Yes, Donald Trump needs advice now. But back in January, if he had heeded the Twitter advice sent him by former NFL quarterback and general all-around-wastrel Johnny Manziel to ignore his enemies, perhaps he would not have been provoked to lead America into its current national crisis.
As it turns out, “Johnny Football” was a bust from the start, and “Donny Politics” demonstrates every day he is embarrassingly playing out of his league as president.
“Even I know to stay away from the notifications section on Twitter. S—- will drive you crazy. Lead the country and let them hate,” Manziel advised.
We just ended a week of Trump’s equivocation over who owns the moral high ground: neo-Nazis, torch-bearing Klansmen and white supremacists; or those protesting such hate groups, whose actions were met with leaders across the globe condemning Trump.
In what certainly appeared to be an “unhinged, off-the-rails” news conference Tuesday, Trump doubled down on his false claim that “both sides” were to blame for the violence and claimed that there were “very fine people” included among the white supremacists.
British Prime Minister Theresa May said she could not find “equivalence between those who propound fascist views and those who oppose them.”
Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives in the Scottish Parliament, said: “The president of the United States has just turned his face to the world to defend Nazis, fascists and racists. For shame.”
After the bloody demonstrations in Charlottesville, Va., it took Trump two days to say it was “evil,” and name racist organizations in his follow-up remarks about Charlottesville.
As of this writing, two GOP U.S. senators are publicly critical.
Tennessee Republican Bob Corker said: “The president has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence that he needs to demonstrate in order to be successful.”
Sen. Tim Scott, the South Carolina Republican, said: “What we want to see from our president is clarity and moral authority. And that moral authority is compromised when Tuesday happened.”
Hawaii and Alaska, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, are the only states surveyed last year without a single identified or recognized hate group — but that doesn’t absolve political leaders from having to speak out forcefully. The Democratic congressional delegation and Gov. David Ige were strong with a quick condemnation of both the violence and Trump’s response. The most memorable was U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz saying, “He’s not my president.”
Not remarkable was the statement by Hawaii GOP Chairwoman Shirlene Ostrov, who said the local party joins “President Trump in condemning the acts of violence and terrorism by white supremacists, and all acts of violence and lawlessness committed today in Charlottesville.” That is close to seeing “two sides.”
Former GOP leader turned Democrat, state Rep. Beth Fukumoto, said Trump has “definitely tapped into latent racism.”
“I think national Republicans will need to address Trump and his unwillingness to confront intolerance at some point. But, no, I don’t think the Hawaii GOP will ever move ahead if its leaders continue to deny the elements of racial intolerance driving Trump and the GOP,” Fukumoto said in an interview.
In October, the local GOP will hold a fundraiser featuring former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. The local big draw as co-host is former Gov. Linda Lingle, who praised Trump at last year’s GOP convention and put Sarah Palin’s name in nomination for vice president in 2008. Lingle won two out of three races for governor, then crashed in 2012 in a race against Mazie Hirono for the U.S. Senate, getting just 37 percent of the vote. Her lieutenant governor, James “Duke” Aiona, then lost decisively in two runs for governor.
With that sort of political power, the GOP would be best stepping off the Trump train and repeating the affirmation of Schatz: “He’s not my president.”
