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A supporter sits alone in the top sections of seating as Vice President Mike Pence speaks before President Donald J. Trump arrives for a "Make America Great Again!" rally at the BOK Center on Saturday, June 20, 2020 in Tulsa, OK.
(Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Live From Tulsa: Trump Is a Hideous Lying Pathetic Clown
If Trump was a stand-up comic instead of President, this trivial, self-pitying story might become known as one of the best, long, stand-up comic routines of the year.
Jun 22, 2020
I watched President Donald Trump's speech in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Saturday evening for an hour and a half. I don't think I've ever watched one of his speeches live from the beginning to almost the end, but I did Saturday night.
The stakes are high, and it felt like I should see for myself how this miserable excuse for a human being was going to make his re-election argument.
A huge part of his plan, of course, was to pack the Tulsa arena to overflowing, 22,000 inside and 40,000 in an overflow area. That part failed miserably. No overflow crowd, and no packed arena. Trump was reduced to pretending, lying, that "bad guy" protesters outside had prevented people from coming in.
It was a big come-down for Dastardly Don.
But he soldiered on. And by "soldiered" I mean that he spent a quarter or more of his speech ad-libbing--forgetting the teleprompter--about his Commander-in-Chief speech at West Point a week or so ago. But even there, what did he talk about? Not the content of his speech, which he claimed went over spectacularly with the troops, of course, but instead, amazingly, astoundingly, a presentation about all that he had to endure up there with the West Point generals: the sun in his eyes, the heat, having to salute "600 times," but most of all, the way in which the "fake news media" fixated on how weak he looked walking down a short ramp from the stage to the ground. Trump went on and on about how, because he had "leather shoes," and because the ramp was like "an ice skating rink," he had to be very careful, with little steps, telling the general next to him who had the right kind of shoes that he should be ready in case Trump slipped.
If Trump was a stand-up comic instead of a President, this trivial, self-pitying story might become known as one of the best, long, stand-up comic routines of the year.
For much of the rest of his speech it was the usual racism, lies, distortions of the truth, attacking AOC and Ilhan Omar, calling out "Sleepy Joe Biden" as a tool of the "radical left," claiming that he has been the best President ever, promising that next year the economy will come roaring back and be the best ever, etc., etc., etc.
He also called for a decrease in testing for COVID-19, no lie, implying that the relentless, agonizing growth of new cases made him look bad.
I'll be surprised if Trump gets much of a boost in the polls after this speech. If he does, it'll be a bad sign. If he doesn't, we can expect him and the Republicans to become more desperate and more ridiculous with their lies and distractions, and maybe with more repressive actions to justify his militaristic, macho, law-and-order rhetoric.
Ridicule and satire. That's a key part of how we should take down this dangerous, pathologically-lying jerk. Donald Trump is a hideous clown.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
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Ted Glick
Ted Glick is the author of Burglar for Peace: Lessons Learned in the Catholic Left's Resistance to the Vietnam War. Past writings and other information can be found at https://tedglick.com.
I watched President Donald Trump's speech in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Saturday evening for an hour and a half. I don't think I've ever watched one of his speeches live from the beginning to almost the end, but I did Saturday night.
The stakes are high, and it felt like I should see for myself how this miserable excuse for a human being was going to make his re-election argument.
A huge part of his plan, of course, was to pack the Tulsa arena to overflowing, 22,000 inside and 40,000 in an overflow area. That part failed miserably. No overflow crowd, and no packed arena. Trump was reduced to pretending, lying, that "bad guy" protesters outside had prevented people from coming in.
It was a big come-down for Dastardly Don.
