(BALTIMORE – September 22, 2024) – I’m not quite sure what to think of this country at this point. On one hand, there are some decent Republicans who have demonstrated common sense.
According to Newsweek, an assembly of 111 prominent figures, including former defense secretaries Chuck Hagel and William S. Cohen, ex-CIA directors Michael V. Hayden and William H. Webster, and other former officials, signed a letter opposing Donald Trump. Notable signatories include former World Bank president Robert B. Zoellick, ex-director of national intelligence John D. Negroponte, and former Massachusetts Governor William F. Weld. Further, former Trump administration officials Miles Taylor and Olivia Troye, along with former GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger, signed the letter. Both Troye and Kinzinger spoke at the Democratic National Convention.
It should be noted that the letter followed endorsements of Kamala Harris by Dick Cheney, his daughter Liz Cheney, and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez. While Mike Pence has declined to endorse Trump, he has not endorsed Harris either.
On the other hand, there is this segment of American voters who do not care that Trump caused the January 6th insurrection that led to the death of 5 people. It does not bother them that he lacks basic respect for humanity. Nor are they concerned about his 34 counts of falsifying business records in the hush money trial in Manhattan.
An Atlanta-based grand jury on August 14, 2023, indicted Trump and 18 others on state charges stemming from their alleged efforts to overturn the former president’s 2020 electoral defeat. Four people have pleaded guilty.
The historic indictment is the fourth criminal case that Trump is facing. The charges, brought in a sweeping investigation led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, cover some of the most overt efforts by the former president and his allies to meddle in the 2020 presidential election. Unlike the election subversion charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith, Willis’ case will be insulated if Trump is reelected in 2024; he will not be able to pardon himself or his allies of any state law convictions, nor will he be able to order the state-level prosecutors to withdraw the charges. Trump pleaded not guilty via court filing, waiving an in-court appearance as allowed by Georgia law.
On March 13, 2024, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee dismissed six of the 41 counts from the indictment, including three that applied to Trump. The partial dismissal does not mean that the entire indictment has been dismissed. McAfee’s partial dismissal left most of the sprawling racketeering indictment intact.
On June 5, a Georgia appeals court indefinitely paused the case for Trump and some co-defendants until a panel of judges rules on whether Willis should be disqualified.
On September 12, some of the charges were thrown out by the judge.
In contrast, Pres. Barack Obama’s track record was cleaner than Caesar’s wife. There was no insurrection. No election tampering. No misdeeds in his private dealings. Now, I am not at all saying that Obama was even close to Jesus. At the same time, if that man would have done a fraction of the actions that Trump has, you and I both know that he would have been locked up faster than a New York second. They would have put Obama under the jail. Hell, they may have even shot him.
I think of all of Trump’s poor behavior, it is his role in the January 6th insurrection that insults me the most. When I think of the people from my community who had to fight for the right to die for this country in most every battle this country has ever been in and to hear Trump berate their service is nothing short of egregious.
When Trump insulted the veterans, for me – it was a slap in the face of millions of veterans and their families. Who dares to insult veterans? Who causes an insurrection?
Trump.
Trump is un-American and does not deserve to be in any kind of position of authority, especially given he has not been held accountable for his actions. I do not trust him with the nuclear codes. I do not care for his dictator-for-a-day mentality. And I fear for his wife, who acts like she’s being held hostage or something.
There is something fundamentally wrong with the man. Even more, there is something to be said about those who think this …. person …. deserves the opportunity to serve. He wants the privileges of a king but has the accountability of a child – a classic narcissist who clearly needs mental health treatment. He has gone from telling Americans to drink bleach to discussing eating cats and dogs.
Again, had Obama demonstrated any of the above listed actions that Trump did, he probably would be in a mental institution or a prison. But not Trump. Why? Because too many Americans are apparently just as deranged as he is. And that is so sad.
C’mon, America! We can do better than Trump! I know we can! He clearly does not speak for all Republicans.
