Here I sit, blogging on my iPad because power in my neighborhood is out. There must be a way to blame this on Donald Trump.
I've spent way too much time today reading ‘n' thinking about the insensitivity of that phone call he placed to the woman who'd lost her husband in Niger. How could anybody say such a thing? I have me a theory…
Seems to me Mr. Trump prides himself on his gift o' gab…on his ability to wing it and talk his way outta any conversational corner. Sometimes, he does it via charm, sometimes by bullshittery, sometimes by pure unadulterated salesmanship…and don't tell me he isn't good at it. Look where he is today!
Winning the presidency has to have convinced him he's darn near infallible in this regard. At times, he knows so little about the topic at hand that he accepts the need to just read what's on a TelePrompter. But most of the time, someone tells him the message and he says "Got it!" and trusts his natural ability to connect with the listeners and get him through. It usually works.
But I'm guessing this time, he had close to zero knowledge and even less interest in phoning up a Gold Star Widow and trying to wax poetic and compassionate, so he turned to some aide he expects to know this stuff, asked what you say in these situations, and heard something like this…
I'm so sorry for your husband's sacrifice but I am in awe of his courage and heroism. All our fine fighting men are heroes because they volunteer for these jobs, knowing full well of the danger. Your husband was a hero the moment he placed helping others and defending his country ahead of any concern for his personal safety.
If Trump had said something like that, he would have been praised…but this is a man without a molecule of poetry in his soul. And being the kind of person who thinks in terms of business transactions and haggling, what he'd get from a briefing like that is "Knew the deal going in." And when he put that into Trumpspeak, it came out "knew what he signed up for." Which is what Trump would say if someone entered into a real estate deal and it didn't turn out well for the other guy. "Hey, it's your fault! You signed the deal!"
Because he's not the kind of guy who could ever understand that part about putting the helping of others and the well-being of the country ahead of your own interests.
And if you think I'm off-base on this: Well, maybe. Don't forget I'm writing this by flashlight.