Insulting. All Catholic should be furious. But not just Catholics soon. He’ll be dressing himself up as Moses, Mohammed, Buddha, etc. etc. we’re still in morning for Pope Francis; the antithesis of Trump don’t ever ask how low Trump can go. We haven’t hit that bottom yet.
I recall reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the epic Chinese novel. Throughout the book, one warlord or another would express his intent to kill someone, either a captured enemy or one of his own followers. Then, if he got too much pushback from his other followers, he would say it was all a big joke. While I doubt Trump read this novel, he certainly seems to share the warlords’ sense of "humor".
“Passionately dispassionate” is a brilliant insight into my approach here. I did it instinctively, the way I make a lot of creative choices, but now I’m conscious of what I did and why.
“I’m in Camp Utterly Disgusted: about this, about…all of it.” That’s because you are a mensch!
I think you're overthinking it in terms of a bid. That's entirely too thematic for him. It makes more sense for me to just think of him as a disciple of Norman Vincent Peele. Trump believes, ironically, in the power of positive thinking. He believes in the power of naming it and claiming it. He believes in The Secret. This is for the sake of himself and his own consumption and his own self-image and his own benefit. Trump is, therefore, simply the fullest American. I say this as a critique.
I appreciate your thoughts, D. I’ve heard this hypothesis before, and I think there’s some value in it; certainly it’s the only kind of spirituality that seems in any way applicable to Trump. At the end of the day, though, I see him as the most transactional of men, and therefore the most purely secular. I don’t think he actually “believes in” anything at all. Everything is a manipulation, an attempted acquisition, a move to get the best available prize from the arcade claw game of life.
I appreciate the distinction in terms of belief, so I suppose it's better to talk about appetite? It's quite instinctual. But then there's that part of us all that has that, the difference is that Trump in his public persona is nothing but appetite, and there's little chance to see that he has cultivated more than that in his private life. The opposite of Love is use, and the cruelest use is appetite at the expense of others!
Among the elect we will be judged according to how we destroy our appetites, certainly at the expense of others, because that will give us greater capacity for love ...
I went here just because it seemed wrong to talk down about a guy when I see so much of myself in him.
Many, many years ago I struggled with the temptation to hate Donald Trump. It has been a long time since I felt that temptation; I can’t even imagine hating him now. On the contrary, my overwhelming disposition toward him is pity. His inner world seems so terribly, terribly tiny, his capacity for happiness so cruelly circumscribed. I can’t imagine the childhood or family experiences that leave a person so profoundly limited. I write here, not to condemn him, but hopefully to help others see more clearly.
True. His larger-than-life mythos vastly overshadows his actual impact on the world. Trump is also dwarfed by his larger-than-life mythos, but his impact on the world is enormous.
I also encourage Americans reading this to call your Member of Congress and your U.S. Senators to tell them how hurt you were by this anti-Catholic action by President Trump and urge them to condemn it and demand an apology from Trump and that VP Vance and Secretary of State Rubio also condemn what Trump did.
I just called my Congresswoman, Angie Craig, and one of my U.S. Senators, Amy Klobuchar, to make that request of them and tell them how angered and hurt I was by what Trump did on Saturday.
It’s one of the most egregious examples of anti-Catholic prejudice and filth I have ever seen in my lifetime and it CANNOT go unanswered, in my opinion.
In my family we are Trump supporters in general. But I told my kids that this "Trump as the pope" meme is wrong, and an example of trolling gone too far. That's pretty much all that needs to be said in my opinion. Trump is not a particularly good man, just a good president.
Thanks for your thoughts, KF. I’ve written a lot about why I think Trump is a terrible president, but we don’t need to rehash it here and now. I’m glad that, despite your views on that subject, you won’t rubber-stamp everything the man does. That’s worth something.
Some are laughing at him. But others are laughing in support of him at the expense of those who are offended. They are his target audience, if not all of them.
Very good article! I wonder - perhaps he has never experienced true grief. He’s certainly a stranger to compassion, and to respect, particularly for any and all who aren’t MAGA. Or even for many of them. The coal miners in West Virginia are mostly his people. But the administration has closed the agency which was providing free, black lung related health care. They were also doing research on the disease. Today’s miners will be less safe than their fathers or grandfathers! No one is of any importance or value to him, other than for their votes. Poor children will no longer have Head Start, or food supplements, and the administration would love to remove their health care. Meals on wheels, research on diseases undertaken by universities…it’s a disgrace. No one seems to matter, except the wealthy. They will get their big tax cuts, and the working and middle class will pay for them. This all appears to come from a man without a heart, or perhaps his is just black.
I don’t know whether Trump has ever loved anyone. Certainly I’ve seen no sign of it in his public life while I’ve been paying attention. As for “his people,” Trump screws over everyone eventually.
Thank you for your very kind comments on this situation. Yes, you are right, DJT must have been very neglected or worse for him to be what he appears to be.
I have never seen a more purely pitiable man, Gayle. I have seen many for whom I feel far greater sympathy—any of the Venezuelans he sent to that Salvadoran hellhole is a thousand times more worthy of our sympathy than he is—but any of those Venezuelans who truly loves one person and is loved by them is vastly richer than Trump can begin to imagine. The man’s life is dust and ashes, and he has no idea what the alternative would look like or how to begin building something with foundations.
The other thing the left misses, in the words of Dave Chappelle, “ the guy is hilarious, how dare he say the funniest joke in presidential history, calling Covid, the Kung Flu, that’s my job” Trump is funny, people hate him so much that they don’t admit something obvious
Usually love what you write, it still surprises me that very intelligent people haven’t figured out how the Trumps con works, he floods the zone, then makes good meaning people fight him on big things but more importantly on meaningless things, that way he can tell his supporters that all of the left are humorless duds. Best response is to ignore most of it and engage on only important things
This is literally the first thing I have posted here on Substack about Trump since the inauguration. I am more interested in helping the people I wrote about in note 1 than in attempting to “deprive him of oxygen,” which he will find with or without me.
Ultimately, Tony, I’m not writing about Trump. I’m writing about people defending Trump. If we can’t say “Don’t defend trolling people who are grieving,” if we’re basically saying that Westboro Baptist or Alex Jones tactics aren’t worth criticizing, we’re essentially giving up on each other’s humanity. I’m pointing out that this is a test of humanity. I don’t see that as “taking bait.”
Insulting. All Catholic should be furious. But not just Catholics soon. He’ll be dressing himself up as Moses, Mohammed, Buddha, etc. etc. we’re still in morning for Pope Francis; the antithesis of Trump don’t ever ask how low Trump can go. We haven’t hit that bottom yet.
I recall reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the epic Chinese novel. Throughout the book, one warlord or another would express his intent to kill someone, either a captured enemy or one of his own followers. Then, if he got too much pushback from his other followers, he would say it was all a big joke. While I doubt Trump read this novel, he certainly seems to share the warlords’ sense of "humor".
It’s a common predatory strategy, Ryan. One of the few forms of human behavior he understands.
Thank you for your vigorous, passionately dispassionate analysis. (I’m in Camp Utterly Disgusted: about this, about…all of it.)
“Passionately dispassionate” is a brilliant insight into my approach here. I did it instinctively, the way I make a lot of creative choices, but now I’m conscious of what I did and why.
“I’m in Camp Utterly Disgusted: about this, about…all of it.” That’s because you are a mensch!
I think you're overthinking it in terms of a bid. That's entirely too thematic for him. It makes more sense for me to just think of him as a disciple of Norman Vincent Peele. Trump believes, ironically, in the power of positive thinking. He believes in the power of naming it and claiming it. He believes in The Secret. This is for the sake of himself and his own consumption and his own self-image and his own benefit. Trump is, therefore, simply the fullest American. I say this as a critique.
I appreciate your thoughts, D. I’ve heard this hypothesis before, and I think there’s some value in it; certainly it’s the only kind of spirituality that seems in any way applicable to Trump. At the end of the day, though, I see him as the most transactional of men, and therefore the most purely secular. I don’t think he actually “believes in” anything at all. Everything is a manipulation, an attempted acquisition, a move to get the best available prize from the arcade claw game of life.
I appreciate the distinction in terms of belief, so I suppose it's better to talk about appetite? It's quite instinctual. But then there's that part of us all that has that, the difference is that Trump in his public persona is nothing but appetite, and there's little chance to see that he has cultivated more than that in his private life. The opposite of Love is use, and the cruelest use is appetite at the expense of others!
Among the elect we will be judged according to how we destroy our appetites, certainly at the expense of others, because that will give us greater capacity for love ...
I went here just because it seemed wrong to talk down about a guy when I see so much of myself in him.
Many, many years ago I struggled with the temptation to hate Donald Trump. It has been a long time since I felt that temptation; I can’t even imagine hating him now. On the contrary, my overwhelming disposition toward him is pity. His inner world seems so terribly, terribly tiny, his capacity for happiness so cruelly circumscribed. I can’t imagine the childhood or family experiences that leave a person so profoundly limited. I write here, not to condemn him, but hopefully to help others see more clearly.
Pray for me, that I might be shielded from that temptation and others. I struggle against the vice of pride, and it blinds me.
I will remember you in prayer during my communion tomorrow morning, Michael, along with the president, for whom I pray regularly.
Thank you, Deacon. God bless you.
Excellent: thank you so much for this.
