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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHow the Brits view Trump
From a Facebook post:
Someone asked "Why do some British people not like Donald Trump?"
Nate White, an articulate and witty writer from England, wrote this magnificent response:
"A few things spring to mind.
Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem.
For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace - all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed.
So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trumps limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief.
Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing - not once, ever.
I dont say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility - for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman.
But with Trump, its a fact. He doesnt even seem to understand what a joke is - his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty.
Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers.
And scarily, he doesnt just talk in crude, witless insults - he actually thinks in them. His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness.
There is never any under-layer of irony, complexity, nuance or depth. Its all surface.
Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront.
Well, we dont. We see it as having no inner world, no soul.
And in Britain we traditionally side with David, not Goliath. All our heroes are plucky underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist.
Trump is neither plucky, nor an underdog. He is the exact opposite of that.
Hes not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedy fat-cat.
Hes more a fat white slug. A Jabba the Hutt of privilege.
And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully.
That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a snivelling sidekick instead.
There are unspoken rules to this stuff - the Queensberry rules of basic decency - and he breaks them all. He punches downwards - which a gentleman should, would, could never do - and every blow he aims is below the belt. He particularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless - and he kicks them when they are down.
So the fact that a significant minority - perhaps a third - of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think 'Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people, given that:
* Americans are supposed to be nicer than us, and mostly are.
* You don't need a particularly keen eye for detail to spot a few flaws in the man.
This last point is what especially confuses and dismays British people, and many other people too; his faults seem pretty bloody hard to miss.
After all, its impossible to read a single tweet, or hear him speak a sentence or two, without staring deep into the abyss. He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of shit. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum.
God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid.
He makes Nixon look trustworthy and George W look smart.
In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws - he would make a Trump.
And a remorseful Doctor Frankenstein would clutch out big clumpfuls of hair and scream in anguish:
'My God
what
have
I
created?
If being a twat was a TV show, Trump would be the boxed set."
Thanks Occupy Democrats
Cirque du So-What
(25,908 posts)and further deepens my appreciation for English insults.
Left-over
(234 posts)real Cannabis calm
(1,124 posts)KatyMan
(4,177 posts)The clown Prince of brexit is poised to be their next PM...
angrychair
(8,678 posts)sheepfarm
(38 posts)But if he way found to be deliberately lied during the run up to the EU referendum then it would be seriously damaging to him - however it would impossible to know what the fallout would be given these strange times.
In a way its a shame it has come to this, but those leading the top of the British political establishment have only themselves to blame. In the 20th century nearly all ministers and other politicians that got caught up lying or abusing their public office would resign in disgrace and fall out of the public eye to at best being a backbench MP. However a lot of the current crop in the House of Commons are much more shameless. Labour under Tony Blair largely started this idea of bringing back in politicians into government whom had previously resigned because of misconduct because he was so desperate to have Peter Mandelson close to him at all times, but this current crop of Conservatives are just taking the piss. So now the only way to fight back against this lack of respect for public office is to get the law involved rather than simply relying on unwritten conventions.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)It captures Trump's despicable personality to a tee. It honestly baffles me how anyone could observe the man in action and find him likable.
zentrum
(9,865 posts).....question from the same thread.
By Jason Street
Why do many British people not like Donald Trump?
Prior to becoming President, Trump whilst building his golf courses in Scotland Trump defrauded numerous contractors in the building of his golf courses leaving multiple small businesses in debt and having to foreclose!!!
He tasked his son Donald Jnr to devalue the value of properties of residents living within the vicinity of his golf courses and he did this publicly!!!!
At his Turnberry golf course, part of the purchase agreement was that local residents were to be able to access the beach. He then signed the agreement and purchased the land, then proceeded to fence the beach off to local residents!!!
He bullied and publicly shamed pensioners (that had lived there all their lives) who werent willing to sell their land for the reduced value he was offering!
He then had the cheek to campaign with his team of heavies to eliminate clean renewable energy on Scottish Coastlines because he felt wind power looked unsightly!
