Emperor Trump Has No Clothes

Donald Trump is not just another run-of-the-mill presidential candidate, yet the media insists on normalizing and legitimizing this menace to our democracy while at the same time they report at length all the Republicans’ manufactured scandals about Hillary Clinton–even after she’s been legally exonerated. Whose side are they on? Given Trump’s contempt for the media, no one would expect them to have any respect for him; yet their fascination with the weird spectacle of a know-nothing NYC playboy winning over voters and the bizarre mental image of this buffoon sitting in the Oval Office has yielded them powerless to speak rationally about what they see and hear.

Everyone has heard the children’s story “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” by Hans Christian Andersen. Once upon a time, there lived a vain emperor who, more than anything else, loved being admired for his fine sartorial sense: “He had a coat for every hour of the day, and instead of saying, as one might, about any other ruler, ‘The King’s in council,’ here they always said, ‘The Emperor’s in his dressing room.’”

Then one day, two swindlers showed up in town who “let it be known they were weavers, and they said they could weave the most magnificent fabrics imaginable. Not only were their colors and patterns uncommonly fine, but clothes made of this cloth had a wonderful way of becoming invisible to anyone who was unfit for his office, or who was unusually stupid.”

The emperor, never able to resist an appeal to his vanity, immediately hired the two swindlers to set up their looms and start weaving some of their magnificent cloth for him. Believing the promise that this cloth would give him extraordinary powers of perception, he paid them a great sum of money. The swindlers worked day and night. Whenever anyone went to have a look at their progress, the two swindlers baited them with talk of the beautiful colors and pattern; and even though no one could ever see anything “because there was nothing to see,” they would never admit it because it had been established that inability to see the cloth was proof of gross stupidity. One day, a retinue of the emperor’s trusted advisers went to view the “cloth” and recommended that the emperor have garments made from it to wear in the upcoming procession. The swindlers were delighted and went to work immediately to make the “garments.”

 

The day of the grand procession arrived, and the swindlers—with much pomp and ceremony—dressed the emperor in his new outfit. Neither the emperor nor the people watching would, of course, admit to seeing no clothing on the emperor’s body. So he was escorted to his “splendid canopy,” and the grand procession began. As he marched haughtily down the streets, naked, spectators–not wishing to be revealed as stupid–exclaimed over the fine garments the emperor wore. Even after an innocent child spoke the truth, “He’s not wearing anything” and adults began echoing the child’s words, and even though the emperor inwardly feared they were right, he still had to maintain his image. “So he walked more proudly than ever, as his noblemen held high the train that wasn’t there at all.”

This story has been used as an analogy many times since its publication, but I think perhaps it’s never been more pertinent than as an example of the media’s relationship to Donald Trump and their clear abetting of his rise to become the Republican party’s nominee for the presidency of our country. The media’s legitimizing and normalizing of Trump’s buffoonery is widely regarded as one of the key factors in his success so far. His campaign “speeches” consist of ranting about how great he is and attacking the latest person who has treated him “unfairly.” It’s all about him! Yet these meandering trails of verbal vomit have been parsed and discussed on the evening news by panels of “pundits” as if they were made of real cloth. Why do the people whose professional codes obligate them to speak the truth seem blind to the truth about Trump?  Like the emperor and all of the adults in his kingdom, they look at a naked person and analyze the color, pattern, texture, and tailoring of his outfit. Even a child can see the candidate is naked! What our media talking heads are calling “policy proposals” and “positions” are nothing but underwear! I’ve wanted to scream at my TV screen every night as I watch these “experts” continue to treat Trump’s lunatic ravings as a serious political platform, “He’s naked! For the love of all that is good, stop talking about his clothes!”

One thing the “heads” keep talking about is when Trump will “pivot” to a serious general election mode, as if that would legitimize their enabling and pandering so far. He has less than four months left to make this “pivot”; and frankly, no amount of pivoting would erase the stupidity, hatred, and lies he’s already spoken. Too late! The presidency is not the place for on-the-job training. After each of the rare occasions on which he’s read a speech from a teleprompter, the talking heads seriously comment on how presidential he seemed. NO, that’s still underwear you’re seeing, folks! SAY it!

