(Todd A. Smith)
Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
Any position of leadership will provide uncomfortable moments because what is morally right is not always politically popular.
That is why true leaders make decisions that they feel are best for those they serve, regardless of the controversy that might follow.
It takes a truly strong individual to speak their mind when many are criticizing them.
Many people voted for President Donald Trump because they said he was strong.
But how strong can you and your subordinates be if you all keep walking back asinine statements once you face scrutiny?
I must have a different definition of strength because to me, a strong person says what they mean with their chest, standing on it, even when facing pressure.
But what America has in President Trump is not a strong leader.
America has a leader desperate for power, but scared of the responsibility that comes with power.
Joe Hernandez and Kat Lonsdorf of NPR reported, “President Trump said he doesn’t intend to ‘go to war’ with American cities but is vowing to clean them up’ in his latest comments on an apparent plan to send National Guard troops to U.S. metropolitan areas to help fight crime or assist with deportations of suspected undocumented immigrants.”
After facing backlash for a social media post threatening Chicago with war, he said, “We’re not going to war. We’re going to clean up our cities. We’re going to clean them up, so they don’t kill five people every weekend. That’s not war. That’s common sense.”
Common sense is a great trait to have.
However, common sense would also not be threatening an American city with an end-of-the-world scenario, while simultaneously being weak with war criminals like Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Previously, Trump said he would bring “apocalyptic force” to Chicago.
For once, I agree with President Trump, but I would like to take his statement a little further.
The definition of apocalyptic is describing or prophesying the complete destruction of the world.”
And because of vindictiveness and the desire to be a dictator (while praising dictators), he is bringing complete destruction to the world.
Trump’s worshippers will say he really did not mean it, or he was only talking about the drug cartels in Chicago.
But an apocalypse is the end of the world, not the arrest of drug dealers or criminals.
So, either Trump is purely evil, truly stupid or both.
My money is on both.
Ignorance can be corrected by education.
But eliminating evil would take an act of God.
Trump shows his evil side when he tries to pillow talk with ruthless leaders like Putin, while acting tough with those seeking independence, freedom and democracy like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
His weakness has allowed Putin’s war to continue, even though he said he would end the war on day one of his second term.
When that did not happen, he said that his followers knew that it would take much longer, and he was only using a figure of speech.
America needs a president who stands on principle, not one who does things that are only popular with his base.
Trump infamously downplayed the severity of his COVID-19 diagnosis because he did not want to look weak to his followers.
But nothing looks weaker than a man who flip-flops on everything when he begins taking some heat.
His flip-flopping has even rubbed off on House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
As Trump continues to take heat from many in his base to release the Jeffrey Epstein files, many believe he is reluctant to release information about those who participated in the pedophilia ring because he is in the files.
The president calls the Epstein files saga a Democratic hoax.
Trump and Epstein had a known history of hanging out together.
But Speaker Johnson said that the only reason that Trump associated with Epstein was because he was an FBI informant, obtaining information about the happenings at Epstein’s island.
However, critics of Trump wondered how Trump could be an FBI informant if the whole ordeal was a hoax, like the commander-in-chief said it was.
The Guardian reported, “In a matter of days, the U.S. House Speaker, Mike Johnson, claimed that Donald Trump was an FBI informant who was working to take down the late sex trafficker—then backed away from the confusing statement…
“The remark was so perplexing that it reportedly confused even Trump administration officials.
“By Sunday, Johnson was walking back his explosive comment.”
But Trump and Johnson’s walking comments back symbolize the entire Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.
They have no principles.
No ideals.
They just go whichever way the wind blows, and that waffling is not just limited to elected officials.
Many MAGA voters have abandoned their conservative principles to support a movement that is anything but conservative or traditionally Republican.
For decades, many Republicans have railed against Democrats for supporting socialism.
Then, Republican voters in Arkansas start begging Trump for a farm bailout, which is the definition of socialism.
For decades, Republicans talked about limited government and states’ rights.
Then many cheer when Trump vows to send the National Guard into liberal American cities.
Many old-school conservatives wanted to limit government spending and reduce debt.
Then many of the same people cheered Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, which will do the opposite.
A wise person once said that if a person does not stand for something, then they will fall for anything.
Trump is someone who does not stand for anything but his own enrichment.
It is just a shame that his supporters keep falling for the same okey-doke.
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