Thanks so much for reading, M!
Mansen was crazy, but the damage he did to the country or the world was negligible compared to this monster!
True. His larger-than-life mythos vastly overshadows his actual impact on the world. Trump is also dwarfed by his larger-than-life mythos, but his impact on the world is enormous.
Very true
Nice to see this from one of my US Senators:
https://x.com/amyklobuchar/status/1919245896346177955
I also encourage Americans reading this to call your Member of Congress and your U.S. Senators to tell them how hurt you were by this anti-Catholic action by President Trump and urge them to condemn it and demand an apology from Trump and that VP Vance and Secretary of State Rubio also condemn what Trump did.
I just called my Congresswoman, Angie Craig, and one of my U.S. Senators, Amy Klobuchar, to make that request of them and tell them how angered and hurt I was by what Trump did on Saturday.
It’s one of the most egregious examples of anti-Catholic prejudice and filth I have ever seen in my lifetime and it CANNOT go unanswered, in my opinion.
You can rely on those two to denounce Trump. Would that they were equally aghast at most members of their own party.
In my family we are Trump supporters in general. But I told my kids that this "Trump as the pope" meme is wrong, and an example of trolling gone too far. That's pretty much all that needs to be said in my opinion. Trump is not a particularly good man, just a good president.
Thanks for your thoughts, KF. I’ve written a lot about why I think Trump is a terrible president, but we don’t need to rehash it here and now. I’m glad that, despite your views on that subject, you won’t rubber-stamp everything the man does. That’s worth something.
This is Trumps idea of a “joke” though he doesn’t “do” humour. What he misses is that people while rightly offended are laughing at him, not with him.
Some are laughing at him. But others are laughing in support of him at the expense of those who are offended. They are his target audience, if not all of them.
Thanks Deacon Greydanus, so grateful I’m not alone.
That’s one important reason I’m here, Michael!
Very good article! I wonder - perhaps he has never experienced true grief. He’s certainly a stranger to compassion, and to respect, particularly for any and all who aren’t MAGA. Or even for many of them. The coal miners in West Virginia are mostly his people. But the administration has closed the agency which was providing free, black lung related health care. They were also doing research on the disease. Today’s miners will be less safe than their fathers or grandfathers! No one is of any importance or value to him, other than for their votes. Poor children will no longer have Head Start, or food supplements, and the administration would love to remove their health care. Meals on wheels, research on diseases undertaken by universities…it’s a disgrace. No one seems to matter, except the wealthy. They will get their big tax cuts, and the working and middle class will pay for them. This all appears to come from a man without a heart, or perhaps his is just black.
I don’t know whether Trump has ever loved anyone. Certainly I’ve seen no sign of it in his public life while I’ve been paying attention. As for “his people,” Trump screws over everyone eventually.
Thank you for your very kind comments on this situation. Yes, you are right, DJT must have been very neglected or worse for him to be what he appears to be.
I have never seen a more purely pitiable man, Gayle. I have seen many for whom I feel far greater sympathy—any of the Venezuelans he sent to that Salvadoran hellhole is a thousand times more worthy of our sympathy than he is—but any of those Venezuelans who truly loves one person and is loved by them is vastly richer than Trump can begin to imagine. The man’s life is dust and ashes, and he has no idea what the alternative would look like or how to begin building something with foundations.
The other thing the left misses, in the words of Dave Chappelle, “ the guy is hilarious, how dare he say the funniest joke in presidential history, calling Covid, the Kung Flu, that’s my job” Trump is funny, people hate him so much that they don’t admit something obvious
Again, asked and answered. Did you read the post?
Usually love what you write, it still surprises me that very intelligent people haven’t figured out how the Trumps con works, he floods the zone, then makes good meaning people fight him on big things but more importantly on meaningless things, that way he can tell his supporters that all of the left are humorless duds. Best response is to ignore most of it and engage on only important things
Thanks, Tony. I actually addressed this point in the post. Did you notice? 😁
I did, but I think ignoring completely removes the oxygen Trump needs
This is literally the first thing I have posted here on Substack about Trump since the inauguration. I am more interested in helping the people I wrote about in note 1 than in attempting to “deprive him of oxygen,” which he will find with or without me.
The whole story just made me upset, I’m like why do people take Trumps bait, it makes us look like scolds
Ultimately, Tony, I’m not writing about Trump. I’m writing about people defending Trump. If we can’t say “Don’t defend trolling people who are grieving,” if we’re basically saying that Westboro Baptist or Alex Jones tactics aren’t worth criticizing, we’re essentially giving up on each other’s humanity. I’m pointing out that this is a test of humanity. I don’t see that as “taking bait.”
I’ll agree to disagree, keep up the great work though, I meant it when I said I really enjoy your writing