What if Donald Trump was a Travel Blogger?
Note: I wrote this just before the 2016 election. Who would have figured he was such a piece of shit? Well, I did…
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With the US elections only days away, many people have been focused on the things Donald Trump says and tweets. Somehow, with all his trash talk, lack of substance on issues, denigration of women, racist comments, deflection on tough questions and blustery hyperbole he not only gets away with things but has fans hanging on his every word.
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So, I was thinking, what if Donald Trump was a Travel Blogger? Even for just one day?
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(Note: Some of you are going to accuse me of putting words in Trump’s mouth. No. 98% of the below are excerpts of things he’s actually said or tweeted that are on record and linked throughout this post. All I’ve done is combine all these – like a best of the 80’s hit mix – and add a few words to string them all together. Click on the links in his comments to see information on the source and object of his rants).
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How Donald would reply to comments
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Every travel blogger receives comments, some from fans, some from haters. This is how Donald would respond to some of the comments on this blog.
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I had a few commenters call white men “sick fucks” on my post covering young Thai prostitutes and their white, older clients. So how would Donald Trump answer them?
D.T – I like them young. I’ve said that if Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her. When you’re a star you can do anything. Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything. I’m a stud. The best. I don’t need Viagra. Frankly, I wouldn’t mind if there were an anti-Viagra, something with the opposite effect. I’m not bragging. I’m just lucky. I don’t need it. I’ve always said, “If you need Viagra, you’re probably with the wrong girl”. Like Rosie O’Donell. She’s disgusting inside and out. You take a look at her, she’s a slob. She’s got the face of a dog.
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I had blogger who had objections about my post on Lisbon, so much so that she wrote a post about my post accusing me of almost everything under the sun. It’s nice to be written about. So how would Donald Trump respond to her?
D.T – While you are an extremely unattractive woman, I refuse to say that because I always insist on being politically correct. Having said that, you are unattractive both inside and out. I fully understand why your former husband left you for a man – he made a good decision. You’re ugly and fat like Rosie O’Donell. I’m sure when you wrote your ‘article’ you were menstruating. Sorry losers and haters, but my I.Q. is one of the highest -and you all know it! Please don’t feel so stupid or insecure, it’s not your fault. You’re a fraud lighweight, dumb as a rock, and a low life.
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Some people were saddened about our post on race relations in South Africa. Donald Trump would cheer them up:
D.T – I have a great relationship with the blacks. I’ve always had a great relationship with the Blacks. Even though laziness is a trait in Blacks. It really is; I believe that. It’s not anything they can control. Still, I much prefer them to the Mexicans or Chinese. When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re sending people that have lots of problems They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. Billions of dollars gets brought into Mexico through the border. We get the killers, drugs & crime, they get the money!But I get along great with Mexico. I get along great. Thousands of people have worked for me over the years from all the Latin countries. I get along great with Mexico but China should watch out. We can’t continue to allow China to rape our country. If I were elected, Oh would China be in trouble. The poor Chinese. Listen you Motherfuckers, we’re going to tax you 25%!
I am not a racist. I’m the least racist person.
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Blogger Outreach
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Part of being a blogger is reading and commenting on other people’s blogs – it’s part of being in the blogging community. Donald Trump would be great at that.
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Typical comment he would leave on one of those travel blogs where female bloggers insist on posing in bikinis.
Your boob job is terrible. They look like two lightbulbs coming out of your body. I can understand why you got it, a person who is very flat-chested is very hard to be a 10. But your boob job really is terrible. Like Heidi Klum. Sadly, she’s no longer a 10. Still, I refuse to call you a bimbo because that is not politically correct. Actually, you’re a bimbo and so average in so many ways. Not a talented person. A boring person. You’re one of the dumber bloggers.
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I’ll get to what I think of Trump and his comments further below.
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First though, what can Travel Bloggers learn from Donald Trump?
