What a simple bottle of water can tell us about President Trump

As I scrolled through my Twitter feed recently, I noticed an AP story that was shared by my local CBS television news affiliate. The headline read, Trump pauses address to nation to take 2 big swigs of water. I found that to be an odd news story. Why would that be newsworthy? Then I began to read some of the many comments posted below the link. Living in a Red State, as I do, I’ve grown accustomed to the sorts of comments I read following this article. Dozens of Trump supporters piled on to virtually eviscerate the station labeling it as a typical left wing mouthpiece, implying that they were reaching for straws by posting such a non-story. One particularly colorful commenter called the station a “liberal sh#t rag.”

Well, I had to read the story to find out why it was news and, when I did, I learned what I suspected to be true–there was a valid story there. I also learned something else I suspected to be true–none of those frothing Trump supporters who commented about the tweet had bothered to read past the headline–typical of that breed.

Here is an excerpt from the story that makes it newsworthy–and it tells us all we need to know about President Trump.

During the 2016 campaign, Trump frequently skewered [Marco] Rubio, his one-time GOP rival, for needing to quench his thirst during speeches.

“When they put Marco on to refute President Obama’s speech, do you remember that catastrophe?” Trump asked a campaign crowd in Fort Worth, Texas, in February 2016. Trump mocked Rubio, saying, “He’s like this: ‘I need water. Help me, I need water,’” Trump said, pretending to stagger on stage.

“This is on live television. This total choke artist,” Trump said at the time, holding up a bottle of water, saying, “It’s Rubio.” Trump splashed the water around before tossing the bottle behind him on stage. “Unbelievable,” Trump said in 2016.

For Rubio, it was all water under the bridge. The senator joked after the president’s speech that Trump needs to work on his form.

Retweeting video of the episode, Rubio wrote on Twitter, “Similar,but needs work on his form.Has to be done in one single motion & eyes should never leave the camera. But not bad for his 1st time.” 

Source: Associated Press

So, Trump’s pausing to sip from a water bottle during his address only became newsworthy because he had belittled an opponent a year earlier for doing exactly the same thing.

Trump and what is left of his support base are cut from the same cloth. They have never matured past the emotional level of a middle schooler.

Trump has no apparent skill of self-evaluation. Whether this is a result of immaturity, narcissism, or dementia, it is clear that he has no ability to see his own hypocrisy–and his supporters either share in his disability or they have a tremendous ability to ignore it through cognitive dissonance.

We see it seemingly every time the president takes to Twitter.

Take this recent gem of a tweet where the president took yet another childish jab at a madman with nuclear weapons…

“Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me “old,” when I would NEVER call him “short and fat?” Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend–and maybe someday that will happen!” 

Trump on Twitter (6:48 pm–Nov. 11, 2017)

That is the sort of petty, inane, passive-aggressive garbage one would expect to see from a 13-year-old girl. Yet, it comes from our president and it comes on a nearly daily basis.

Can you imagine placing some of his quotes alongside some of those from our past presidents–Adams, Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt……………….Trump–how far have we sunk?

Yet, here we are in an age where even a seemingly benign sip from a bottle of water reveals the complete lack of character of our leader.

God help us.