Tag Archives: MAGA

national news

Lt. Gov. Patrick to Trump faithful: We are fighting ‘the enemy’

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick was part of a warm-up act for Donald Trump’s “Keep America Great” rally at the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas.

He didn’t disappoint those who came to cheer the president.

I was still working my way into the arena when Patrick took the stage, but I did see and hear him on the jumbo screen on the side of the AAC. He used the “e” word to describe foes of his conservative Republican policy machine.

He said “progressive socialist Democrats” aren’t just “our opponents; they are the enemy.” There you go. He went on to say they are the enemy of “liberty,” of “national security,” and I presume of the American way.

A future speaker of the U.S. House, Newt Gingrich, once declared during the 1994 Contract With America campaign that his aim was to make “Democrats the enemy of normal Americans.” Donald Trump declared the media to be “the enemy of the American people.”

Oh, there have been plenty of politicians who toss the “e” word around like that. Lt. Gov. Patrick is just the latest.

There is no need to wonder just how our political interaction has developed this level of coarseness.

I still prefer the approach sought by the late President George H.W. Bush that hoped to create a “kinder, gentler” nation. The “enemy” talk that I heard from Dan Patrick just makes me angry. We have enough anger out there already.

national news

Doesn’t the Emoluments Clause mean anything?

What in the name of conflict of interest am I missing here?

The Emoluments Clause in the U.S. Constitution says the president cannot profit from his office. He cannot accept gifts from foreign governments.

And yet …

Here we have Donald J. Trump bringing the 2020 G7 conference of industrialized nations to — get set for it! — his very own Doral National Country Club in Florida.

Trump says he won’t profit from the G7 meeting. To which I scratch my head and wonder: What in the world is he talking about? Of course he’ll benefit financially! He owns the damn resort!

What is mind-blowing to the max is that Trump would do such a thing, given the probable impeachment he is facing over similar violations of his oath of office, that he sought foreign government assistance for political gain.

Here he is, however, proclaiming that Doral is the most fitting place in the United States to stage such an event. That is utter nonsense. You know it. I damn sure know it. The nation is full of perfectly capable resorts that could play host to this event.

Trump, though, decided to bring it to Doral, which on its face presents an entire host of problems. They deal with security, its proximity to residential dwellings, and its location near an international airport (in Miami).

Trump never divested himself of his myriad business interests when he became president. He merely turned over daily operations of them to his sons, Don Jr. and Eric. The president, though, remains a financial partner in all his operations — and that includes Doral, which reportedly has been struggling terribly in recent years.

To think that the president wouldn’t profit from taxpayer money being spent at his private resort, not to mention the money that would pour in from foreign governments is to suspend one’s disbelief to an unprecedented degree.

I smell yet another impeachable offense in the making.

local news, national news, political news

Well now … that was some KAG rally in Big D

2 Comments

To my friends and assorted loved ones who expressed concern that I was plunging into the belly of the beast by attending a Donald Trump re-election rally, I have good news.

I survived. Intact. No one laid a hand on me. No one got angry. I stayed for as long as I wanted to stay and left on my terms.

There. Now that we’ve cleared that up, I want to offer a word or two about what I saw at the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas this afternoon and evening.

I saw a huge crowd of Trump fanatics — the vast majority of whom (close to 90 percent, I am guessing) — wearing Donald Trump gear. MAGA hats. Shirts with assorted sayings and slogans; some of them were profane and expressed a good bit of anger.

I met a very nice couple from Rockwall, who drove all the way into Dallas to see their man, the president. I confided in them while we waited outside that “I am not a Trump supporter. I am here as an observer.” OK, I didn’t tell them the whole truth, that I was there as a fervent anti-Trump voter and that I intend to keep skewering Trump whenever possible. They promised to read my blog on the subject and I hope they don’t hate me too much.

There were t-shirts with the message: Trump Supporter, I Won’t Apologize For It.” When have you seen a political supporter offer up that qualifier? Anyone? Oh, and there was this gem: “Fu** Your Feelings.” I didn’t have the courage to ask if those wearing that article of clothing were among Trump’s evangelical base of supporters.

