Yesterday at WonderCon, I ran into a friend who…well, I guess you'd call him a Trump Supporter but he deeply wishes, as do so many of you we wouldn't call Trump Supporters, that Donald J. Trump would disappear from the face of this planet.
My friend supports most (not all) of where the country is now heading and if Trump's the guy who's gonna get it there, okay. Still, he winces at the nastiness, admits Trump lies only slightly less often than he exhales and figures there are plenty of sleazy, illegal misdeeds in the man's past, including his recent past. He fears some of them will eventually drive the guy from office, if not to prison.
My friend and I do not debate Trump's unworthiness as Chief Exec. We talk about the proper role of government in our lives, how we should handle folks who are in this country sans proper paperwork, a woman's right (which he doesn't think she has) to control her body, what to do about guns…in other words, all the popular divisive issues. I'm not sure why we discuss these things.
In a casual, friendly discussion, he's no more likely to change my mind — or even say something about these issues that I haven't heard before — that I am to change his. Or his gender or height or anything. But our conversation did make me think of one thing about Trump I don't like and haven't written about here. It's how hard he makes it to not talk or even think about him.
I have so many thoughts that I'd rather have than the ones about that guy. There are so many good and constructive conversations that I could be having but they keep getting diverted or pre-empted by someone saying, "Did you see what Trump just tweeted?"
It's like someone rushes into the Oval Office and announces with an urgent panic in his voice, "Mr. President! Our secret monitoring of Mark Evanier's brain shows that he just had an idea!"
And Trump goes, "It isn't the one about the chocolate roller skates again, is it?"
To which the Aide replies, "No, it's worse. This one might make sense. It could even result in something very popular and successful!"
Trump looks puzzled. "Evanier? The guy who works with that immigrant on Groo the Wanderer? A good idea?"
The Aide pleads, "There's a first time for everyone. I don't think we can take the chance. He's mulling it over right now."
So Trump says, "All right. I have to go pass some reporters in five minutes to get to the golf course. I'll stop at their cameras just long enough to say something divisive and distracting. Is Evanier watching the news?"
"No," the Aide replies. "He's been cutting way back on that ever since your nineteenth explanation about how Mexico is going to pay for The Wall. You know, I never understood why you promised that. You didn't really have a plan to get them to cough up the money, did you?"
"Of course not. I was running for president and my supporters cheered it. Why should I need a plan? I'm thinking Explanation #20 will be that I meant Mexico was going to sponsor that game show with Chris Hardwick!" Then Trump adds, "Well, it doesn't matter if Evanier's watching the news. Some friend of his will call and ask him what he thinks about whatever stupid thing I go out and say. We'll get Evanier's mind off that so-called 'good idea' of his."
Okay, yes, I know: There's less than a one-in-three chance this actually goes on but I do keep having my thought process hijacked by what Trump did or said in the previous twenty minutes. I don't mind it now and then but I've lost so much of my ability to not have to talk about or even just think about it now.
I'll bet you have better things to put your mind to, as well. You'd have to, even if it's just about chocolate roller skates.