President Donald Trump lives in a wildly egomaniacal bubble of his own making. This Friday, after signing legislation establishing over $8 billion in emergency funding to combat the Coronavirus, he went on an angry tirade in the Oval Office against Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren (D), who recently ended her campaign for president. Trump insisted that sexism had no effect on her campaign chances and instead, the problem was supposedly that she was too harsh — and he added, hilariously outlandishly, that people supposedly like him because, in supposed contrast, he’s “not mean.”
Not mean! The president who has built a national profile on coming up with embarrassing (for him) nicknames for his opponents, lying about crimes committed by immigrants and other marginalized communities, and more, insists that he’s “not mean”!
He insisted:
‘I think lack of talent was her problem. She has a tremendous lack of talent. She was a good debater; she destroyed Mike Bloomberg, and it was nothing that was easy for her, but people don’t like her. She’s a very mean person. And people don’t like her. People don’t like that. They like a person like me, that’s not mean.’
Watch:
President Trump on Sen. Elizabeth Warren: "People don't like her. She's a very mean person. And people don't like her. People don't like that. They like a person like me, that's not mean." pic.twitter.com/vzk2AY2hsg
— The Hill (@thehill) March 6, 2020
Has he ever stopped to ponder a single tweet that he’s ever posted, even for a second? What about any of his hours-long tirades at rallies for legions of his screaming fans? Is how “not mean” that he supposedly is why a mass shooter in El Paso used his exact same rhetoric — word-for-word — in a manifesto outlining why he targeted the immigrant community, where he killed 22 people and wounded two dozen others? Trump and the shooter both have complained about a supposed “invasion” of Hispanic immigrants — which, of course, has no relationship to what’s actually happening at the southern border or anywhere else.
Trump is not a, uh, “nice guy.” It’s a wonder that the room didn’t burst out into laughter when he claimed otherwise.
All the way back before Trump even got elected, he posted the lie on Twitter:
‘Goofy Elizabeth Warren, sometimes referred to as Pocahontas, pretended to be a Native American in order to advance her career. Very racist!’
Goofy Elizabeth Warren, sometimes referred to as Pocahontas, pretended to be a Native American in order to advance her career. Very racist!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 11, 2016
And more recently, after she announced the beginning of her eventually ended presidential bid, Trump posted:
‘Today Elizabeth Warren, sometimes referred to by me as Pocahontas, joined the race for President. Will she run as our first Native American presidential candidate, or has she decided that after 32 years, this is not playing so well anymore? See you on the campaign TRAIL, Liz!’
Today Elizabeth Warren, sometimes referred to by me as Pocahontas, joined the race for President. Will she run as our first Native American presidential candidate, or has she decided that after 32 years, this is not playing so well anymore? See you on the campaign TRAIL, Liz!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2019
Seriously — in what universe is Trump a “nice guy” who people like because of it? Currently, an average of only around 42 percent of Americans say that they approve of the job he’s doing in office, while an average of 53 percent say that they actively disapprove. None of that suggests either that Trump is some popular guy or that he’s on an easy path to re-election. He has a good reason to worry, because in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary cycle so far, turnout has soared well beyond 2016 levels. Democrats are ready to take him on.