The crowd outside was remarkable in its ethnic/racial makeup. It was not as lily white as I expected. I saw several African-American men wearing “Blacks for Trump” attire.

Then there was the shirt that said “Jesus Is My Savior, Trump Is My President.” Actually, that one made me want to hurl, given that the shirt contained the name of Jesus Christ and arguably the most anti-Christian man ever elected to the presidency. Enough of that.

I stood in a line that stretched more than a mile and a half. We snaked our way around several barriers outside the AAC, then walked up the steps and into the building. The U.S. Secret Service did a remarkably thorough but quick inspection of everyone entering the arena.

I found a seat way up high.

Then out came the president of the United States, applauding along with the cheering crowd. I never can tell why he claps so much when he enters a room. Is he cheering those who are clapping for him … or is he just so damn proud of himself that he cannot resist giving himself an ovation?

Whatever.

He launched into the same tired tirade I’ve been hearing since he took office. Democrats are the enemy. So are the media. Everyone opposed to Trump and the Republican Party want “open borders,” they want to “take away your rights,” they favor “socialism” over capitalism, they hate the United States, and on and on.

Admission time: I didn’t stay for Trump’s entire tirade. I heard all I could stand and left.

My final takeaway from this Trump “Keep America Great” rally is this: The enthusiasm of the 16,000 or so in the arena and in line waiting to get into the AAC is as fervent as anything I have ever seen at events such as this. I will give Trump credit for that much; his base of support is seemingly unshakable.

Which makes me wonder yet again: Are these Trump loyalists so blinded by their fealty to this man that they can overlook the crimes he has committed? Or are they — and there’s no pleasant way to say this — just plain ignorant?

national news

MAGA becomes KAG?

It’s time to say farewell to the acronym Donald Trump made famous.

He said he would “Make America Great Again.” It transformed into MAGA. It offended me greatly, given that I long have known that America has always been “great” and that it didn’t need a carnival barker/con man/reality TV host/real estate mogul to make the country great.

So, Trump is running for re-election in 2020 on another mantra. It is to “Keep America Great.” I doubt that slogan will be morphed into an acronym the way MAGA emerged from the 2016 campaign slogan.

Frankly, I find the Keep America Great much less offensive than the first one. Except that Trump is going to take credit he doesn’t deserve for making America great in the first place.

You see, the U.S. military has remained the strongest in world history. Trump inherited an economy that had recovered significantly from the Great Recession that crippled it in 2008. Our international alliances were strong when Trump took office; indeed, his “America first” policy has weakened those alliances in the 1,000 days of his presidency.

None of that will be on display when Donald Trump takes the podium Thursday night in Dallas for his next KAG Rally. He’ll stand among the faithful inside the American Airlines Center and spout lie after lie. He’ll hurl insults and innuendo at Democrats and the media. Yes, I’ll be there listening to this blather. I’ll just take it quietly. Then I’ll leave.

The president didn’t “Make America Great Again.” Moreover, the best way to “Keep America Great” is to kick this guy’s sorry backside out of the White House.

Good riddance, MAGA. As for KAG, well … I can’t go there, either.

national news

They’re ‘welcoming’ me to the Trump ‘KAGA’ rally … cool!

1 Comment

I received an email message today that shouldn’t surprise me, but then again, it does fill me with an added desire to attend an event I never thought I would want to attend.

Donald J. Trump is coming to the Metroplex on Thursday. He will stage one of those Keep America Great rallies at the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas. I will be among those in the crowd.

The president’s re-election campaign today sent me a welcome message, expressing appreciation for my willingness to attend this event.

OK, so my sincere and ardent opposition to Trump’s re-election hasn’t exactly registered with the rank-and-file staffers at the president’s campaign. I get it. I’m just a chump blogger who lives out here in the heart of Trump Country.

The Trump-Pence campaign said it is “excited for you to join us at our Keep America Great Rally with President Trump.” I applied for a ticket online, printed it out and will present it when I walk into the arena.

The Secret Service will be checking everyone who walks into the AAC. Hey, I totally get that. The campaign advised me of the care the Secret Service is taking to ensure everyone’s safety. I’ll be glad to submit to whatever inspection they intend to conduct.

