15 reasons to NOT like President Donald Trump

A recent headline in The State newspaper of Columbia, S.C. caught my eye: 30 reasons to like President Donald Trump. I had to laugh at No. 5, “He’s a very hard worker.” Especially since it followed No. 4, “He is an avid golfer.” I’ll say. During his presidency, the man who once said “I will have no time for golf if elected,” has made 264 visits to golf resorts, mostly his own, at taxpayer expense.

Nothing on that list dissuaded me from believing Trump is an abject failure as president — a threat to our Constitution, a danger to public health and a hateful divider on questions of race, national origin, and religion.

But that’s the stuff of serious political debate.

What shocked me about this list was it was supposed to make me actually like the man.

I’ve met Trump

Before listing my reasons to not like him, I should note that I have met and dined with Donald Trump. If your litmus test of candidates is “which one would I rather have a beer with?” trust me when I tell you this isn’t the guy.

The list:

1) Trump doesn’t have a dog. He’s anti-dog. When he doesn’t like someone (say Mitt Romney) he says they “choked like a dog.” Or in the case of a woman (say Carly Fiorina) he says they “have a face like a dog.”

2) Trump has no sense of humor. He doesn’t tell funny stories, and he doesn’t laugh at those who do. His idea of wit is to imitate people with afflictions, or give you a 5th grade nickname like “Little Marco” or “Nervous Nancy.”

3) He doesn’t drink (even though he often sounds drunk when he talks). He thinks “Bud Light” is a homophobic nickname he could use some day.

4) He is not a good scout. (I was an Eagle Scout, and can still recite the Scout Law). “A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind...” You get the idea.

5) He’s “so vain.” The spray tan. His love of watching himself on TV. Who really likes a narcissist?

6) He’s not a patriot. This guy dodged the draft for Vietnam but dismissed John McCain’s seven years of captivity and torture with: “I like people that weren’t captured.”

7) He’s a major tax dodger, which really gets to me when I write that IRS check knowing how much this guy loves spending my money but won’t pay his share.

8) It’s hard to like somebody who rips off charities. Trump’s foundation had to pay $2 million for a “shocking pattern of illegality,” and the state of New York has barred him and his adult children from serving on the boards of any charities.

9) He’s a liar. COVID-19 is usually like a case of the sniffles and will “magically disappear.” He would’ve won the popular vote if 3 million illegal aliens hadn’t voted.

10) He’s such a whiner. You’d think a guy in the White House, with the Senate in his lap, two of his own Supreme Court Justices and Fox News would have things under control. But he plays the victim card like Blanche DuBois.

11) The buck stops anywhere but with Trump. The first thing I learned in Navy OCS was that if it happens on your watch, you own it. With Trump, if it’s a good thing, he takes all the credit. Bad? He had nothing to do with it.

12) The creepy sex vibe. Talking about how “hot” his daughter is, barging into the dressing room of his Miss Universe pageants, hanging out with Jeffrey Epstein. Paying off the strippers. And, of course, the “grabbing.”

13) Probably the most Godless president of my lifetime, he doesn’t go to church, has no idea what’s in the Bible—“a very special book” — but he claims we couldn’t say “Merry Christmas” until he took office. Ha Ha.

14) He cheats at golf. Suggested reading: “Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump” by the great sportswriter Rick Reilly.

15) He loves the Confederate flag. Both my mother and father’s family homes sat squarely in the path of Sherman’s march across Georgia. But I know what that flag stands for — stoking the fires of racial division and hatred. Even the state of Mississippi has abandoned it. Not Trump, whose family arrived 20 years after the Civil War.

I could go on. But No. 15 is where to focus — it’s the most dangerous and appears to be the only card Trump has left to get re-elected. So far, it’s not working so well.

This story was originally published July 24, 2020 at 11:05 AM.