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My biggest peeve about the majority of travel blogs out there is how boring they are. Many are excruciating boring. People post their photos, write about how amazing their experience was, how every minute of every day was perfect. Maybe they’ll include a photo of themselves lying on a beach, a tropical drink in hand. Sometimes the photo will be of them jumping, their heels halfway up their ass. Everything is sunshine and roses. Then they’ll put it out on social media, hashtaging their post and linking tourist boards in the hope that their post will be shared. I call them “Sunshine bloggers” and they have very little credibility and are, worse of all, really really boring.
Donald Trump on the other hand is never boring. He’s of the school that you can be anything except boring. You don’t have to be loud and obnoxious to be ‘not boring’. Some people have charm or humor. But, as Lissette said “If you have no charm, humor or any other redeeming quality, then you have to go all the way and be a total fucking asshole – because then people will be curious about the latest outrageous thing you had to say and who you’ve managed to piss off”. That’s Donald Trump.
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I’ve had new bloggers ask me how they “should write”. WTF? I believe people should write as they speak: honestly, with an opinion. People want honesty and a real opinion.
For all his faults, Donald Trump isn’t afraid to write as he speaks (his sentence structure is the same either way: very short sentences, very pointed, very loud). He’s honest and has an opinion.
There’s also too much Political Correctness not just in travel blogging but in life. And that’s what Donald Trump has tapped into. Have you ever even been slightly curious about what Hillary said? No. She’d make a horrible blogger because she’s incredibly boring.
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So, as a travel blogger, find your voice, be honest and have an opinion. You don’t have to be an asshole like Donald Trump. Ok, maybe you can be. But, most importantly, don’t be boring. For anything – including blogging – boring is the kiss of death. These are the lessons we can all gain from Donald Trump.
The top part of this post was just a spoof.
But I did it to make a point.
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When Trump first declared his candidacy I was interested in what he had to say. Obama disappointed me. His heart was in the right place but he ended up being a weak president. It’s hard to like Hillary. Trump was a breath of fresh air. But it didn’t take long for his boorish style to wear thin. I could never vote for Donald Trump. I’m not in agreement with his policies or his world views. But these are not my biggest issues with him. My problem is with him as a person. What professional person – or anybody for that matter – goes around calling people dummies, bores or clowns? Who goes around calling women bimbos or calling them fat and ugly with dog faces? Who makes fun of people with disabilities? Who on the one hand professes to be sticking up for the average hard-working American then brags about not paying income taxes? This guy didn’t come from poverty; he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He has nothing in common with the people he works so hard to appeal to. So forget the politics for a moment and think about the man. Having him be president of the most powerful country on earth would be the ultimate proof of the social and moral decay of America. I understand why people would want to vote for someone other than Hillary. And having travelled full-time (over the last 2 ½ years now) we’ve seen unhappiness with the status quo in many countries. We get it. But Trump? I have a hard time believing that some people think that he’s presidential material and even a harder time believing that people can admire a person like him.
The point I was making with the comments up top is that if someone like Trump can say stuff like that and get elected, then anyone can say anything. There are no filters anymore, no manners, no decency. The bullies and assholes of the world win.
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As a voter or a blogger, feel free to give me your thoughts!
(I have no problems with different opinions but keep it clean otherwise it’ll never pass moderation)
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Related: Reasons why I don’t visit your blog
Related: Why I’ve had it with Instagrammers (and some travel bloggers)
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Now this is creativity.
Hilarious photos, the title gave me an idea that this post is going to be worth reading.
Thanks for the share.
Glad you enjoyed 🙂
I can’t imagine Trump experiences foreign places in any meaningful sense. He would transform any location he visited into luxury version of itself and then take his staff and his glitz with him as he left.
Have you ever seen his home? Everything in gold. Tacky as all hell. He’s a joke.
what if Donald Trump was a travel blogger? That title alone is out of this world
He might need a new profession soon…:)
He’d be the bestest blogger ever. Amazing reviews and the greatest travels. All the other bloggers are losers going to the bad bad places. Only the Donald knows the greatest best spots.