The campaign is advising everyone to get there early. No sweat. I will be there in plenty of time.

I am not going to delude myself into believing that anyone at Trump’s campaign HQ gives a damn what I have to say about the president. I am not employed by a major media outlet. I just write this blog for myself; sure, it gets distributed along some social media platforms.

My intent here is to attend the rally at the AAC. I won’t make a spectacle of myself. I’ll be discreet.

I do intend to report on what I see and hear at the rally. Donald Trump supporters likely won’t like what I expect to say about occurs inside the American Airlines Center.

But, what the heck. I do appreciate the email.

national news

Trump provides one of life’s mysteries

Life is full of mysteries. Things happen that we cannot explain, no matter how hard we try to comprehend them.

One of the current mysteries of life involves the president of the United States, Donald J. Trump.

Specifically, it is a mind-boggling mystery to me how this guy maintains his vise-grip of support among Americans who I am certain do not subscribe to The Donald’s personal code of living.

Many millions of Americans who retain their adulation of this fellow are straitlaced (and I mean that in the good way), God-fearing folks who are faithful to their spouses, who follow the Golden Rule, who do not cheat their way through business deals.

Yet the president of the United States has admitted to philandering; he says he never has sought forgiveness; he acknowledges that he seeks to operate in a climate of fear.

Trump got elected president of the United States after waging one of the more vicious campaigns in U.S. history. His re-election effort is likely to make his election campaign look like a Scout picnic in comparison.

And yet … he holds onto his core of support. I just looked at the RealClearPolitics poll average and Trump maintains a 43 percent approval rating among Americans. Remember that the RCP average includes all major surveys, those that lean right and those that lean left. RCP averages ’em up and we see that Trump’s support doesn’t waver much — even in the wake of credible evidence that he has committed impeachable offenses.

This might offer yours truly some grist for questioning Trump’s supporters this week. I am going to attend the Donald Trump MAGA rally at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Thursday. I’ll get there early. I’ll have my notebook and pen in hand. I just might pose the question in search of one of life’s mysteries.

My challenge will be to ask these folks in a manner that doesn’t rile them up. I know it’s a challenge. I shall do my best to get the answer that has eluded me all this time.

I always have wanted political leaders to exhibit some level of goodness. They need not be goodie-two-shoes, but merely individuals who at minimum treat others the way they want others to treat them. Does the president adhere to that code? Hardly.

I hope to get a better understanding of this mysterious aspect of POTUS’s core of support. This inquiring mind needs to know.

national news

The full Donald was on display … waiting to see if appears here

Donald Trump was in full crass/disgraceful/boorish mode while standing among the faithful in Minneapolis, Minn.

He ventured to the Twin Cities ostensibly to target an audience he thinks might help him win re-election in November 2020. He lost Minnesota to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election … but not by very much. Trump believes he can parlay that close finish to victory next time.

How would he accomplish such a feat? One way, I suppose, is for him to go directly after the individual he believes poses the most direct threat to his re-election. That would be former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

Trump crassness was on full display, particularly when he said Biden’s only claim to being an effective VP was that he learned how to “kiss (Barack) Obama’s a**.”

Ohhh, the crowd loved it! They screamed, they hollered, they cheered themselves hoarse. The Donald loved the reaction.

I am one who is utterly astounded that the president of the United States would say such a thing about any American citizen, let alone a former vice president of the United States and a man who likely has more friends on the Republican side of the aisle than Donald Trump.

Trump, though, behaves in a boorish fashion that I believe far exceeds the behavior we have ever witnessed in a head of state/commander in chief.

They reported that the arena in Minneapolis was full. I expect the American Airlines Center in Dallas, where Trump will stage another political rally next week, also will be full. I mean, he’s coming straight into the heart of Trump Country — even though Hillary actually collected more votes than Trump in Dallas County.

Still, Dallas is surrounded by Trump-friendly communities and the president will be able to display to a highly receptive audience how low he can go.

I’ll be in the crowd listening to this individual’s idiocy.

My fervent hope — at this moment — is that I don’t puke.

