Dear President Trump, Remember how last February after the MSD mass shooting there were claims that the survivors who were speaking out about gun violence were crisis actors, that they weren’t really students who witnessed the murder of 17 people from their school community? Do you remember when those claims started burbling up to discredit … Continue reading Crowd fillers
Your Base
What have we done?
Dear President Trump, I’m not sure at what point I started crying. I think it was during the video of President Obama’s highlights in office the HP put together for his birthday today. Seeing him smiling and engaged, signing the marriage equality act into law, flipping burgers for people on the White House lawn, talking … Continue reading What have we done?
Why bring out the worst in people?
Dear President Trump, I wasn’t born yet, so I didn’t hear JFK give his inauguration speech urging Americans to ask not what their country can do for them but rather, what they can do for their country. You would have been 14 at the time, plenty old enough to be interested in your new president … Continue reading Why bring out the worst in people?
Raving maniacs in plaid sundresses
Dear President Trump, There are so many things going on. This morning it occurred to me that I could close my eyes and get Laura to open the WP and I could randomly point to something, anything and it would be a worthy letter-to-you topic. Then there are the things going on here with people … Continue reading Raving maniacs in plaid sundresses
Mental gymnastics are bad for the soul
Dear President Trump, Due to character count limits yesterday I trimmed out my prediction that we’d be showered with multiple Trump Twitter bombs today as you scramble to keep your supporters looking at the shiny object that is you rather than paying attention to Chris Wallace (Fox News) questioning Rudy G about his massive flip-flopping … Continue reading Mental gymnastics are bad for the soul
Tangled webs and layers of lies
Dear President Trump, The line “Oh! what a tangled web we weave \ When first we practise to deceive!” just popped into my head. It’s from a poem by Sir Walter Scott named “Marmion” (a fictious English Lord) and it’s about adultery and efforts to cover it up. One of Marmion’s mistresses was to be … Continue reading Tangled webs and layers of lies
Fight/Flight/Freeze….Flail
Dear President Trump, Are you betting your supporters won’t care that you’re lying or will be so gullible that they’ll believe Russia is actually trying to help the Democrats win the midterms? You’ll no doubt get some takers who will shrug off the blatant lie and others who will believe their Chief no matter what … Continue reading Fight/Flight/Freeze….Flail
Leading with hate
Dear President Trump, Since reading Richard Cohen’s piece in the WP yesterday that unpacks why your base adores you, I’ve found myself thinking about my first boss out of college. In most ways, this boss was about as unlike you as possible. He was a brilliant, highly regarded academic who helped launch many successful careers. … Continue reading Leading with hate
We want to believe that you believe what you are saying, but we shouldn’t
Dear President Trump, I’ve been struggling with the issue of belief all day and it’s giving me a headache. It’s not so much what people believe that has me going in circles, it’s more trying to sort out how to know whether what someone says they believe really is what they believe. Generally this shouldn’t … Continue reading We want to believe that you believe what you are saying, but we shouldn’t
Words matter (2)
Dear President Trump, One of the things you seem to know instinctively is that words matter. Although you’re certainly not one of the more verbally facile individuals on the planet, your ability to read situations and groups of people has enabled you to find and tune phrases that will worm their way into your supporters’ … Continue reading Words matter (2)
Daily Trump Letters 