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)I am amazed the locals haven't gotten together and torches his golf courses and properties already. 😡😤
zentrum
(9,865 posts)But, same for this country. He ripped off worker after worker. Stiffed contractors.
I just don't get it.
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)There is so much rhetorical god in this post! Beautiful.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)I love language!
NoMoreRepugs
(9,371 posts)malaise
(268,693 posts)northoftheborder
(7,569 posts)hlthe2b
(102,119 posts)flamingdem
(39,308 posts)Submariner
(12,497 posts)and "Presidential Seal" on Air Force 1 when Trump visits, because Trump is so divisive and such an embarrassment to the United Kingdom, and they don't want to take a chance that the Queen or Monty Python might see the plane in passing.
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)Dem_4_Life
(1,765 posts)Priceless!
cwydro
(51,308 posts)That is a perfect description of his behavior with the dictators.
ChazInAz
(2,559 posts)SunSeeker
(51,511 posts)zentrum
(9,865 posts)SWBTATTReg
(22,065 posts)MrModerate
(9,753 posts)renate
(13,776 posts)This is all beautiful, but that line tickled me.
But if there was one word used in this piece that sums him up best, I'd say it was "nasty." It's pretty undeniable; even people who like him would have to admit that part of what they like about him is his nastiness.
MyOwnPeace
(16,917 posts)THAT was Bloody Brilliant!!!
ChubbyStar
(3,191 posts)" he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of shit. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum.
God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid."
This is so perfect.
Amimnoch
(4,558 posts)Brilliantly British!
Texin
(2,590 posts)I've actually read this previously - can't remember where - but the single line that shines the most for me is this:
"In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws - he would make a Trump".
CloudWatcher
(1,845 posts)I've often pondered a challenge ... can I name even one admirable quality in Trump?
Of course not any of his "policies" .. such as they are. But even people you despise can have admirable qualities.
But Trump. Hmm. Good husband? Good father? Good friend? Caring person? Art lover? Philanthropist? Humanitarian? Successful businessman? Decent employer? Skilled warrior? Smart investor? Global thinker? Team player?
Anything? Anything at all?
He fails and fails and fails by any rational metric.
I've been reduced to one. He might eventually make good worm food if buried in a wood coffin. But I suspect they'll use some metal casket so even that lowest of low bars is a fail.
Even to the GOP, it appears his main appeal is simply the ability to piss off anyone with a brain and especially liberals.
Tell me again how I'm supposed to respect Trump supporters?
DENVERPOPS
(8,789 posts)Awesome statement !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Perfect in every sense.
I would worry that the worms that devoured him would get dug up and used to go fishing. The worms would cause all the fish in the stream to die off........LOL
3catwoman3
(23,946 posts)Not. A. Single. One.
GetRidOfThem
(869 posts)100% on target.
sop
(10,100 posts)Once you scratch their paper-thin veneer of support for Trump, his followers are left with nothing more than "owning the liberals." Seemingly, their raison d'être is pissing off people they've been told to hate by FOX News. These are fools who would burn down their own houses just to piss off their liberal next door neighbors with smoke from the blaze.
SMC22307
(8,090 posts)Do you feel you were expected to respect W supporters? Poppy Bush's? Seems like an odd expectation.
You're right about no admirable qualities. He's like Joffrey, who had none whatsoever. At least Ramsay didn't wuss out of battle and fought alongside his men.
llmart
(15,532 posts)My stars, the British have him pegged. All of this is so good and 100% correct, but my favorite line was "Jabba the Hut of privilege".
As we say on DU all the time, what a national embarrassment he is.
Rabrrrrrr
(58,347 posts)Shakespeare of shit.
And I'm glad that Britain can see that Donald has no sense of humor except that he thinks meanness is funny.
Lucky Luciano
(11,248 posts)sdfernando
(4,925 posts)With regard to "So the fact that a significant minority - perhaps a third - of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think 'Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people"
That 1/3 of people are RACISTS and are willing to overlook everything else, even when it hurts them or their interests, because in their eyes it validates their RACISM...it as simple as that.
