Remember: Trump Grabs by the Pussy

I’ve been scratching my head and wringing my hands for months trying to figure out how and why these elected republican leaders continue to support and defend President Trump. In spite of such clear and overwhelming evidence presented not only in the impeachment hearings, but also through witnessing his ongoing behavior and divisive, childish rhetoric, they continue their vitriolic fight to keep him (and their party) in power.

Today, however, in my view from the cheap seats up here in Northern Wisconsin, it all became a little clearer. The simple truth is that republicans are afraid of this cruel and completely self-involved President’s diabolical, unhinged wrath. Whether it comes via tweet storm or bully pulpit, they do NOT want to be the subject motivating and sparking Trump’s ‘stable genius’ twittering brain cells. Period.

He’s done it a hundred times. In addition to the nicknames, “Sleepy Joe;” “Nervous Nancy;” “Stormy ‘Horse-face’ Daniels; “Little Pencil-Neck Adam Schiff,” he has mocked John McCain, Jeff Flake, Justin Amash, Elijah Cummings and the entire city of Baltimore, New York Times reporter Serge F. Kovaleski, Time Magazine’s person of the year, a CHILD named Greta Thunberg, just to name a few of the more played and re-played examples. And let’s not forget the mother of them all—the example of his character 53% of white women voters let slide during the 2016 Presidential election, in spite of it being a direct verbal assault upon them: “I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn’t get there. And she was married…I did try and fuck her. She was married… Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything…Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.” —“Access Hollywood Tape,” 2015.

No matter how low he goes or how crass he gets, and no matter how much he misrepresents the facts or violates the Constitution, republican representatives and Trump supporters keep ignoring or brushing off his actions and his rhetoric as inconsequential. At the very most, they’ll concede that his behavior is “probably inappropriate.” And then they quickly cover their tracks by citing the talking-points-disguised-as-an-argument such as “the economy is doing well and everyone has jobs.” In the impeachment “debate,” republican congressmen presented 197 versions of how the Democrats are the ones who are truly corrupt and that THEY are the ones abusing power and spouting all the lies. According to Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) “Pontius Pilate afforded more rights to Jesus than the Democrats have afforded this president and this process.” Really? Is that supposed to be the Christian point of view on Impeachment?

God knows I did not watch more than a few moments of the pre-vote debate spectacle, but my understanding is that none of the republican representatives who stood up, all of whom voted against the two articles of impeachment, defended the president’s moral character or his actions. Instead they chose to declare his actions as unimpeachable behavior and attack the constitutionally-mandated process, which is necessary to maintain the balance of power between three separate but equal branches of government. They vilified the accusers, misrepresented facts, and denied the existence of first-hand evidence. I went to bed knowing the president had been impeached, which left me numb and emotionless.  But then I woke up.

 

This morning I learned what Trump had said about Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and her late husband, John Dingell in Battle Creek, Michigan and it made me feel physically ill. John Dingell was the longest-serving member of Congress in history and a WWII veteran who died last February. His wife, Debbie, has served Michigan’s 12th congressional district since 2015. One can only presume that Trump targeted Rep. Dingell last night because he was in her home state and just prior to his campaign rally appearance, she had voted to impeach him. On this night, the night he was officially impeached for abuse of power, he conjured up a pathetic impersonation of Dingell, mocking her for calling him to express gratitude for bestowing burial rights in Arlington National Cemetery to her husband. (In an interview with Andrea Mitchell today, Rep. Dingell made it clear that Trump had called HER, rather than how he had put it). But that wasn’t the worse of it. Ultimately in his ongoing monologue, Trump suggested that Dingell’s beloved dead husband may be “looking up” instead of down from heaven … which only means one thing.

Trump deemed Dingell disloyal because while he did her the great favor of providing a venerated public servant “the ‘A-plus treatment” when he “didn’t have to,” she, in return, had the audacity to vote in favor of his impeachment. In other words, he did her a favor and he EXPECTED one in return.

Excuse me, but that is an unstated but obvious expectation of a QUID PRO QUO.

Consistent with his well-documented, despicable behavior, clearly the President expects not only loyalty from both elected and appointed public officials AND certain foreign heads of state, but also a tangible quid pro quo for all of the “favors” he either exercises, asks for, or expects.  Therein lies the warning: If you don’t support Trump, watch out. He may not use a gun to shoot you in front of everyone on 5th Avenue, but bullets fire from his lips and his fingertips and they are devastating—particularly if you’re a politician hoping upon hope to keep your elected office.

Dingell’s response to Trump’s indiscretion broke my heart. Via Twitter: “…My husband earned all his accolades after a lifetime of service. I’m preparing for the first holiday season without the man I love. You brought me down in a way you can never imagine and your hurtful words just made my healing much harder.”

So, in this latest TV episode of The POTUS Apprentice, it became clear that Donald J. Trump has not only never truly loved another human being, but also he has absolutely never experienced the gut-wrenching grief that comes with the experience of losing a loved one. Be it a spouse, a parent, a grandparent, a beloved auntie or uncle, a cousin, a close friend, a niece or nephew, or a precious child, it’s a powerful love and when you lose it, grief comes and it’s debilitating and life-changing for all normal, decent and loving people.

But not Trump.

This is a man who proves time and time again that he is completely devoid of empathy or the ability to empathize. It’s an unquestionable fact that any normal or clear-thinking human being who has truly loved and lost, would know better than to do or say anything even half as cruel as what he said in Battle Creek–something that might open up that precious, fragile wound. It doesn’t matter if that loved one died last February or 20 years ago last July. That wound leaves a scar and it is sacred territory.

Today’s bottom line: I don’t care who you are. If you brush off what Trump said/did last night as something excusable and it’s simply him being himself; if you don’t expect or demand an apology from this vile and soulless POTUS or write to Mrs. Dingell and apologize for him yourself; and if you try to tell me that the economy is doing well and that everyone has jobs because of him… then I don’t want to hear any of your arguments or excuses regarding ANYTHING having to do with him. I believe you have lost your soul and you are going to have to face the fact that Trump officially has YOU by the pussy.

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