Ha! Yes. All the other bloggers are visiting shitholes. Not the Don.
i just cant nothing about this,since im not an american,but i enjoy reading it..
I’m not American either…but I still get upset. I wrote that before he got elected and it’s even worse than I would have ever expected.
Just stumbled on your blog today. Very good work is put into all of this & ends up being very enjoyable. You made me remember how much I love opinionated people that can logically put down why they think about something.
I couldn’t resist not writing because it’s 2017 & Donald Trump got elected. You wrote “Having him be president of the most powerful country on earth would be the ultimate proof of the social and moral decay of America.” Jeez. You’re right. Your prediction that he might actually get elected due to the voting scales being in favour of his rabid fans was on point. Morality seems to be decaying in the world & that makes me sad. Other than that, keep up the good work!
Thanks so much for your comment Nick. This is one of those posts that was fun to research and write. Yes, it’s funny to read it again after the fact. I admit have very little sympathy for Americans stuck with him as president – this election was the perfect storm of ignorance, racism, bigotry and the blind following of star power. I’ve had people tell me “but you can’t indict all of us Americans for him getting in power, the majority didn’t vote for him”. I get even more upset with people now complaining about the electoral college and how somehow that is to blame for everything.
If some other country chose to elect a radical Islamic government who believes in Sharia law, do you think the West would say “yes, but only 50.1 % of citizens voted them in, they’re not really that extreme” ? No, we’d judge them.
So when I see what is happening right now with him in power I’m pretty upset and not at all surprised. This was all quite predictable and people allowed it to happen.
One thing though – politics certainly isn’t boring anymore!! And it sure has caused a serious revival in professional journalism and it’s good to see the Washington Post and New York Times step up their games. For anyone in media or interested in politics or the state of the world these are interesting times.
Thanks again Nick for taking the time to comment!
In a December 2007 Wall Street Journal article titled, “How Goldman Won Big On Mortgage Meltdown,” the newspaper noted that “thanks to a tiny group of traders,” the company “has generated one of the biggest windfalls the securities industry has seen in years.”
Goldman Sachs eventually settled with government regulators for $1.5 billion for its role in the crisis.
CBS News reported on the settlement:
Goldman admitted that in bundling mortgages from subprime loan specialists like Countrywide Financial – and then selling them to investors as bonds – it largely failed to address financial problems it knew about.
Other banks that settled for their own roles in the mortgage meltdown read like a who’s who of top Clinton donors:
In February, Morgan Stanley settled for $3.2 billion, Wells Fargo agreed to pay $1.2 billion, J.P. Morgan Chase paid $13 billion three years ago, and Bank of America coughed up a whopping $16.6 billion in 2014.
Bank of America reportedly paid Bill and Hillary Clinton more than $1 million for four speaking gigs between 2011 and 2014.
Hillary Clinton’s campaigns have received major support from Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and J.P. Morgan Chase.
Clintons – made millions
Clinton friends – made billions
World – gfc
Poor Americans – wiped out
Average Americans – house lost 50% of its value as did shares
Thanks classy Bill and honest Hillary.
You might be getting off track Tom, I don’t want to dwell on past history when the post is on Trump.
For the above: you should watch “The Big Short” . Great movie. And is it really a surprise that the financial institutions would be ready to come up with any financial instruments that would allow them to make money? They were allowed to.
You blame it on Clinton, but it’s more complicated that that. Deregulation of the financial industry was done in steps and goes back before Clinton – in fact Mortgage based securities started to be used by financial institutions in the 1980’s when Reagan was president. That’s when most of the deregulation happened.
Manufacturing and service jobs? I remember it all clearly when Reagan and our Prime Minister Brian Mulroney first signed NAFTA. Many Canadians were against it at the time. Like the financial deregulation it has just escalated, companies have moved overseas because they can.
