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Tue 16 Apr, 2024 11:20 am
Got this from my Quora feed. Thought it would be a good idea to share it.
This is probably the best description of Trump ever written…
Nate White, a British writer penned the best description of Donald Trump I’ve ever read:
“Why do some British people not like Donald Trump?”
A few things spring to mind. Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem. For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace – all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed. So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trump’s limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief.
Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing – not once, ever. I don’t say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility – for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman. But with Trump, it’s a fact. He doesn’t even seem to understand what a joke is – his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty.
Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers. And scarily, he doesn’t just talk in crude, witless insults – he actually thinks in them. His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness.
There is never any under-layer of irony, complexity, nuance or depth. It’s all surface. Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront. Well, we don’t. We see it as having no inner world, no soul. And in Britain we traditionally side with David, not Goliath. All our heroes are plucky underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist. Trump is neither plucky, nor an underdog. He is the exact opposite of that. He’s not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedy fat-cat. He’s more a fat white slug. A Jabba the Hutt of privilege.
And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully. That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a snivelling sidekick instead. There are unspoken rules to this stuff – the Queensberry rules of basic decency – and he breaks them all. He punches downwards – which a gentleman should, would, could never do – and every blow he aims is below the belt. He particularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless – and he kicks them when they are down.
So the fact that a significant minority – perhaps a third – of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think ‘Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy’ is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people, given that:
• Americans are supposed to be nicer than us, and mostly are.
• You don’t need a particularly keen eye for detail to spot a few flaws in the man.
This last point is what especially confuses and dismays British people, and many other people too; his faults seem pretty bloody hard to miss. After all, it’s impossible to read a single tweet, or hear him speak a sentence or two, without staring deep into the abyss. He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of ****. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum.
God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid. He makes Nixon look trustworthy and George W look smart. In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws – he would make a Trump.
And a remorseful Doctor Frankenstein would clutch out big clumpfuls of hair and scream in anguish: ‘My God… what… have… I… created?' If being a twat was a TV show, Trump would be the boxed set.”
@Frank Apisa,
It's not just some of us who loathe him, it's most.
Only far right idiots like him, and I doubt they like him as a person.
Being wity is very important in our leadrrs I remember reading a German journalist's surprise at Gordon Brown being criticised for his lack of humour.
Angela Merkel would never face such criticism.
@Frank Apisa,
Dubya was fairly disliked too, but unlike Trump he could be funny.
His response when he tried to walk off stage via a locked door showed an awareness of self deprecation.
Trump would have burst into a fit of rage and demanded sackings.
@Frank Apisa,
Other than self deprecation if you're going to attack other people you need to punch up.
Trump always mocks those who are already disadvantaged.
@izzythepush,
izzythepush wrote:
Other than self deprecation if you're going to attack other people you need to punch up.
Trump always mocks those who are already disadvantaged.
Good comments, Izzy.
Not sure who Nate White is, but he hit this one out of the park. (An American baseball expression.)
@Frank Apisa,
I must admit I've not heard of him.
Trump has an unwavering need to own everything.. His insatiable greed will always identify his absolute desires.
@Frank Apisa,
He fails the Falstaff test.
Falstaff is a villain but despite all the bad things he does he is loved by the English audience.
That's because he has three traits that particularly endear him to the English.
Those traits are wit, good living and irreverence.
Trump is not remotely witty, he's tiresome and dull.
Despite his wealth he does not live remotely well, his home furninishings are garish and tacky and he eats junk food.
He may display irreverence towards those hallowed institutions people value, but when it comes to autocrats and despots his tongue is right up their arses, be it Russia, North Korea or Saudi Arabia if a tyrant wants genuflection and butt kissing Trump's their man.
The question shouldn't be why do most British people despise Trump, but how come so many Americans don't.
Quote:how come so many Americans don't.
long story short --
bad parenting coupled with a failed education system has produced a generation of ignorant, gullible people...