Donald Trump does not give us many memorable phrases in his speeches, but his words after he was shot last summer were exceptionally bellicose and, frankly, odd. As he was being taken from the stage, he yelled “Fight, fight!” to his followers.
I was shocked. What did he mean? Who was he talking to? What are they/we supposed to do? Fight who? Fight what? Become vigilantes? Turn on each other?
It’s hard to pin down exactly what he meant, but we can rely on the fact that his words are almost never appropriate for the situation.
They’re also in sharp contrast to the words of President Jimmy Carter’s pleas for peace, which we heard in the wake of his death. Peace. Here. There. Now. As if Carter had actually thought about it. Carter would never have yelled “Fight! Fight!” or referred to the governor of California as Gavin “Newscum.”
Carter pulled off one of the biggest coups in American diplomacy when he brokered the Camp David Accords between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. Carter’s work led to the historic peace treaty between Israel and Egypt in 1979 and saved countless lives. He joined presidents Obama, Wilson and Teddy Roosevelt, who also won the Nobel Peace Prize for their extraordinary work.
Now one of the largest cities in America is on fire and the words “Fight! Fight!” could be appropriate, but they’re superfluous in terms of the hundreds of firefighters who are “fighting” night and day, and the residents, shocked and exhausted, fighting to stay alive and safe and housed. Instead Trump resorts to name-calling with the Governor of California.
Where are the words of encouragement and praise from our President-elect? (Good Lord, will we ever be rid of him?)
His go-to reaction in times of crisis, as usual, is blame and mean-spiritedness. He’s blaming the Mayor of Los Angeles and the Governor of California for this massive Climate Change conflagration. Is he nuts? How does he sleep at night?
I find this anonymous quotation fitting: “If you feel pain, you’re alive. If you feel other people’s pain, you’re a human being.”