50 Shades Of Blue
(9,920 posts)I agree with every one of his points and I'm a lifelong Anglophile. But the British have elected some awful people too. Not Trump level, but bad.
yonder
(9,657 posts)3catwoman3
(23,946 posts)Abso-freakin'-lutely NAILED IT!!!
narnian60
(3,510 posts)bronxiteforever
(9,287 posts)snacker
(3,619 posts)More_Cowbell
(2,190 posts)When has Trump ever said anything witty that makes people smile? The closest he ever comes is saying something mean and getting his troglodytic followers to laugh at the expense of someone else.
When do you ever see him smile a genuine smile? It's always just that teeth-baring thing like you get when toddlers are learning to smile for the camera.
We never see a moment of genuine warmth between him and anyone else (well sometimes, Ivanka, but then there's always an overlying patina of creepiness). We never see him share a private remark that makes the listener genuinely smile. And even more strangely, we never see him genuinely smile at the remark of someone else.
It's like he's not human.
defacto7
(13,485 posts)the inability to understand, create or receive humor. It's a genetic condition. No empathy, no humor.
FakeNoose
(32,579 posts)... but I think it only counts if the person previously had the sense of humor, and lost it. Since Chump has never had one to begin with, well I don't know what it means. Even Satan can laugh once in a while.
whathehell
(29,034 posts)Last edited Thu May 30, 2019, 02:29 PM - Edit history (1)
favorable ratings during his campaign.
The number It came up during a Parliamentary hearing. The subject was whether to allow Trump to enter the UK. Many were against it, but others asked " What if he wins"? and noted his "favorable" ratings in both the South and North of England.
Marcuse
(7,446 posts)dchill
(38,441 posts)Loge23
(3,922 posts)...let's not forget that the majority of Brits voted for Brexit, and then turned around and voted in Nigel Forage and Boris Johnson, both sycophants of the current title-holder of the US presidency.
Apparently, they have their own problems.
FakeNoose
(32,579 posts)... because Pootie has been f*cking them over the same way he's done to us.
I think the Brits can see what's been done to them, so it makes me wonder why we can't see it ourselves.
Totally Tunsie
(10,885 posts)I've printed this out to hang prominently on my fridge.
Buns_of_Fire
(17,151 posts)Of course, in Omar's defense, it's hard to cut a suit to look so cheap. I'm sure extra work was required to tailor it to somewhat cover his ENORMOUS ASS (and panty lines!).
And wearing your ties long to make you look thinner? It ain't working, comrade.
maddiemom
(5,106 posts)Unfortunately he's becoming more and more obese: way beyond the size of a waistline where a longer tie helps.
moondust
(19,958 posts)Blue Owl
(50,257 posts)100% accurate assessment of trump
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)make Trump clone Boris Johnson their new Prime Minister...
NNadir
(33,468 posts)...grant and we're hoping he gets out of there before the shit hits the fan.
sheepfarm
(38 posts)The successor to Theresa May will be decided on two stages. First, MPs of the Conservative parliamentary party must vote to narrow the candidate list to their two preferred contenders. After that the party membership will then vote to decide whom should lead the party and whoever wins becomes party leader, and by current circumstances would also become UK Prime Minister.
Back in the 1980's the membership numbers of the Conservative Party ran into millions. In 2019 this number is now down to only around 100,000. So it is these 100,000 members that will determine whom the next PM will be. Not the electorate at large. Like in Canada, the Prime Minister isn't directly elected to the office.
Whilst Boris Johnson is the current bookmakers favourite to become the next Tory leader, recent history has suggested that the favourite rarely wins the contest. The big hurdle for Johnson is to get into the final two, he's known not to be very popular among some Conservative MPs, several of whom have said privately that they would quit the party if he became leader. However Johnson does have popular grass roots support among the party membership so he got as far as that it would be a shock if he didnt win.
