The Toxic President

In an even worse sequel to of one of Donald Trump's most putrid campaign episodes, the President has again tangled with another Gold Star family. This time, the feud is over the appropriateness of remarks Trump made during a condolence call to a grieving widow. 

None of us where there. None of us can say for sure we know what was said. The only opinion that matters is that of Myeshia Johnson who either heard what she thought she heard or processed whatever Trump said differently than he intended. Grief can certainly cloud the processing of events in anyone so sensitivity to her situation should have been paramount when the President chose his words. Even if he said all the right things, the fact she somehow felt different is not beyond the possible. Trump could have taken the high road and apologized for at least leaving her with an unintended impression even if he stood by his words. He could have acknowledge her grief, the difficulty of the situation, and moved on without appearing patronizing or insincere.

However, Trump is not a man that apologies about anything. He is incapable of admitting error, demonstrating humility, or showing empathy. So this President instead chose to engage in a public war of words with a grieving widow dragging what should be the most private of moments further into the public arena. As if that wasn't mistake enough, surrogates from both side became involved escalating the rhetoric to a new level of ugly. 

Florida congress woman Frederica Wilson who reportedly heard the call defended Johnson's account. The President responded by shoving his Chief of Staff, John Kelly, into the line of fire. Kelly, himself a Gold Star father and retired general, somehow found a way to both defend Trump and level partisan political accusations against the congresswoman that were almost immediately proven false via video evidence. That opened the door for Wilson to fire back raising the issue of race as a motivator for the administration's response.

All of this could have been avoided had the President chose to be the bigger person. Instead, the President chose to be toxic.

Trump's lack of moral character means his natural instincts are driven by the worst of human emotion running unchecked. Narcism, ego, entitlement, a sense of infallibility, and greed are evident in nearly every action he takes. It is a toxic combination that is poisoning the country. Trump's toxicity also brings out the worst in those around and those that support him.

One of the most troubling examples of the latter came during the Wilson/Kelly back and forth, as if that situation wasn't troubling enough on its own. After Kelly leveled accusations against Wilson that reporters suspected to be false, White House Press secretary Sarah Sanders said it was inappropriate to question a four star general.

Not in this country, Sarah. It's an imperative.

The beyond reproach claim is a diversionary tactic the administration has trotted out before. Senior White House policy adviser Stephen Miller asserted the President's policy beyond question when attempting to defend the original Trump travel ban. The policy, actions, and character of the administration are so indefensible the only option open to them is to try and shutdown all dialog.

Kelly's baseless attack is sad irony to Trump's recent tweet war with the NFL around patriotism. At a time when his boss has spent significant time bashing players over their genuine protest during the national anthem, the former general used false accusations to discredit a woman attempting to defend the widow of an American war hero. There is little honor or patriotism in that.

Aborhent behavior is the norm for this Presidency. The idea the GOP is the party of traditional values is laughable. Few values anyone would consider desirable are based in lies, racism, sexual harassment, greed, narcissism, and intolerance. Yet those toxic behaviors are what Trump and his supporters put on display everyday.