CAL THOMAS
For release: 10/05/23
Trump: Not a great man
By Cal Thomas
Tribune Content Agency
“It is a great advantage to a President, and a major source of safety to the country, for him to know that he is not a great man.” – Calvin Coolidge
Donald Trump is not a great man. His rhetoric, which has included denunciations of those who have served in the military (while he dodged the draft five times with a limp excuse about bone spurs) ought to disgust all but those who are in complete denial of the danger he would pose to the Constitution and the country should he be re-elected president. Humility is not part of his vocabulary and words mean something, especially when they reflect character.
In the latest “indictment” of Trump’s virulent rhetoric, his former chief of staff, John Kelly, issued a statement in which he says he witnessed Trump insulting wounded veterans and others. Kelly says Trump called such people who gave their lives, limbs, eyes, or were captured by the enemy “losers and suckers.”
In a statement to CNN, Kelly said, “What can I say that has not already been said? A person that thinks those who defend their country in uniform, or are shot down or seriously wounded in combat, or spend years being tortured as POWs are all ‘suckers’ because there is nothing in it for them. A person that doesn’t want to be seen in the presence of military amputees because ‘it doesn’t look good for me.’”
Kelly also cites Trump’s contempt for Gold Star families and his refusal to visit the graves of American soldiers on a visit to France.
On his Truth Social site, Trump posted a sketch someone did of him in the Manhattan courtroom on the opening day of his fraud trail. It featured a rendering of Jesus seated next to him. The implication is clear. Trump is being persecuted as Jesus was persecuted. By any definition, this is blasphemy. What might his devoted evangelical supporters think of that? If they’ve forgiven, or ignored, everything else he has said and done, why would blasphemy bother them?
The list of Trump’s incendiary rhetoric is long and growing. Some of his latest suggestions include the execution of former Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley, who he effectively said was guilty of “treason” for the way the pullout from Afghanistan was handled, apparently forgetting the buck stopped with President Biden, who made that decision after Trump’s disastrous bungling “severely constrained” his options.
On Tuesday, Trump posted the name, picture and link to a private Instagram account of a law clerk serving presiding Judge Arthur Engoron. In the post Trump referred to the clerk as “Schumer’s girlfriend.” He subsequently deleted the post, but the email blast and screenshot cannot be unsent. Judge Engoron has now imposed a partial gag order on the recalcitrant Trump.
Days ago in California, Trump suggested that police officers should shoot all looters. Other statements, while short of suggesting people be killed, are still the definition of incite: “to stir, encourage, or urge on; stimulate or prompt to action.”
Trump defenders and apologists like to say the reason they support him is that he’s a “fighter.” But even fighters are constrained by rules, like not hitting below the belt. Trump seems to spend all his time below the belt, and not just rhetorically, if you include his behavior with women and what he has said famous men (like himself) ought to be able to do to them.
There are other Republican presidential candidates without his baggage. They have learned to fight, too, but fairly and within the constitutional boundaries and with better deportment.
There was a time when grandmothers would threaten to wash a kid’s mouth out with soap for using language that was impolite. If that were applied to Trump, a lot of soap would be needed, so much so that the suds might violate New York environmental laws.
Trump is drawing all attention to him, which is his intent. He correctly says that with each new indictment, his poll numbers go up. That says a lot about his followers’ low requirements for high office. People who excuse his extreme self-possession may live to regret it. So will the country should he return to the White House.
Readers may email Cal Thomas at [email protected]. Look for Cal Thomas’ latest book “A Watchman in the Night: What I’ve Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America” (HumanixBooks).
(C) 2023 TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.
If Trump is again nominated by the Republican party, I fear for the future of this great country. While intelligence is a necessary attribute for a president, character is also critical. Mr. Thomas, as you have described so well, the nomination of Trump would be a tragedy for our country.
Excellent article. You have written some good articles on Trump that are completely spot on. You have on occasion hoped that we could move forward away from Trump, possibly in favor of Mike Pence (whom you have frequently described as a fine Christian). Unfortunately you have written some articles on him causing me to wonder what the ???? were you thinking. As long as you say anything that feeds into the Trump as martyr narrative, no progress is possible.
You may want to read 2 Thessalonians 2 about the man of sin, the son of perdition, the lawless one, rejecting all other gods, claiming to be God himself. Donald Trump is a person who feels absolutely zero sense of accountability to any authority outside of himself, whether biblical or constitutional. Frank Bruni was quoted as saying he didn’t see someone interested in serving God, but rather being God. Once you wrap your head around that, it all makes sense why he says and does so many outrageous things, and why he’s so dangerous.
The next step is in everything you say Trump is to portray him in that light, citing Republicans like Brian Kemp. You once wrote although Alvin Bragg’s prosecution was politically motivated that Trump brought it on himself. If you consistently work the idea that Trump is a blasphemer and criminal, and not a martyr, we have a chance.
THANK YOU for your very proper assessment of former President Trump in your recent column entitled “Trump: Not a Great Man”
Thanks Ken – Appreciate hearing from you. I think you might like my new book “A Watchman in the Night: What I’ve seen in 50 Years of Reporting on America.” Amazon has it discounted. Let me know please.
Mr. Thomas,
Your commentaries are posted with great regularity by the Jefferson City News Tribune in Missouri. I have not always agreed with you on more than a few occasions, but the many reasons you cited to not vote for Donald Trump are “right on.” I hope the many Republicans in this area read your commentary and wake up to their absolute blindness in supporting a future dictator if ever elected to the presidency again.
Thanks Mike. Agreed. Trump is a dangerous menace. Thanks for writing — and reading!