Speaking gigs? No surprise either, the 1990’s were good time economically for most Americans and banks always looking for popular speakers. Bush Sr. has also been on the speech circuit (longer than Bill) and it’s funny how they’ve teamed up in recent years (they’ve actually got a joint foundation for Haiti).
History can be skewed and made subjective, that’s why I don’t want to get into the finger pointing over past deals. If you talk about Trump’s policies and cracking down on Wall Street or getting rid of trade deals, that’s something else. Unlike Obama, he’ll actually have power to pass some laws and won’t have any excuses. Time will tell.
Thanks for the comments!
Thank you, Frank.
It was very interesting to read the article and comments.
I don’t like politics, but Trump is funny man. We’ll see what he do with the country.
A good way to judge anyone is to look at the company they keep and their families.
Compare the Trump family to Clintons.
No contest.
You’re not serious, right? Trump proves that money doesn’t mean you have class. He, his kids, and his Eastern European hooker wives are trailer trash.
Bill on the other hand was a class act. He invigorated the economy, enacted laws giving more protection to gays and minorities, and worked (both peacefully and using force) to bring peace to the Middle East and Balkans.
But I agree with you on one thing. There’s no contest.
Agree on all 4 points.
But I think Trump is a disgusting man. He won based on lies and pandering to the lowest common denominator. What does that say about him? We might be surprised – he might actually do a good job, he might actually have the balls to make America respected again, both in terms of Global politics and trade. Maybe he’ll surprise us all. But I think he’ll also surprise the anti-abortionists, the people who think he’ll actually be building a Mexican wall, and the KKK who he seemed almost proud to cater to…He might be totally different in power than he was trying to get in power (people forget he was always a liberal and in the past contributed to Clinton campaigns).
I don’t like Clinton. But I really think Trump was vile OR just catered to the vile. Same thing.
Democracy and the majority? Democracy is only as good as the people who vote. And when only 60% of eligible voters vote (many of those the ones with grievances and gripes) because the majority would rather sit in front of the TV watching American Idol then I think we’re in trouble. I’ve long ago lost faith in the “majority”.
A lot of online polls after the 3 debates gave the win to Trump. Did the mainstream media report this? No. Why? They are employed by globalists who hate Trump. Media Moguls hate the fact that people can skip newspapers/tv for political analyis and get the real story (unfiltered) online from Assange and bloggers like Milo.
Other online indicators gave Trump a higher chance of winning too. Once again the 80s media types failed to report this cause their careers are under threat and their bosses tell them what to say.
Agree. I was just discussing same with a friend. They’re a joke. Same media who acted as cheerleaders when Bush declared war in Iraq. Same media who treated Obama like the great Messiah before he even took office (Obama set the stage for the mess the US is in now). Who are these pollsters? Seems like the most useless profession on earth. They’ve gotten everything wrong this year.
I’m a news junkie and enjoy reading article from all the major papers. Amazes me how there is no middle in the US…just polarized views at either extreme. The truth is somewhere in the middle…what ever happened to objective, thorough journalism?
“How to scare the shit out of anyone who values free speech”
Hillary is the anti free speech person and the bigot. She hates everyone unless they pay her. The most 2 faced liar ever to run for president. A truly vile person who sold her soul for money and power a long time ago. Been proven by wiki.
Yes, true. But Trump won this election with outright lies and a populace who doesn’t know better and would rather believe an outlandish punchline than actually sit down and read a paragraph in a newspaper…
U r a kkhunt and a f@cking piece of shit tough guy!
Were you able to read the article or did you have to call a friend?
LOL. Now that you think about it, you’re right. But I don’t think it’ll work as intended. I don’t think travelers would appreciate incendiary materials. Trump supporters are the way the are because they don’t travel.
