Elections Have Consequences VIII
To the Editor:
Mr “I alone can fix it” had promised to end the Ukraine war on Day 1 of his new term. 123 days later it looks like our wannabe dictator is afraid to take on a real dictator. Trump could force Putin’s hand if he would pledge to continue supporting Ukraine with intelligence and weapons while simultaneously increasing sanctions on Russia, but odds are he won’t.
This will send a clear message to the rest of the world – If you stand up to Trump he will back down — much like China’s Xi is doing with Trump’s tariffs.
We need to once and for all stop talking about Trump being a great negotiator and a great businessman — he’s a bully and a con-man. We need to stop reporting everything he says as if it is significant — much of it is incorrect and incoherent. We need to stop treating him like he is some strong, manly figure — he’s just loud and vulgar.
Things might change, however, if we could just find some way for Trump to personally profit off Ukraine winning the war. I wonder if Zelenskyy has a tricked out 747 that he could offer Trump as a backup to the one Qatar is g(r)ifting him.
1338 days to go.
Kathy Quinn
Newtown
Once again, one sees familiar talking points resurfacing — a blend of performative panic and recycled outrage, echoing the same dire warnings that have become almost ceremonial in certain political circles.
Outrage that President Trump hasn’t personally flown to Moscow and ended the Ukraine war with a handshake and a tweet — as if any president (let alone Biden, who spent his term confusing countries) could end a foreign war on day one.
Trump’s success isn’t measured by how many editorials he triggers — though he’s clearly winning there — but by the fact that despite an endless stream of media hit pieces, investigations, impeachments, and lawsuits, Americans are still choosing him. Maybe, just maybe, they prefer results over rehearsed outrage.
And as for the countdowns? They may need a few extra pages. 2798 days to go — because apparently, third terms are what real authoritarian nightmares are made of.
No performative panic or recycled outrage here, just disbelief that the man who sat in our Oval Office for over 4 hours watching in glee while our Capital was overrun and our capital police attacked and beaten, and then tweeted to fan the fire to harm our Vice President got even one American vote.
When you have to start numbering your diatribes … that’s when it becomes recycled outrage.