If he became PM, he would not be obliged to hold a General Election until 2022 at the latest. However if the threat from some Tory MPs were followed through then he'd almost definitely be running a minority government even with the DUP still supporting him, and unilaterally pulling the UK out of the EU by October 31st with "No deal" would have significant consequences both short and long term. He could of course try to call a General Election but that is fraught with issues. While Johnson is popular with grass root Tory voters, he is loathed by many that are not, and tactical voting to secure wins in seats for "anyone but Tory" would be bad enough. Not only that, Johnson's own seat in the House of Commons only has a small majority and the constituency he represents voted "remain" back in 2016. A Prime Minister losing their seat in a General Election is unprecedented in British political history, but there would be a chance it could happen here.
Also to add, recent opinion polls have shown that the current political landscape in Britain is in chaos, with a resurgent Liberal Democrats now topping them just ahead of the Brexit Party with both the Conservatives and Labour falling behind both of them. In a first-past-the-post General Election those polling percentages would present utter chaos, making it difficult to predict whom would be favourites to win in a majority of constituencies and the House of Commons likely to end up utterly split.
It looks like things are about to get more chaotic than what has even taken place over the last 12 months. Throw in a Liberal Democrat party that has come back from the dead into the public eye after their coalition days with the Tories between 2010 to 2015, their sister party in Northern Ireland the Alliance party whom have just come off the back of their best election results in over 40 years and have now an MEP elected to the EU Parliament making matters concerning the border with the Republic of Ireland still relevant to Brexit if not more so, and the one man shitshow band that is the con man Farage leading his useful idiots to a land of make believe etc. would give a high chance that not only would Johnson becoming Tory leader and PM spell the end of the Conservatives as we know it, but actually lead to the break up of the UK.
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)bluecollar2
(3,622 posts)I approve...
MBS
(9,688 posts)A HERETIC I AM
(24,360 posts)JimGinPA
(14,811 posts)So I retroactively Rec'd it.
ChazInAz
(2,559 posts)He's a Chav, and the Chavs voted for him.
Ligyron
(7,616 posts)"In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws - he would make a Trump."
Hekate
(90,552 posts)MasonDreams
(756 posts)Bravo! He is so extremely ugly, it requires extraordinary talent and hard work just to describe it. Thank You
sheepfarm
(38 posts)Although there is a conflict of interest regarding Trump and how the UK, or more precisely England, is conducting itself regarding Brexit and how a significant proportion of the electorate there, about 1/3rd as well, are as ignorant to what is going on around them, still thinking its a great idea while a visible shitshow is incoming.
Nevertheless, the observation in the OP on Trump is so spot on I really can't build on it. And it's not just the British, the Irish have largely the same social sensibilities as them and regard Trump in the same way. To paraphrase Ralph Wiggum on Trump, "he's funny but not ha ha funny".
From my own point of view, if from European eyes you were to come up with a caricature of the negative stereotype of the fat, vapid, loud, vain, bullying, shallow, proudly ignorant and grotesque American who claims to be God fearing while standing beside his third wife, then it's hard to think of a better example that Donald Trump. This is a little unfair to many folk across the Atlantic, as it is known (even if its not always remembered) that he lost the popular vote to Hiliary Clinton but won via a system that was supposed to stop gobshites like him from attaining the highest office in the country. Well, definitely unfair against those whom don't vote Republican all the time anyway.
But maybe there is one more thing that I can add to that description of Trump. Namely that he is the epitome of the saying "You can have all the money in the world, but money doesn't buy class".
P.S. Well done to the Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar for telling Trump to piss off attempting to make his stop over in Ireland an attempt to promote his golf club resort in Doonbeg, Co. Clare, offering instead to meet Trump via normal diplomatic protocols at the nearby Dromoland Castle Hotel where Dubya was hosted when he visited the country during his Presidency. But nope, Trump threw a hissy fit and the whole meeting will now happen in a VIP suite at Shannon Airport!