No fan of Trump

I'm not an American and I don't live in the United States, I do however have access to US news services such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and The Los Angeles Times so I get plenty of exposure to Donald Trump news.

I am neither a fan of Trump nor a hater of Trump, I think I might be part of a small group of people who are decidedly neutral. I do want Trump to succeed, a strong United States is a positive influence for the western world so I don't want his government to fail.

Is he going to drain the swamp? No, that's highly unlikely. Is he articulate and a strong public speaker? Nope, he is not and his mannerisms do annoy me. Is Trump stupid? I don't believe so, he did graduate from Wharton Business School after all and I believe his billionaire status allows him to hire some pretty decent advisers.

He is a narcissist, that is for sure, it would be difficult to defend that claim. But since we, and supposedly Trump himself knows it, how can these narcissistic traits be harnessed for positive outcomes?

Trump engages in name calling and bullying behavior so what do his opponents do? They, like a bunch of dumbarses then engage Trump in name calling and insults and really become ineffective as an opposition. As an outsider looking in, he really makes them look stupid and he then controls the narrative.

When his political opponents recruit a bunch of celebrity spokespeople to engage in anti-Trump rhetoric, they come off looking like amateurs. Robert De Niro is a fantastic actor, no doubt about that. But when De Niro is on camera screaming “Fuck Trump, Fuck Trump” he is not doing anyone's cause any favours, he just comes across as an idiot.

I am no follower of this celebrity cult that has permeated throughout American popular culture, I won't be deriving political views from the likes of Robert De Niro, Susan Sarandon, P!nk or even Bruce Springsteen. I place as much credibility in their endorsement as I would for Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie or those Kardashian sisters that I would be unable to name.

If the Democrats want to beat this guy then they shouldn't be recruiting a whole cohort of public figures so removed from mainstream America that they lose all credibility. I went to a P!nk concert at the Perth Arena in 2018 and Alecia banged on about Trump during her excellent show.

But guess what, neither myself nor anyone else at her concert is eligible to vote in US elections so that was a pointless exercise. If she had a project or cause such as saving the Sumatran tiger and had facilities to accept donations along with donating a portion of the concert taking towards the cause.

Then I would be interested in donating. But when her support is limited to banging on about Trump at a concert, I not only turn off but I feel more inclined to support Trump and I don't even especially like the guy.

This is just a feel good moment for her that is largely ineffective and could even increase support for Trump in some instances - who would have guessed. There is no need to rattle on about his hair or skin colour, that achieves nothing. If you want to oppose the government of Donald Trump, stick to facts and policy - that generally works.