The New York Times doesn’t like Trump. On Sunday it ran a page-long editorial on his failed presidency.
On Monday, columnist Charles Blow tore Trump apart as a man without a moral core.He might have added that he is a man with no knowledge of history, no curiosity about the world, no patience for listening and learning. In short, he is totally unfit–by temperament, intellect, and experience–to be president.
Blow wrote:
“We are leaderless. America doesn’t have a president. America has a man in the White House holding the spot, and wreaking havoc as he waits for the day when a real president arrives to replace him.
“Donald Trump is many things — most of them despicable — but the leader of a nation he is not. He is not a great man. Hell, he isn’t even a good man.
“Donald Trump is a man of flawed character and a moral cavity. He cannot offer moral guidance because he has no moral compass. He is too small to see over his inflated ego.
“Trump has personalized the presidency in unprecedented ways — making every battle and every war about his personal feelings. Did the person across the street or around the world say good or bad things about him? Does the media treat him fairly? Is someone in his coterie of corruption outshining him or casting negative light on him?
“His interests center on the self; country be damned.
“What some have always known about Trump, others are slowly coming to realize, and with great shock and horror. The presidency is revealing the essence of the man and that essence is dark.”
Getting through this next three years and five months a test of our nation. Can we survive with a president who is a malignant narcissist, ignorant about foreign and domestic policy, motivated solely by self-aggrandizement?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
With the greatest respect: whenever someone—anyone—writes “…getting through this next three years and five months…,” or words to that effect, I recoil in pain and anguish. If the most hated president in modern memory, the loser of the popular vote, the minority president described so accurately by Charles Blow and many others is still in office by the end of January it will be a sad reflection on our country. It will be a living testament, for all the world to see, that the USA has fallen, our system of checks and balances thwarted, our Constitution in tatters, a scrap of meaningless words on crumpled paper.
To tell you the truth, I don’t especially look forward to the idea of President Pence or President Ryan: Trump, minus clinical insanity & plus expert knowledge of how Congress works.
Yo tampoco.
In light of Trump’s characteristic description of the NY Times, I found the title, “The Failing Trump Presidency,” particularly amusing. 2 can play this game! 🙂
Charles Blow is a big Common Core proponent. I’m glad he opposes Trump but so do a whole lot of reformies. And I remember reading about him right here. https://dianeravitch.net/2013/08/22/how-sad-that-charles-blow-is-so-misinformed/
Maybe he lost interest in Common Core. Almost all NY Times writers–esp editorial board and columnists–are clueless about education: Kristoff, Brooks, the editorial board headed by James Bennett, brother of Colorado Senator Michael Bennett, and Brent Staples. In love with charters.
Michael Bennett is symptomatic of the failure of a Democratic Party driven by the richest 0.1% who are DINOS.
Michael and James Bennett got early starts in privilege at the same St. Albans school ($$$$) in D.C., attended by Louisiana’s John White.
Michael worked at the Anschutz Investment firm prior to aiding the richest 0.1% as a Dem. Sen. I assume the firm is the namesake of Phillip F. Anschutz, who weaponizes his philanthropy to fight against the common good. Anschutz funded “Waiting for Superman ” and “Won’t Back Down”. Sourcewatch labels him the typical right wing political supporter.
Anschutz is also a big funder of evangelical causes. He funded the effort to strike down gay marriage in CA.
Anschutz is also a major fracker. He has fought small towns in court that try to ban fracking.
In love with charters and NOT fans of professional veteran teachers.
OK so here’s the thing. They don’t like Trump. We don’t like Trump. But they go along with nonsense like Common Core and charters. This is pretty much what Hillary did, and what she ran on. And this watered down wimpy nonsense is precisely what placed Donald Trump in the White House. Kristoff–ridiculous and illogical to the point of contending that teacher certification kept Meryl Streep and Colin Powell from becoming NYC teachers.
The point is we’re gonna have to do better if we have a vision for the future, because theirs has failed spectacularly.
USA TODAY has a full page ad titled Turn Your Backs On Trump.
The ad offers a narrative by the CEO of a manufacturing company who is fed up with Trump’s support of values at odds with his own and Trump’s “out of control behavior.” The ad refers to a website: turnyourbacks.org and a Twitter account.
“Fake news,” is what Trump probably and dismissively said when one of his staff read this column to him.
I’d like to think, but doubt, that his staff is “smart” enough to know better than to read that column to the “you’re fired” Trumpster.
Trump has no moral right to expand the war in Afghanistan nor to receive Secret Service protection until it is proven that he pays federal income taxes like those of us who are footing the bill for his costly decisions and upkeep.
I also read these articles and have been posing the same questions. Can we get through this so-called presidency. At this point, I just don’t know. To avoid despair, I do one act resistance every day, even just something small, such as a comment on social media, a contact with a member of congress–call, tweet, email, office visit, whatever. The prospect of, minimum, another three plus years exhausts me. But I will keep the drumbeat going. Thanks for your inspiration.
“Can we get through this so-called presidency.”
That’s what I was asking myself during Unca Ronnie Raygun’s and Georgie the Least’s presidencies.
Duane,
Trump is a nightmare–far, far worse than Reagan or either Bush. None of them wanted to destroy the federal government. Trump does.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say he wants to destroy the federal government. He seems to love everything military. Yes, he would love to see the parts of the federal government that affect his cronies businesses destroyed so that they can wreak havoc on the environment and society while garnering massive profits off the backs of the average Joe/Jane. And I’m not sure I’d say he is “far worse”. Worse, yes, but those two were very bad in my mind. Hard to get worse.
Make sure to vote during the midterms in 2018 to help kick the GOP majority out of one or both Houses of Congress. That is our first window to strip this idiot in the White House of any power that he has to continue destroying the United States. Until then, we have to rely on a very small number of Republicans who are not supporting the Kremlin’s Agent Orange and those elected GOP reps are under attack by the Alt-Right for not falling into line like a good and loyal minion.
The rules that Eva Moskowitz posts for five-year-olds in her child abusing, cherry picking, private sector, for profit corporate charter schools are the same rules the Alt-Right expects every elected Republican to obey.
Excellent, as are all Blow’s columns.)