Donald Trump is as ignorant of our Constitution as I am of spacecraft technology (I know nothing), but that doesn’t stop him from seeking a job which requires an intimate knowledge of it, and that doesn’t stop people from critiquing his wardrobe when he’s actually naked. I could possibly overlook the “Article XII” remark if he’d been able to give an intelligent response to the question about how he’d protect the Article I powers. There is no Article XII, but I understand it’s difficult to be asked questions on the spot and an occasional slip is inevitable. So I’m willing to give him a little bit of a pass on that one. However, there IS an Article I, and if he’d known enough about it to answer the question intelligently, he’d never have gotten to the Article XII part. His response—“I want to protect Article I, Article II, Article XII”—was the emperor’s recognition that he is indeed wearing no clothes but is determined to continue marching proudly forward because the show must go on.

The Trump supporters I’ve heard from most often cite his outsider status as their primary reason for supporting him. They’re sick of politicians, they don’t trust any of them, and they’re buoyed by the promise of someone who’s not a politician bringing hoped-for change to shake things up in Washington, D.C. I understand that, and I even share some of that distrust and disgust, especially for the deadbeat members of Congress who have done nothing but obstruct for the last eight years. I also have a pretty strong distrust of doctors. I don’t like how they’re always pushing pills and treating symptoms without looking for more holistic therapies. BUT when I decide I don’t like my doctor, I don’t turn to my auto mechanic, my lawn maintenance crew, my next-door neighbor, or my hair stylist to take over my health care. My hair stylist is quite a health-conscious young woman, and we sometimes discuss her holistic ideas on wellness because some of her ideas are really good. This year, my next-door neighbors have become “mostly vegan” as an approach to more healthful living, and I’ve been interested in their ideas and recipes. However, if I become seriously ill, I won’t be calling my hair stylist or my neighbor. I may try one of the non-conventional professionals, such as a naturopath or a chiropractor, or I might even try an acupuncturist if I were not such a coward around needles. Those people are outsiders to conventional medicine, but they’re NOT untrained; they’re trained in different methods but still knowledgeable about the human body and its care.

And the problem most often lamented about this election is the only alternative to the naked emperor is another unpopular and highly distrusted candidate. How many times have you heard people say “I just wish we had another choice”? And I see their point. For me, the choice between these two is easy, but I’ll admit I wouldn’t mind having another option. Hillary Clinton is a flawed candidate; I know few people who disagree with that statement.  She’s been the subject of many investigations; and even though she’s been cleared of guilt, and charges have been dropped in each one, they’ve left scars on her reputation. The FBI Director just this month used the words “extremely careless” to describe her handling of classified information. But with her as the only alternative to Donald Trump, the choice is in my opinion a no-brainer. She’s a highly intelligent, highly educated, and highly experienced person. She knows how many articles the Constitution has, and she could offer a coherent, thoughtful answer to a question about any one of those articles. She has served in high office and knows how government works. Not much is going to shock her or throw her off course. She’s a smart, seasoned candidate; she’s also an imperfect candidate, but she’s clothed! And I’m not talking about her famous jackets. I’m talking about her knowledge of history, law, and government.

Arianna Huffington has gained my respect as a most outspoken journalist, not afraid to admit what she sees and report to the world that Emperor Trump is wearing no clothes. For several months, she has added this comment at the end of every article about Trump:

“Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar,rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims ― 1.6 billion members of an entire religion ― from entering the U.S.

In an excellent article published in the July 12 Huffington Post, she cites Edward R. Murrow, the journalist’s journalist from the early to mid-twentieth century:

“’This is no time for men who oppose Senator McCarthy’s methods to keep silent,’ Murrow said on the air in 1954. ‘We can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot escape responsibility for the result. There is no way for a citizen of a republic to abdicate his responsibilities… We proclaim ourselves, as indeed we are, the defenders of freedom wherever it continues to exist in the world. But we cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home… Cassius was right. ‘The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.’ Good night, and good luck.”

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has lived up to her nickname, “Notorious RBG,” by risking her reputation and her legacy to speak the truth: “The emperor is naked!” Judges are not supposed to support or denounce candidates for elected office, but this judge placed love of her country above rules and above her personal interests.

This is no time to be silent on the threat which looms in November. Donald Trump has no clothes! Admitting what is blatantly obvious is not evidence of stupidity; it’s evidence of intelligence, courage, and love of country.