressive authoritarians of Trump’s like mind. My family will keep reading; we will keep focused on becoming informed; we will keep responding and speaking out and taking a stand against this insidious ravage of decency, civility, compassion, care and truth.
Pay attention all, don’t stay silent - “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good ‘people’ to do nothing.” (Edmund Burke)
2
"What will you say?"
I say you have written a fine, truthful column here Charles.
Next write an equally truthful one on Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, Fundamentalist Christian leaders, Fox News and the millions of Americans who -- notwithstanding the plain evidence that their own non-lying eyes reveal about Trump's loathsomeness -- continue to praise, support and revere the man
in anticipation of his coming reelection.
2
Thank you Charles. I’m tired of too many equivocating in some mistaken desire to want to appear unbiased. It’s strong wording and a principles point of view that people respect.
1
Well said, brother.
I've worried about your constant drumbeat on all things Trump, fearing that you would be like the proverbial boy who cried wolf. But, today, I say "Carry on." This horrible man's behavior is already feeling and sounding 'normal.' That's because the shocks and shards keep coming, fast and furious. I fear that we are already becoming inured to to his relentless onslaught of selfish, egregious behavior.
And that's why you cant stop beating this drum, bro. Keep on keepin' on...
4
Well, yes, it is redundant: you write basically the same piece every time out. You're not alone in this, of course, since many anti-Trump political writers, including at least three of your colleagues in these pages, do precisely the same thing week after week. Apparently it never gets old, although to be fair with a new outrage every other day or so it must be hard to keep up. So much more efficient to keep sounding the same notes. Thundering outrage is a bad one-trick pony.
1
@Frunobulax. Yes, mock the expression of outrage and pain. Support the outrageous corruption in the White House that is as crystal clear and unambiguous as it could possibly be. Support the indifference to Russian interference in our democratic elections. Support the brutal murder and dismemberment of journalists, support Trump’s love affair with a facist dictator who tortures and muders on a whim. There you go, Mr. Chicago. That makes you a much better American, doesn’t it? Compassionless mocker of outrage. Good for you.
I am ashamed and embarrassed to not being doing more.
3
I find it so strange that the so-called Christians can tolerate this prsident's un-Godly actions and thoughts. And this carries on to the senators and represenatives that remain silent. They are as guilty as the president - they care only about their jobs. Trump, Pence, and McConnell have no problems with lying to the public and Trump's base believe them. Shame on them all.
3
To be fair, Trump doesn’t care about ANYBODY’s pain and hardships.
1