Let's Talk About Trump's Words
• ~400 words • 2 minute read
DAVID MUIR: ... let me talk about your words ...
This one line stood out to me from ABC's interview with Donald Trump this evening. Someone needs to talk to Trump in general about his words, and how words have consequences — though I suspect the entire concept of consequence for his actions is completely foreign to him. It's a lesson he seems destined to learn the hard way, and probably at the expense of many.
The interview was chilling. For all the complaining he and his administration do on how unfair they perceive the media to treat him, the most damage comes from simply turning on the microphone and letting him speak.
Take this snippet from one of Trump's longer statement:
And I asked them the question, "Does it work? Does torture work?" And the answer was, "Yes, absolutely."
Or this entire exchange, in which I applaud David Muir for at least trying to interrupt Trump's torrent of bullshit:
PRESIDENT TRUMP: We should have taken the oil. You wouldn't have ISIS if we took the oil. Now I wasn't talking about it from the standpoint of ISIS because the way we got out was horrible. We created a vacuum and ISIS formed. But had we taken the oil something else would've very good happened. They would not have been able to fuel their rather unbelievable drive to destroy large portions of the world.
DAVID MUIR: You've heard the critics who say that would break all international law, taking the oil. But I wanna get to the words ...
(OVERTALK)
DAVID MUIR: ... that you ...
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Wait, wait, can you believe that? Who are the critics who say that? Fools.
DAVID MUIR: Let, let me ...
PRESIDENT TRUMP: I don't call them critics. I call them fools.
Anyone that disagrees with Trump is a fool. Any report that highlights his hypocrisy or outright lights is dishonest at best, fake at worst. On the other side of that spectrum, anyone who agrees with him is smart.
It's maddening. But there is action we as Americans can take:
5 Calls: Make your voice header — 5calls.org
The website provides numbers to call and scripts pertaining to specific issues including: