For months, Donald Trump has bullied Mexicans, women and especially his fellow Republican candidates. Initially, some of his opponents tried to hit back at Trump after being attacked but Trump, the professional bully, always seemed to win the confrontations by eagerly and swiftly stooping to the most crass insults. Most punishing though was the resulting decline in the polls of those Republican candidates who fought back with Trump.
At that moment in the race, Trump The Bully seemed not only insulated from consequences but threatening to any Republican who would dare to mix it up with him. This emboldened him and his personal attacks seemed to flow even more nasty and toxic.
Like all bullies though, his over-confidence and delusion of invulnerability eventually went too far.
ACT ONE
The immature, mysoginist and cruel nature of his essentially saying that Carly Fiorina’s face was ugly stepped so far over the line, even for Republicans, that the fear of retribution for attacking Trump was shattered.
Though Trump’s supporters, even those who are women, won’t be swayed against him by anything he says, many Republicans were offended. This was in fact a cloud with a silver lining for Fiorina, being the only candidate to get some momentum after the first GOP debate, she was now not only turned into a sympathetic figure for many Republicans (especially GOP women) but handed an enormous opportunity by Trump to boost her campaign by taking on a high profile fight with Trump.
A woman fighting a man who started the fight by insulting her appearance? No matter how she came at him, Trump couldn’t bully his way out of that and come out the winner. The cowardly bully Trump recognized this by the next day and tried to dodge responsibility for his bullying by claiming that when he said “face”, he of course wasn’t talking about her face…he was talking about her persona.
After Trump offered this very juvenile, obvious and desperate lie, many in the media focused on the accuracy of the lie itself but missed the real story. Donald Trump, the fearless, hostile bully…was cowering. He was afraid that he would finally suffer the consequences for his bullying and fearfully manufactured a preposterous lie to hide behind. This was (and is) the beginning of the end of the Trump candidacy because once a bully begins to show they’re a coward, as virtually all bullies are, the image of strength so necessary to sustain a bully, begins to evaporate.
Fiorina responded in a very sharp and methodical way, with a cleverly-done ad showing the faces of all kinds of women then making a perfectly surgical stab into Trump over this at this week’s debate.
The cowardice of the bully became revealed even more in that debate and through that conflict. Trump responded to Fiorina’s statement that, “I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said,” by proclaiming, “I think she’s got a beautiful face and I think she’s a beautiful woman.”
It’s hard to imagine that anyone listening to Trump thought that he truly believed what he was saying. His supporters might have been rooting for him to be believed but even they knew it wasn’t true. In that moment, the uber bully Trump, rolled over on his back and played dead. He was reduced to blatantly and obviously lying in front of 22 million people while bowing submissively to Fiorina.
The bully acted like a coward.
But that was just Act One for Trump’s performance of “The Incredibly Cowardly Bully” this week.
ACT TWO
At a town hall speech yesterday, the first attendee Trump called on to ask a question was a racist, Islamophobic, paranoid, delusional loon (aka Tea Party Republican) who rambled on about Muslims being a big problem in the U.S., President Obama being a Muslim who’s also not American, that Muslims are building training camps in the U.S. and most despicably, asking the potentially genocidal question about Muslims, “When can we get rid of them?”
Here’s the video:
As you can see, Trump’s response to these horrible words was, “We’re going to be looking into that and plenty of other things.”
It seems clear from his demeanor at the beginning and end of that lunatic’s question that Trump didn’t really want to get such an insane question and doesn’t share in those beliefs (Trump’s birth certificate garbage against Obama back in 2012 seems to have been just a publicity stunt).
After receiving that question, Trump appeared to be trying to move on as quickly as he could to put it behind him but he was oblivious to the fact that by not disputing such bigotry and delusions, he was acknowledging them as valid.
So why didn’t Trump pull a McCain and tell that bigot that Obama was Christian and an American and there are no training camps for Muslims to take over America nor will America commit ethnic/religious cleansing? The lesser reason is that Trump is already on record pandering to Birthers and Islamophobes, that Obama isn’t a Christian or American. The primary reason that he didn’t correct the bigotry?
Trump is a coward.
He is greatly afraid of upsetting those who make up his base in the GOP and he knows that many of them are bigots and conspiracy nuts. So out of fear, he couldn’t dispute the bigoted statements by one of his followers.
That was Act Two for “Trump The Coward” and Act Three followed today.
ACT THREE
As the firestorm builds up today around Trump for having acknowledged and not having rejected this bigotry, Trump has become more frightened. His campaign released an absurd and disconnected response to the criticism (akin to his “I meant persona!” response to political heat from insulting Fiorina’s face) by saying that what he was referring to in his exchange with the bigot was that Christianity is under attack and needs to be protected.
There’s an old saying, “Don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining.” That’s far too subtle in this situation, it’s more like, “Don’t drop a piano on my head and tell me it’s only a Post-It note about protecting Christianity.”
But that’s not the Third Act.
Today, The Heritage Action Forum is taking place in South Carolina. All GOP Presidential candidates are attending this substantial Right Wing Republican forum to speak to their base.
At least, all were attending. But the most cowardly candidate? You know, their front runner, Donald Trump? He just canceled at the last minute claiming some urgent business deal just came up…yeah…urgent business…that’s it!
The once-fearless bully Donald Trump who would run towards any camera or stage is now running scared from them, perhaps holed up in his penthouse, cowering under the covers, clutching his binky and crying to himself, “Why is everyone being so mean to me?!”
As mentioned, his followers are mostly stuck on stupid and won’t recognize what a coward this man really is but one hopes that after seeing Trump’s cowardice in three acts, most of the public will clearly see now what a small, cowardly and immature man he really is, how all the braggadocio is just overcompensation for that and how unfit he is to ever be seriously considered for the most powerful position in the world.
Great article, AdLib. You exposed his bad act perfectly.
I’m all trumped-out. He turns up in every international news source I use on MB. Everyone has to have their say about him one way or another. I said from the beginning that I couldn’t take his campaign seriously, it is like a huge PR stunt. So I just found this article I had forgotten to add to my updates, and this author says it so much better than I could. Enjoy. 😆
Oh btw, it’s a starless night tonight in Tokyo. 😉
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ComPostOpinion
I miss Donald Trump already
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/wp/2015/09/18/i-miss-donald-trump-already/
Just because you haven’t seen it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. I’ve seen a lot of it. CNN itself just 4 days ago did a segment on all the Trump misrepresentations and distortions and outright lies. Discussed at length his attacks on various women and even lamented all the coverage Trump was getting in the media without realizing that they are just as guilty as the people they accusing.
I just turned 73 and if there is anyone who completely understands just how bad the MSM has gotten it is me. I am a JFK Returned Peace Corps Volunteer who served in the Niger Republic in Africa. I am a Vietnam veteran. This is not the country I always thought we would become. But Trump is nothing new. Corruption in Govt is nothing new. Washington embezzled money meant for the Continental Army to buy slaves, horses and build Mt Vernon. He was responsible as President for hanging the leaders of the soldiers who came to collect the land they were promised for fighting in the Revolution. What is new is the religious zealots that a dumbed down, under-educated citizenry have elected to destroy the only institution that can protect them from the likes of Trump and the other morally and ethically bankrupt people who infest Congress.
At 73 I have a lot of time to kill before it kills me and I spend a lot of that time on my computer looking for real unadulterated News and opinion. I don’t waste my time on commercial TV. I go to Democracy Now, Intercept, Firedog Lake, Truthdig, and other places that do real journalism. So I watch and read what too many Americans don’t either have the patience or education to seek out and pay attention to. Americans love authentication by authority even when the so called authorities aren’t, like Palin, Hannity, O’Rielly, Limbaugh and others. I’d like to find some so called Liberal shows where they dish out lies, distortions, assumptions, and misinformation but I can’t even find them! Can you?
I don’t come here much but maybe I willwrite something with regards to Sanders because he is the first person I’ve gotten excited about since Ralph Nader. He is the last chance America has to pull up the tracks this doomed train is on and lay them in the direction a new and more harmonious outcome as Monte Walsh was wont to say!
Trump is merely the face of
Very well said Handyman. I can’t wait to read what you have to say regarding Bernie Sanders. I too am a follower of Sanders, and do take the time to watch listen to and read some of the same TV programs, and web pages you have listed here. I especially love the Intercept, great reporting IMHO. I also like your grasp on history, I wish more people would take the time to learn the facts about the true history of this nation, and not the unadulterated lies that are continually being manufactured.