It’s a spoof of course. It might be novel (as in the case of Trump) but would get old fast…
Ok, you’ve made a bit of a blanket remark there about Trump supporters Hung Thai. I tend to agree with you in the majority but I think there are many reasons for the rejection of the status quo.
Hehe, generalization’s biggest weakness is that it takes the highlight of the few and paint the picture for the whole. Though for this particularly case, it might be “true”. Though, a coincidence between stats doesn’t make it a correlation. I do think that not having traveled to see how others live has something to do with the “hatred”. But you’re right, there are many factors that make this Trumpism possible.
I enjoyed all the stuff about DT (bloody hell, the UK is so civilised when it comes to politics – order, order!) but what caught my attention was female bloggers who insist on posing in bikinis and sunshine bloggers. Here, here, I can’t stand either! Kirsty says I spend too much of my time looking at their blogs and moaning like crap about them. She’s right and I know I shouldn’t waste my time on them but boy, they annoy me! Can we add to the list, those that post and brag about how much money they make from their blog? Like the sunshine bloggers, they are probably providing false information about how much they make in the first place but if they aren’t, it’s still incredibly crass and vulgar to talk about how much money you make under any circumstances. There is actually one well known blogger who posts the amount he has earned from blogging on the front page of his website – classy!
And while we are on the subject, backpackers that stay in 5 star hotels (obviously for free) but still insist they are backpackers – I’ll say no more…
We’re so similar Mark. I don’t know about that well-known blogger…but that definitely sounds like a Trump move “I made so much money last quarter. Big Bucks!”.
Oh, I’ve got another category of bloggers that piss me off: Those “vegan”, “green”, “yoga”, “environmental conscious” bloggers. Most are fakes. I know one well-known vegan couple that complained about having gained weight eating too much meat over Christmas. They’re the same ones who supposedly did yoga – when asked they responded “the slow kind”. HA! Then there are those f*ing hypocrite environment conscious bloggers who would rather see people starve rather than having an elephant kick a soccer ball for 15 minutes (see here if you want more on that). Ironically, they’re the same bloggers who don’t have two pennies to rub together and who’ll try to get free entrance to places like Elephant Nature Park. Oh, you’re just getting me started….
I know, I could go on for hours and create a rather long list but I just get accused of being a grumpy old man – me!!! I always find its easy to shoot down the ‘we’ve made loads of cash from our blog and travel the world for free’ types by telling them that my father is a lord and owns half of Knightsbridge (with the other half obviously belonging to the Chinese, Arabs and Russians!) and that I’ve never worked a day in my life. That tends to shut them up and if I’m feeling particularly mean I add that our family is related to the Windsors!
Btw, have you ever seen a BBC comedy called ‘One foot in the Grave’? Full episodes are available on Youtube – you might identify 🙂
Nothing wrong with being a grumpy old man! (something I’m also accused of) 🙂
I’ll have to check out that series.
Just found your blog via the post on Omiš (always a subject for debate between the hubby and I) and am currently a U.S. escapee in Split waiting for our home-base in Sarajevo to be renovated. Oh the Donald! I truly believe he is first and foremost a performance artist, an empathy-free narcissistic version, and what a shock and revelation for me to discover that George W. Bush actually has poise compared to Trump. Your Trump-as-travel-writer what-ifs are funny.
I was actually thinking of someday writing a blog post about how liberating it is, as a 55+ woman with the blob shape to prove it, to be able to purchase and wear a less-modest two-piece (aka Russian-made bikini) in Croatia. Body acceptance … 🙂
You guys sound interesting. Home base in Sarajevo? Unusual choice – I don’t know the city, the closest we’ve been was Mostar. But we’ll be in Belgrade in December and I was toying with the idea of seeing Sarajevo then.
Ha – yes about Bush Jr. Who would have thought it could possibly sink lower?
I wouldn’t worry about wearing anything in Croatia. Have an aunt who’s been there every year for the last 10 years and all they do is spend time in the nude up north (they have quite a few naturalist resorts in the area). They’re about the last people you’d ever want to see naked…
I married into Sarajevo as my husband lived there until the war and a home base was waiting for us. It’s different than Mostar for sure (disclaimer, I have paternal family there). We met one of the Trump supporters in our Sarajevo building. But surprisingly, I enjoyed this gentleman’s company a lot and can’t hold his political beliefs against him. That said, I’m always shocked when refugees are afraid of other refugees and like what Trump has to say., Maybe his sister-in-law does not wear a hijab.
If you are in Belgrade I highly recommend a side-trip to Sarajevo. There so much about the city I appreciate (except when my husband made us miss a free Taiko performance). Good to know about the Istrian Naturist community–I vowed to try naturist-SUP even if it’s only for two minutes, lol.
BTW: there’s a nice dude who rents a flat called “Apartment Ferdinand” in Sarajevo.
Thanks Lucija. If we go to Sarajevo I’ll ask you for some tips (thanks for the Apartment Ferdinand tip)
People want “something different ” , but different often does not mean better. I am still in shock about Brexit and the thought of Mr. DT as the new President of the US makes me shudder and I want to go hiding under a rock somewhere remote. Maybe what we need to cheer us up is a picture of Mr.DT in a bikini?
HA! Yes 🙂
Very clever! Off to delete that photo of me jumping in the air while wearing a bikini now….. 🙂
Yes, maybe that would be best 🙂
Although I did laugh at some of these and found the photo’s hilarious, this is one election that is way different than any others. Can’t wait for it all to be over next week!
Oh the suspense!! I’m a bit of a news junkie so I’ve enjoyed following it…but it will be a whole new chapter when the election is accounted for and might even get uglier. Will be interesting.
Thanks for taking the time to comment Nancy!
I really like reading your blog because of just how unafraid you are to voice your opinions – like one of your fellow readers told you, it’s not about whether I agree or disagree but it’s really interesting to hear your take on destinations,especially the ones I’ve been to and especially given that you travel in a different way to the way I do (I just travel during annual leave from work for shorter durations) so the insights can be fascinating from someone doing slower travel. Also,I’m a female blogger and I totally and utterly agree with what you said about the posing in bikinis thing. Not my thing AT ALL and although they are entitled to do as they wish, I can’t help but wonder what the motives and sentiments are for doing so…..vanity, trying to appeal to a certain type of readership? I must admit that when I see photos like that in a post about a destination,it immediately makes me less likely to carry on reading or take it seriously as a piece of writing.
Thanks Shikha!
We’ll all have different travel opinions based on our experiences and I’m not saying mine are better than anyone else’s. Some places you’ll appreciate much more spending a short time in (most island destinations for example) while others take more time to absorb (like Japan, where we are right now).
For the bikinis thing – sex sells but I don’t have to respect you if you need that to do that to get people to your website. Loses credibility for me right off the bat without knowing them at all.
All so true Frank – and all pretty sad ! Very original and thought provoking post (although, perhaps, we could have had a lot fewer photos of the ‘blonde bombshell … ) Our modern “Euro-American” age, with all its qualities – and faults – was born out of the Renaissance, “l’Age des Lumiaires” (Enlightenment), the rise of analytical thought, logic, tolerance, and reason after centuries of ignorance, superstition,and intolerance. Along the way, world shaking and changing events (specifically the Industrial Revolution, and its political and social changes, revolts and fallout), managed to be accommodated because of rising standards of living and improvements in social conditions for the vast majority of the Society as a whole – no longer the case at all ! .
Now, on top of everything, we are now living the Technological Revolution, which, not so steadily but very rapidly is changing everything, not least the economic and social Future, and the economic parametres of our Societies. . In N America they are already talking of over 4 million truck drivers and 500.000 taxi drivers, being made obsolete/unemployed by autonomous trucks and cars as early as within the next 10 years. Already, tens of thousands of supermarket cashiers jobs are disappearing to automatic cashier machines. The list grows and goes on and on. But sofar, no one is even considering, let alone planning for all these generally low and under skilled workers hitting the uemployment lines. The employment market looks pitiful for the vast majority of low-skill or limited skill workers, who even if they find work, are faced with low wages – often unliveable ones – without any benefits at all.
And all workers, unskilled or highly qualified, are all increasingly facing the reality of rising out-sourcing and its effects – invariably no paid vacations, no health, no retirement plans. In Canada only 40% of the employment pool is now considered to be ‘full time’ with all its benefits – vs over 85% in 1975…. And the rate of change is only speeding up. One thing the new technologies have already taught us, is not to underestimate them, or their negative side affects on us, in this Brave New World !
All to say, I agree entirely with your statement that “the frustration with what’s going on in much of the world: stagnation, unemployment, a general sense that things are getting worse rather than better. People are grasping for something different”, but I daresay it already goes a lot deeper than that . Everywhere, our so-called democracies are besieged by corruption, powerful lobby groups, serious and growing social and economic inegalities, and increasingly by a partially – or totally – non-functioning system. Yes, the People are grasping for something different, something that works for them. And Trump fits the bill perfectly . What is amazing in all this is that allegations, gossip and outright lies become fact – and real facts are sidelined, ignored, overridden and denied. Exactly the same politics of misinformation, outright lies, fabrications and non-facts, were used and practised by the “Leave” side of the Brexit referendum – and its all done without any responsibility or accountability ! The incredible thing about Brexit, is that when the “Leave” side won, they had absolutely no idea, plan or project as to what they wanted or how it would all occur !!! Suddenly all the proponents of the Leave side disappeared …
Unfortunately, Trump is but the tip of the iceberg . There are lots of ‘little Trumps’ in almost all our western democracies. And they are being increasingly supported, for lack of any viable alternatives, by an ever increasing proportion of the populations there. And who can blame them ?
But it is perhaps worth recalling that (after a lot of astute political manipulation,) Hitler managed to be democratically elected President in 1934 !
Thanks Tony! Great analysis.
He is an entertainer, that’s all. But the POTUS nowadays has become a mere figurehead, so it’s unimportant.
Totally agree with the 1st part – not so much with the 2nd. The president still dictates the shaping of foreign policy and what they try to push through congress. You can bet if Trump gets in that foreign policy, especially when it comes to Nato and trade deals, will change radically. And Trump has run his own show outside the GOP establishment, nobody but him is running his show. Policy will change even if Hillary gets in because she’s already let it known that she’d be more aggressive in the Middle East than Obama has been.
It’s why I read your blog – you put it out there. Writing a blog is not easy – especially for those of us who have managed to maintain for a number of years. There have been SO many times when I wanted to get on my soapbox but I usually refrain – although there have been a couple of exceptions – because … well, because. But you’re spot on when it comes to the boredom.
As for the election… for those of us living in the states we can’t escape it, this relentless election rhetoric that has torn this country up. I have said many times in various blog posts that one only has to travel across this vast country and back again – and more than once – to understand why it’s nearly impossible for this country to come together as “one.” But, what we’ve been subjected to in this campaign is that “he” (I won’t use his name) has brought the ugly to the forefront and has created a division in this country that will very likely never heal. And, while I respect everyone’s right to their opinion, it staggers the imagination why so many continue to follow him blindly and feel he has their best interest at heart while he quietly launches his media empire on the side. Hillary carries with her a great deal of baggage, there is no disputing that, but I do admire her strength. How many could have stood on the debate stage with that blow hard and maintained their composure? Hell, look what happened during the Republican primaries, it went about as low as it can go. Honestly, I don’t know why anyone would want the job, but she does. Personally, I’d love to see a viable 3rd and 4th political party in the US, who knows, maybe this created division will help turn the tide. There are a lot of jokes out there about him and his presidency, but for those of us who live in fear of the potential reality, there is nothing funny about it. Keep writing Frank.