Donald Trump

Dallas MAGA rally looks as though it’ll be a doozy

If Donald Trump’s rally this week in Minnesota offers a preview of what we’ll get next week in Dallas, then we’re in for a doozy of a barnburner at the American Airlines Center.

The president got ’em fired up in the Twin Cities, saying that Joe Biden never was considered a “good senator” and the only reason he earned praise as vice president was because he figured out how to “kiss (President Obama’s) ass.”

Isn’t that swell? Isn’t that the kind of “rhetoric” one would expect to hear from the president of the United States?

No need to answer that. I got it figured out.

I intend to be among the crowd of folks gathered at the AAC next week to hear the president get all hot and bothered over impeachment, the Democrats, the “corrupt fake news” media, Robert Mueller, The Russia Probe, the “worst witch hunt in American history,” all that kind of crap.

The Minnesota rally got a bit of extra push because it was the first Trump re-election event since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the impeachment inquiry in the House. Oh, my, there has been a boatload of issues pouring forth.

I am anxious to hear how Trump plans to campaign for re-election if he’s impeached by the House, which now appears more likely than ever. I also want — but I do not expect — to hear Trump tout reasons to re-elect him. Instead, I fully expect to hear that his opponents all are corrupt, they’re “losers,” they can’t get over getting beaten in 2016.

I’ll be amongst ’em in Dallas. I’m getting giddy about it. Why is that? The MAGA rally, in the words of Tom Cruise in the film “Top Gun,” is certain to provide a “target-rich environment.”

national news

Can a POTUS defy a congressional subpoena?

I am believing we are about to find out in short order whether Congress has the stones to enforce a subpoena it would issue to the president of the United States.

Donald Trump has ordered a State Department official, Gordon Sondland — the U.S. ambassador to the European Union — to ignore a congressional summons to testify about what he knows regarding the, um, Ukraine Matter. Sondland took part in a conversation with other officials regarding the phone call Trump had with the Ukrainian president, the one that has gotten Trump into so much trouble; it’s the call in which he asked for a political favor in exchange for his releasing money to help the Ukrainians fight Russian-backed rebels with whom they are at war.

There appears to be a subpoena on the horizon, don’t you think?

So, what then? Does Congress issue the subpoena and then let the White House run roughshod over its constitutional authority? Hmm. I doubt it.

We now might have a case of the president piling yet another impeachable offense on those that already are building. You know, something about “no one being ‘above the law.'” If Donald Trump believes he is “above the law,” then it well might fall on the House to throw that count onto an article of impeachment resolution.

It’s getting weird.

national news

Thank you for the concern, but … it’s going to be all right

I have been getting some interesting responses to my announced plans to attend a Donald Trump “MAGA Rally” at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

Some of my social media contacts — and a member of my family — have expressed some concern for my safety. They are afraid of the president’s followers, believing that they’re going to sniff me out — as someone who, um, is not a follower — and perhaps rough me up. They’ve been known to do that during campaign rallies, right?

Well, I feel the need to explain my plan while attending this event, which is set for Oct. 17.

I have wanted to see a Donald Trump rally up close ever since he entered political life in June 2015, when he announced his presidential campaign. Trump never brought his campaign to Amarillo, where I lived during his successful campaign for the presidency in 2016; I guess the Texas Panhandle was too much of a sure thing for Trump to “waste” his time and effort.

So, he’s coming to Dallas to have a rally in which he is going to exhort the faithful to help him “Keep America Great.” The Trump campaign, though, is calling it a “MAGA Rally,” which is sort of a takeoff from his 2016 campaign theme.

Hey, I intend to listen quietly while standing on the floor of the AAC. I won’t be cheering, stomping my feet, carrying on. Will that give me away? Will that serve as a clue to the crowd of Trumpsters in the arena that I ain’t one of ’em? 

Beats the devil out of me.

I do know how to behave myself in this context, however. What’s more, I will make sure to exit the building immediately at the first sign of trouble. I want to make that point abundantly clear.

Then I intend to report on all that I see and hear on this blog at the MAGA Rally. I trust you’ll get my drift.

It should be a fun and edifying evening among the Trump faithful.