by Tom Shafer
August 27, 2020
Okay, so I’ve tortured myself by watching the first three nights of the Republican National Convention and can no longer resist the temptation to weigh in on what I’ve witnessed. So you already know that I’m no fan of Trump’s, and certainly no fan of this iteration of the Republican Party — which bears little to no resemblance to the party that existed just five short years ago. To be fair, I’ve been calling it the Trumpian Party for a couple of years now, in deference to my R friends who still believe in Republican principles — which Trumpians all but ignore. Yes, you still hear some of the same old R monikers — anti-abortion, defenders of Christian ideals, restrictions on immigration, and gun rights — but they’ve all but abandoned most of the others: small government, fiscal responsibility, free market capitalism, strong leadership in the world, anti-Communism.
But the reason I’m sticking my neck out now is because of how the convention is painting Trump himself, and the three and a half years of his administration. It is revisionist history at best, remarkably absurd at its worst. Based on his bizarre naturalization ceremony, he is somehow friend to the immigrant. Based on the reality of children being placed in cages along our southern border, separated from their parents, he has proven himself no friend of immigrants — except white ones from Sweden and Norway. Trump is also a friend of “the Blacks,” as evidenced by his pardoning of a former drug dealer who is now helping ex-convicts when they leave prison. Based on his rhetoric denigrating the Black Lives Matter movement and his unseemly embrace of white supremacy, he is not demonstrating support for Black and Brown people — especially with his words and policies.
And, according to many convention speakers, Trump is also hero of the COVID pandemic, a man whose actions saved hundreds of thousands of lives and kept the economy from complete annihilation. O. M. G. Yes, he closed traffic from China early on (except he didn’t) and rallied Chevrolet to make ventilators (which was really just masked retaliation against Obama) and claimed that we had the best testing in the world (except we didn’t). He also claimed that the virus would just go away in February — then April — then May — then July. Larry Kudlow, advisor to the President, even referred to the pandemic in the past tense. I could spend an hour here spelling out Trump’s inept handling of this crisis, but that would be a wasted hour for me.
Oh, and did I mention that there is no 2020 Republican platform? None. Zero. Zilch. Instead, there are fifty bullet points under the heading “Fighting For You!” And no, I’m not making this up. My favorite one is “Teach American Exceptionalism.” Or maybe “Bring Violent Extremist Groups Like ANTIFA to Justice.” Our history classes have been touting white exceptionalism for far too long (see Juneteenth for evidence) — and really, ANTIFA and not white supremacist groups or the dangerous (according to Trump’s own Justice Department) QAnon?
However, what I have found most appalling about the TNC (Trumpian National Convention) is how white evangelical Christians are still vocalizing full-throated support for this president (72% approval in July according to Pew, 59% very strongly). Though his approval rating is down six percentage points since April, I find it difficult to believe that ANY Christian would support him. Outside of his lying, misogyny, infidelity, and general immorality — oh and the fact that he’s about as Christian as I am (I’m not) — he’s a really great guy!
I won’t take the time to spell out my outrage — because I already have. And fortunately, I just have to reach back into the archives to re-release that outrage. Please read the following old entries under my Not Politics?! tab, ones that are still quite prescient today: “Fear This, Republicans!” posted January 8, 2019; “Onward Trumpian Soldiers?” posted October 3, 2018; and, “Thank You, Christianity Today!” posted March 25, 2020. Unfortunately, I know I won’t be changing any minds, but maybe I’ll make a few of those 72% feel guilty — maybe even a little dirty. And I don’t know, maybe the evidence will change a mind or two. Call me Pollyanna if you must.
American singer-songwriter Todd Snider
