Today is a dark day in Toledo history. Today, Trump is coming to town. His rally is scheduled for 7pm at the Huntington Center, with doors opening at 3pm. Of course, people have been camped out since yesterday afternoon. It’s funny how any time a “liberal” does any sort of camping out, they’re a “crazy Dem who needs a job,” but when a Republican does it, it’s totally fine.
I work in a building across the street from the backside of the Huntington Center. Normally, this causes no issues. But because of the impending visit, streets are closed all around the center and for a block or two in each direction. Because of the closures, many businesses and schools close to remain closed today or are planning to close by about 2pm. My office petitioned our upper management for early release today and we were denied. We were told “business as usual.” Just one of the many strikes against our management team lately, but that’s another discussion.
I cannot even put into words how against Trump I am, but I would like to detail why. I made a comment earlier about Trump supporters that drew some ire from my coworkers, so I want to take some time to really double down on why I dislike him so much.
- This is the biggest and most important one – he’s a liar. Don’t tell me all politicians lie, because this is different. Most politicians stretch the truth, embellish their successes, or overpromise in what they may be able to deliver from office. Trump lies. Trump tells straight-up falsehoods. Since he took office, he himself has lied over 15,000 times (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/12/16/president-trump-has-made-false-or-misleading-claims-over-days/) Many of these can easily be disproven, yet he repeats them time and time again.
- He’s racist, bigoted, sexist, xenophobic, homophobic, and transphobic. He has actively failed to sign or support legislation that protects women, LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, and others. He has actively repealed legislation passed by Obama to protect certain groups. He speaks of people in overbroad general terms (ie: Mexicans are rapists) that actively harm members of the group. He does not take the time to get to know any person or group outside of his own very white, very straight inner circle. He does not view women as people, but as property or pawns for his own gain.
- He has purposely divided this nation further since his election. Our president is supposed to unite our country, even after a contentious election year. A president does this by avoiding rhetoric that creates the “us vs them” ideology. Trump has done the opposite. He has fueled his support base with taunting (“lock her up”) and the inability to move past issues from the election (“but her emails”). He has never said anything genuinely nice about anyone who has ever displeased – using phrases like “nasty woman” to describe several strong female leaders. He also uses nicknames, such as “Crooked Hillary”, “Little Marco”, “Crazy Maxine”, or “Lyin Ted,” to describe his political colleagues. He has no interest in reaching across party lines or attempting to unify the nation, even after 3 years in office.
I could go on, but I think you get the idea. Toledo House Representative Marcy Kaptur released a long letter welcoming Trump to Toledo, but cautioning him against his usual speech. She discussed how Toledo has long been a working class town, who has created its own wealth, instead of relying on those born with a silver spoon. She ends the letter by encouraging bipartisan work to improve the lives of the middle class, especially in Ohio.
But will he listen? I sincerely doubt it. As the clock ticks nearer on his arrival, Trump spoke about how he was heading to Ohio soon and that some people have been camped out for “two and a half to three days” in “temperatures near zero.” The first people in line arrived at 12:30pm yesterday, so they’ve recently hit the 24 hour mark, a far cry from “two and a half to three days.” While temperatures have been low the last few days, it is currently 46 degrees. Yesterday, a high temperature of 36 degrees was recorded, while a low temperature of 18 degrees was recorded. Cold, yes, but hardly near zero.
Everything with Trump always has to be the biggest and boldest and record breaking. Nothing can ever just be average. And rarely is anything ever as it truly is. Everything must be exaggerated in a grandiose manner. It’s infuriating to see our “leader” act like a child. Children exaggerate things in their lives. If you don’t believe me, ask Julian how many Pokemon cards his friend Jackson has, because he’ll tell you it’s in the millions. But Julian is 10. Trump is 70 and the leader of the free world. This is problematic.
I’ll close with one final thought. My comment earlier was probably not the most appropriate, but I was told that I should “speak kindly” and it was insinuated that my comment was no better than Trump’s rhetoric since I made a blanket statement against Trump supporters. I’ve been accused of this before – how my views of Trump supporters are no different than Trump supporters who talk about all Mexicans as rapists or other generalizations. Perhaps there’s some truth to that. My argument, for whatever it’s worth, is that Trump supporters have chosen to believe proven lies, to distrust reliable news sources, and to perpetuate half-truths or falsehoods about political figures or events. I, on the other hand, have chosen justice, equality, fairness, opportunity, and hope.
To those who are attending the protests tonight – please stay safe, stay vigilant, and stay aware. I will not be participating in the protests, but I will be spending my evening writing postcards on behalf of voter registration and writing to my representatives.
From Puppies to Politics, and everything in between 