Hurry and write that article…I can’t wait!
You hammered the nail; Trump is a coward, and a liar.
Bigotry is the hallmark of the coward and he fits right in with the bigoted base that follow him, and of course, they lie to themselves to hide their bigotry.
I believe you have come to the crux of the problem in one fell swoop. A sheep in wolves clothing, but I’m sure everyone who has an eye to see and an ear to hear saw and heard that from the beginning…at least I truly hope so. You lay it out perfectly AdLib, Trump has been to too many meetings where many republicans espouse the trash that he so eagerly spews all over the listening and viewing public. You know what they say, give them what they want, not what they need. He thinks he is giving the electorate, the republican electorate that is what they want. As has always been the case, there always comes a day when the bully is busy at what he/she does best and all of a sudden from out of nowhere comes someone who has decided they are not going to take it anymore, or someone who happens to be a little bit faster on their feet as in the case of Fiorina, who in my opinion is just as bad as Trump, but not a coward. I mean, anyone with a track record like the one she has who can still have the audacity to try to run for public office couldn’t possibly be a coward, more like a crazed bully that has no idea she is actually a bully, and entirely too stuck on herself, as he is, to realize what she actually looks like to others.
As for the audience member in the video, he was actually throwing back at Trump the garbage he has been spewing for years now. He was in essence, agreeing with Trump…what else could Trump do? He had to try to get away from the question and the person posing the question. There’s nothing like coming face to face with your negative traits, spoken so inarticulately as the questioner did. I have to say though, if Trump has a good ear he would realize the guy asking the question was in effect mirroring Trump himself.
To sum up, I believe something even more cowardly that Trump did was to allow JEB! to stand there and tell that bald faced lie about his brother. GWB kept us safe…are you kidding me…who the hell does JEB! think was president during the 9/11 attacks? That was an opportunity IMHO for Trump to stand up and show that he wasn’t afraid to speak right through the applause and call JEB! on it, instead he cowered like the wimp he is and allowed JEB! to accept applause for the lie. It’s true, Trump is a coward, and I do believe we are about to witness the Emperor without clothes, if he doesn’t up and quit first. 🙂
Well Ad, the “veterans” group (really just one man) that Trump gave the big no foreign policy speech for is being investigated by the IRS. So there’s that.
I maintain as always that Trump’s campaign is an art school project.
Oh and 5 stars as always.
slm, yes, I saw Maddow expose that “group”…which is really just a front for one man and no one else, a Republican operative who used fraud to get the opponent of another Republican convicted of campaign violations so that Republican had a clear path to victory.
Here’s the segment:
Trump duped or worse in fundraiser speech to fake veterans group
Herein is the perfect example of what is wrong with the American voters approach to voting. They vote against things rather than vote for things. This is just another so much ado about nothing that entertains the shallow unfocused mind but does nothing to clarify anything. Even if Trump does get the Republican nomination why waste time talking about all of his negatives, of which there are so many one cannot even begin to remember all of them, when one could concentrate on the positives of either the other candidates or his possible opponents in the Presidential Election? This post beats a dead horse. The exact same one that CNN, MSNBC, FOX, and the rest of the MSM beats but tries to make it look different by painting it a different color, putting a tutu on it, or hitching it to a buggy. The author is doing exactly what all the other media is doing like ignoring Rand Paul’s comments. While Rand displays all the poor policies and solutions of the other candidates he at least made cogent and compassionate responses to actual subjects that matter to Americans and yet only a handful of media pundits have mentioned him.
To the critically thinking American Trump insulting Florina isn’t a real issue of importance. And there is no sympathy for a woman who is so clearly intent on starting more needless wars or lying through her teeth about a video she has not seen and does not exist in the form she says it does. When it comes to real facts Fiorina is no more intellectually adept than Bachmann, Palin, or any of the other Republican candidates! Trump and his buffoonery is merely a distraction, circuses without any bread that he conducts for his own ego. At best Trump is a side show to be entertained by but surely not to be taken serious. If you want to be taken serious when writing about the political world then compare Trump with Sanders as several well known pundits have. That is when you begin to see Trumps real failures, the kind that really have the potential to affect the People and this country’s place in the world. While both Sanders and Trump appeal to a core group of people because they both address what Americans see as real issues Bernie not only has the experience that Trump does not, he also has clear and obtainable plans to accomplish his policies rather than a vague “well, I am a builder or I do own my own business.” Sanders has a long and verifiable history of accomplishing things that serve Americans while Trump does not.