Thanks so much for the comment Patti. This post was about “the man” and I didn’t want this post to degenerate into political arguments between the 2 parties. But I agree with you in that more options are required. 2 parties, both horrible candidates with lots of baggage. How can this happen?
And I mention in the post that at least Trump is “honest”. I’m accepting him at face value – if I were to really dissect him I don’t know how much of what he says he really believes. I think Trump is ALL about Marketing: he’s found a gap between the establishment and a great majority of voters and he’s gone after that “market”. Is he really pro-gun, anti-abortion etc? I don’t think so.
But it’ll be interesting to see how it all unfolds.
Sorry about that Frank, I wasn’t looking to make a political statement. I suppose I’m someone who can’t separate the man from his politics and I’m pretty sure if I wrote what I believe to be true about the man, you’d probably have to delete my comment. 🙂 Cheers ~
No problem Patti, appreciate the comment – I just didn’t want to comment section to descend into the finger pointing between followers of either candidate that you see everywhere. Instead of accusations, I’d rather understand the rationale for people voting for him. I think this was a great article: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/oct/30/heart-america-pain-fear-vote-donald-trump-ohio. I think many people feel your frustration though Patti.
The title of your post was great as you had me wondering right away if there was anything I could possibly learn from DT. The only answers I could come up with were all negative and in order 1) How to outright lie with a straight face 2) How to practice complete deniability even when a video proves you said something 3) How to perfect a whine that mimics fingernails scraping down a chalkboard 4) How to attract the lowest bottom feeders and haters in the good ole USA and 5) How to scare the shit out of anyone who values free speech, equal rights and humanity. Need I say more? Obviously for those of us who are political junkies, we are terrified, along with the rest of the world and the sport of watching Trump-nado lost its appeal a long time ago. We’ve cast our absentee ballots and will be on pins and needles for the next couple of weeks… P.S. I cannot believe someone bashed your blog. I love your honesty and sense of humor not to mention those cute little hats you’re wearing on your logo!
Thanks Anita. I know many won’t be happy with this post but I was kind of having fun with it. I’m a news junkie and have read so much over the last few months – I couldn’t let this event go without some thoughts on the subject.
I don’t want to bash his supporters, that wasn’t the point. I understand the frustration with what’s going on in much of the world: stagnation, unemployment, a general sense that things are getting worse rather than better. People are grasping for something different. Unfortunately I agree with much of what you say – Trump has fed on that anger and has done it using the basest of emotions.
It’s ok about that other blogger. Actually a good sign when someone starts writing about you. A whole page dedicated to me. Trump would support that 🙂 Maybe I’ll change my profile description on Facebook from Local/Travel Website to “Public Figure”. Ha!
Very creative post, Frank! Trump may be a lot of horrible things, but he’s definitely not boring. That’s the only reason he’s got this far in the race. People love drama and can’t look away from a train wreck!
Thank you Rhonda. Yes, let’s see if that train wreck became president. It certainly won’t be boring and I can imagine the fallout in the mainstream media. Oh my.
You have arrived! Someone wrote a post about a post you wrote? Winning :-). I refuse to say anything about the man you have written about, not even his name. Watching the earthquake from this early morning on the telly from which we felt quite the aftershock, hard enough to wake us up reminds me there is so much more to worry about 🙂 🙂
Yes, someone actually wrote a whole post talking shit about my post. And when I replied on her allegations (including a lot of inaccuracies) she didn’t even allow it on her blog. If you’re going to target another blogger at least have the balls to post their reply.
Hey, that’s true, you guys in Rome. We’re in our own earthquake zone here in Tokyo. Have never experienced earthquakes or tremors and hope we never do! Enjoy the rest of your time there 🙂