Here's my view on the US presidential election this year. I accept that there are major differences between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton on concrete issues. For instance, Clinton does not plan to erect a great wall along the Mexican border, and she does not dismiss global warming as a hoax "created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive". These differences, and others, are important. Still, I think the most important issue of all for US voters to consider this fall is that of whether Donald Trump's temperament and moral character make him fit for presidency. And the answer is a clear and overwhelming no.
Much has been said about Donald Trump's performance during Monday's presidential debate with Clinton. It was repugnant, of course. Yet, as Adam Gopnik pointed out in The New Yorker, "The problem with Trump isn't his debating skills". His performance in Monday's debate...
- wasn’t a question of preparation. It was that the things he actually believes are themselves repellent even when coherently presented. This was not a bad performance. This is a bad man.
Trump may claim that his temperament is suitable for presidency, but even when he does so, as he did on Monday, the way he delivers this message becomes such a clear demonstration of its negation that it hardly requires a response:
A key question that every US voter ought to ask herself is this: Should a man as utterly devoid of compassion, decency and self-control as Donald Trump be put in charge of the world's biggest nuclear arsenal? Watch Stanley Kubrick's 1964 classic Dr Strangelove, and consider whether it would be a good idea to gamble the future survival of the human race on Trump's ability to handle conversations like this one:
"Should a man as utterly devoid of compassion, decency and self-control as Donald Trump be put in charge of the world's biggest nuclear arsenal?"
SvaraRaderaThat should really be the only question one needs to ask.
From NYT:
SvaraRadera"There were early efforts to run a more standard form of general election debate-prep camp, led by Roger Ailes, the ousted Fox News chief, at Mr. Trump’s golf course in Bedminster, N.J. But Mr. Trump found it hard to focus during those meetings, according to multiple people briefed on the process who requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. That left Mr. Ailes, who at the time was deeply distracted by his removal from Fox and the news media reports surrounding it, discussing his own problems as well as recounting political war stories, according to two people present for the sessions.
Rudolph W. Giuliani, a former New York City mayor and a friend of Mr. Trump’s who has been traveling with him extensively, took over much of the preparation efforts by the end. But with Mr. Trump receiving so much conflicting advice in those sessions, he absorbed little of it."
He is preparing to debate in front of around 100 million viewers, and he cannot even focus? Is this guy supposed to become president? It s f****ng insane!
The character of Trump is an important issue. But his tendency to produce false claim is another one. Fortunately there are fact-checkers around. I recommend everybody to scrutinize what Trump and Clinton say, and compare it to reality. Then you'll have a pretty solid picture of what's going on. Check out PolitiFact and FactCheck, they are confirming/debunking their claims 24/7.
SvaraRaderaThanks! PolitiFact and FactCheck both seem like valuable resources.
RaderaAnd once more, Donald Trumps show what a great temperament he has:
SvaraRaderaNight-time tweets about Alicia Machado's alleged "sex tape".
The Donald just keeps sinking deeper and deeper.