Yes, everything the author says about Trump is true, but so what? In the grand scheme of things it isn’t what really matters! What matters in the long run is who will be able to offer the American voter a workable plan and the trust that will bring it into fruition. That is a discussion worth having.
Hmm…you begin by pronouncing yourself as superior to American voters and the media, what candidate reminds me of such humility?
Nearly every point you represent isn’t well grounded.
No, Americans don’t usually vote against something, they almost always vote for a candidate and the policies they represent. Those who voted for President Obama in 2008 and 2012 were not simply voting against McCain and Romney and vice-versa. Obama voters believed in him and wanted him and his policies in the WH and McCain/Palin and Romney/Ryan supporters were very convicted about wanting them and their policies in the Presidency.
As to your proposition that the candidate who is leading the GOP primary by an unprecedented margin at this point in the race is irrelevant and that we should instead be talking about a candidate like Rand Paul who is polling in and around 1% and is practically out of the race, I am bewildered by the lack of logic.
Like it or not, right now Donald Trump is far ahead of most of the pack and leading all others. Even his strongest critics allow for the possibility that he could maintain his lead by the time Iowa and New Hampshire vote…putting your punditry aside of course. So at this time, he is a legitimate possibility to win the Republican nomination in the minds of many and thus deserving of criticism. Wishing that wasn’t the case just doesn’t make it so.
I would argue that it is important in a democracy that voters have the clearest picture of who each candidate is that could be a contender for President. What their true character is, what they believe in and how they would lead. And BTW, most Americans can carry more than one thought in their head, they can express reasons for opposing one candidate while also expressing reasons to support another, it is not a zero sum game for most people.
Also, I’m not quite clear what your point is when you contradict yourself, after saying we shouldn’t be talking about Trump then saying we should be talking about him in comparison to Bernie Sanders.
Comparing Trump and Sanders is like comparing apples and politicians. Trump has no serious proposals, just bigotry, vague but “huge” promises and personal attacks. Sanders is all about substance and concrete details on how he would accomplish his goals. It doesn’t take a genius to see the differences between the two. If you think such an article is needed and would be greatly enlightening, you’re welcome to write one.
In the meantime, it is kind of ironic that you spend the majority of your comment writing about Trump while explaining why he shouldn’t be written about. I would suggest that if you don’t think he should be written about, don’t write about him.
How amusing that you can’t tell the difference between my writing about you writing about Trump and me writing about Trump.It is impossible to to do that without mentioning Trump. Like your original piece you use assumptions, conjecture, as well as several logical fallacies to make claims which you don’t substantiate. You clearly took this personally and that is never a good thing to do when attempting present an assertion that fails.
I think the article was right on the money. It very accurately described Trump and his cowardly nature.
And since Trump is the front runner in this GOP race, the truth about him should be written, since so much of our corporate owned media is unwilling to do it.
I didn’t say it wasn’t. But by now it is clearly apparent that it doesn’t matter. CNN who is enamored with Trump does tell the truth about Trump as well as the rest of the media. And his base doesn’t care. As I said, why waste time continuing to point out all of Trumps lies and bullying when writing about the positives of other candidates would do more to squelch Trump than continuing to preach to the choir.
I said that Trump is saying what his audience wants to hear. That is why no matter outrageous thing he says he continues to climb in the polls. He is talking about the things that American voters also complain about. The only way to change the discussion is to talk about the real things that the other candidates say about the same issues! Denigrating Trump even if it is factual, which his base doesn’t give a crap about, only makes them dig in their heals. Anyone can write a hit piece. It takes someone who is smart and willing to work real hard to write something that shows a worthy candidate’s superiority over Trump. Of course that doesn’t exist amongst the circus that is the Republican Party. Change never comes from telling people what the problem is, it comes from providing solutions. The article didn’t do that and that is a requisite for effective writing.
I really haven’t seen any “denigration,” of Trump by the media. The only one who has come close has been Rachel Maddow.
I will be looking forward to reading your next article.
I do think the Planet could use more articles about Sanders. Maybe you should consider that.