Looking at the Ever Trumpers

Looking at the Ever Trumpers July 24, 2017

That’s Ever-Trumpers, not Never-Trumpers.  Jonah Goldberg, my favorite NT, is right.  There comes a time when you have to pull the ripcord.  Like most Never-Trump types, Goldberg isn’t a fanatic.  If Donald Trump personally cured cancer or rescued a child from a burning building, Goldberg would, as I would, give credit where it is due.

But there is almost a frightening level of cultic blindness that is happening with some of those defending Trump at all costs. During the election campaign, my oldest boy noticed that Trump and his supporters had effectively redefined ‘establishment candidate’ as anyone who wasn’t Trump.  And being establishment, they could therefore be ignored on the grounds that they were establishment.  Therefore, it stood to reason that anyone not Trump who said anything critical of Trump (or who said anything at all for that matter) could simply be ignored.  That’s one way to win an argument.

I’m the first to try to give a president the benefit of a few doubts.  Whether Bush(es), Obama, Clinton, or whoever.  No president is perfect.  And no president is going to be 100% wrong.  Nonetheless, it’s how those balance out.  The great presidents accomplished great things that overshadowed their failures.  The good presidents at least came out ahead in the good/bad ratio.  The bad ones?  No doubt they managed a couple noteworthy accomplishments.  I still think GW Bush’s speech at Ground Zero following the 9/11 attacks was a rousing, inspiring speech.  Far better than what he did afterwards.  But credit where it is due.  Just not enough to balance out everything he did wrong.  But you have to admit when wrong is wrong.

For instance, there is nothing at all wrong with admitting that Trump is failing as a leader.  Sure, he’s rolled back a slew of things Obama got passed with pen and phone.  But what of it?  Most critics pointed out Obama’s reliance on that approach was due to his own failures as an actual leader.  If that’s true, then since Trump’s only accomplishment is undoing what Obama had to rely on due to a lack of leadership skills suggests, at best, Trump has the same lack of leadership skills.

Admitting the obvious is often a good way toward solving the problems.  It certainly goes a long way toward maintaining credibility.


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