But he soldiered on. And by "soldiered" I mean that he spent a quarter or more of his speech ad-libbing--forgetting the teleprompter--about his Commander-in-Chief speech at West Point a week or so ago. But even there, what did he talk about? Not the content of his speech, which he claimed went over spectacularly with the troops, of course, but instead, amazingly, astoundingly, a presentation about all that he had to endure up there with the West Point generals: the sun in his eyes, the heat, having to salute "600 times," but most of all, the way in which the "fake news media" fixated on how weak he looked walking down a short ramp from the stage to the ground. Trump went on and on about how, because he had "leather shoes," and because the ramp was like "an ice skating rink," he had to be very careful, with little steps, telling the general next to him who had the right kind of shoes that he should be ready in case Trump slipped.
If Trump was a stand-up comic instead of a President, this trivial, self-pitying story might become known as one of the best, long, stand-up comic routines of the year.
For much of the rest of his speech it was the usual racism, lies, distortions of the truth, attacking AOC and Ilhan Omar, calling out "Sleepy Joe Biden" as a tool of the "radical left," claiming that he has been the best President ever, promising that next year the economy will come roaring back and be the best ever, etc., etc., etc.
He also called for a decrease in testing for COVID-19, no lie, implying that the relentless, agonizing growth of new cases made him look bad.
I'll be surprised if Trump gets much of a boost in the polls after this speech. If he does, it'll be a bad sign. If he doesn't, we can expect him and the Republicans to become more desperate and more ridiculous with their lies and distractions, and maybe with more repressive actions to justify his militaristic, macho, law-and-order rhetoric.
Ridicule and satire. That's a key part of how we should take down this dangerous, pathologically-lying jerk. Donald Trump is a hideous clown.
Ted Glick
Ted Glick is the author of Burglar for Peace: Lessons Learned in the Catholic Left's Resistance to the Vietnam War. Past writings and other information can be found at https://tedglick.com.
I watched President Donald Trump's speech in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Saturday evening for an hour and a half. I don't think I've ever watched one of his speeches live from the beginning to almost the end, but I did Saturday night.
The stakes are high, and it felt like I should see for myself how this miserable excuse for a human being was going to make his re-election argument.
A huge part of his plan, of course, was to pack the Tulsa arena to overflowing, 22,000 inside and 40,000 in an overflow area. That part failed miserably. No overflow crowd, and no packed arena. Trump was reduced to pretending, lying, that "bad guy" protesters outside had prevented people from coming in.
It was a big come-down for Dastardly Don.
But he soldiered on. And by "soldiered" I mean that he spent a quarter or more of his speech ad-libbing--forgetting the teleprompter--about his Commander-in-Chief speech at West Point a week or so ago. But even there, what did he talk about? Not the content of his speech, which he claimed went over spectacularly with the troops, of course, but instead, amazingly, astoundingly, a presentation about all that he had to endure up there with the West Point generals: the sun in his eyes, the heat, having to salute "600 times," but most of all, the way in which the "fake news media" fixated on how weak he looked walking down a short ramp from the stage to the ground. Trump went on and on about how, because he had "leather shoes," and because the ramp was like "an ice skating rink," he had to be very careful, with little steps, telling the general next to him who had the right kind of shoes that he should be ready in case Trump slipped.
If Trump was a stand-up comic instead of a President, this trivial, self-pitying story might become known as one of the best, long, stand-up comic routines of the year.
For much of the rest of his speech it was the usual racism, lies, distortions of the truth, attacking AOC and Ilhan Omar, calling out "Sleepy Joe Biden" as a tool of the "radical left," claiming that he has been the best President ever, promising that next year the economy will come roaring back and be the best ever, etc., etc., etc.
He also called for a decrease in testing for COVID-19, no lie, implying that the relentless, agonizing growth of new cases made him look bad.
I'll be surprised if Trump gets much of a boost in the polls after this speech. If he does, it'll be a bad sign. If he doesn't, we can expect him and the Republicans to become more desperate and more ridiculous with their lies and distractions, and maybe with more repressive actions to justify his militaristic, macho, law-and-order rhetoric.
Ridicule and satire. That's a key part of how we should take down this dangerous, pathologically-lying jerk. Donald Trump is a hideous clown.
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