What does Trump know, really, about American people and what we think?

“They were like death. And un-American. Somebody said treasonous. Can we call that treason? Why not? They certainly didn’t seem to love our country very much.”
--President Donald J. Trump, reacting to people who didn’t applaud his State of the Union address last month

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DUCKWORTH: Sees 'Cadet Bone Spurs'

My own thoughts about the Democratic officials who didn’t engage in raucous applause when the president presented his first State of the Union address was that Donald Trump’s reaction was evidence of what a political amateur he truly is.

That, and to wonder, what would he know about loving our country at all.

WE, THE UNITED States of America, have evolved into a bastion that offers the potential of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to all – a concept that Trump appears to hate because his vision focuses on ensuring that certain types of people be made aware they don’t really belong here.

But before anyone thinks I’m going off on a diatribe about Trump being un-American himself, I’m focusing more on Trump the political neophyte.

Anybody who pays attention to the way these formal government addresses are conducted knows how incredibly staged they are.

Down to the side of the aisle in Congress that sits silently against everything the opposition party chief executive, while the other side of the aisle engages in overly-phony applause.

USUALLY THE INTERESTING part of the political reaction is when some legislator or congressman screws up and misses the cue – resulting in the sound of a few seconds of lone applause from the governmental goof, while everybody else snickers at his (or her) gaffe.

 

TRUMP: Sees 'treason' all over

The idea of rude outbursts is truly a conservative ideologue concept that was never going to happen, largely because Democratic leadership in Congress made sure to tell their members to let Trump talk – and let his natural stupidity come forth before the American people.

Trump is now going around saying that those people who didn’t applaud him are not patriotic – using the word “treason” to describe their behavior. Even though treason is a very specific offense – a high crime that doesn’t even come close to applying to this situation.

Although I’m sure Trump’s reaction to that statement is to say that I’m being treasonous – questioning the presidential comprehension of what he says.

PERSONALLY, I FIND some amusement in the reaction of Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who on Thursday engaged in such questioning.

“Donald Trump might say ‘jump,’ but we don’t have to say ‘how high.’ Because in America we cherish the freedom of speech and expression,” Duckworth said. “They are rights brave men and women have fought and died for.”

Of course, Duckworth engaged in her own bit of politicking – referring to Trump as “Draft Dodger Donald” and “Cadet Bone Spurs;” references to the physical ailments Trump cited when he was of prime military service age, yet managed to get deferments that kept him from having to serve during the Vietnam era.

Her attack, which I saw as an e-mail message, included a fundraising plea. “I might not clap for Trump’s dangerous agenda, but I will fight for our shared values in the U.S. Senate,” she said.

I’M NOT CLAIMING a high-minded stance against Trump because he never did military service – besides, I think the ideological types willing to back him will consider his call for a parade paying tribute to the military will be considered sufficient.

Is this the part of the U.S. Constitution that Donald Trump regards as tissue paper to blow his nose at?

But it really shows a lack of knowledge about government and the way things are supposed to work. Did Trump really believe his State of the Union was going to have a Congress unanimously on its feet in raucous applause, telling him how wonderful a human being he was?

He may well believe the world works in ways just like the Trump Organization – where his staff tells him how wonderful he is and reacts as though he’s a deity whose thoughts cannot be questioned.

But if that’s truly who Donald Trump is and what his ego requires in order for him to function as a human being, then I have to admit to feeling sorry for the American people for being stuck with such an insecure schlep to serve as our national commander-in-chief.

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