PammyR

[CALL TO ACTIVISM @CalltoActivism]

A British writer penned the best description of Donald Trump I’ve ever read:

“Why do some British people not like Donald Trump?”

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 Trump’s 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 don’t 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, it’s a fact. He doesn’t 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 doesn’t 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. It’s all surface. Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront. Well, we don’t. 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. He’s not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedy fat-cat. He’s 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, it’s 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.”

-Nate White

[PammyR @PamRussell806]

@babyariees Me too! Pisses me off!,

[PammyR @PamRussell806]

They broke her royal pool cue!

[PammyR @PamRussell806]

LGBTQ STUDENTS BELONG AT OCHS https://t.co/OyGNSjGPMr via @Change

[Angry Staffer @Angry_Staffer]

If you felt personally attacked because a man got on television and said fascism is bad, authoritarianism is bad, political violence is bad, and that we should *all* put the country over any political party, it says a whole lot more about you than the dude you’re mad at.

[Occupy Democrats @OccupyDemocrats]

BREAKING: Republicans panic as the NBA announces that it will drive its millions of “woke” fans to the voting booth this November by holding “election-themed” games the day before Election Day — and cancel all Election Day games so that its fans can go vote. RT TO THANK THE NBA!

[Val Demings @valdemings]

Retweet if you’re ready for me to unseat Rubio!

[Rachel Bitecofer 🗽🦆 @RachelBitecofer]

The media needs to cover CPAC factually. It's the first fascist rally ever hosted by a major American political party in history.

[Occupy Democrats @OccupyDemocrats]

BREAKING: Bombshell new polling reveals that 67% of Americans favor imposing term limits on Supreme Court Justices — a radical change that could help break the Republican Party's authoritarian stranglehold on the court. RT IF YOU SUPPORT IMPOSING TERM LIMITS!

[PammyR @PamRussell806]

@ReallyAmerican1 @teakinrj

[PammyR @PamRussell806]

@CABHealingHeart Often

[PammyR @PamRussell806]

@KFILE

[PammyR @PamRussell806]

@onepeloton Haha!!

[PammyR @PamRussell806]

@Strandjunker ✋🏻

[Maria Shriver @mariashriver]

Let’s go!

[PammyR @PamRussell806]

I see an Emmy nomination in this guy’s future....

[PammyR @PamRussell806]

@DrJasonJohnson what was the bottle of sauce on the shelf behind you tonight on @TheBeatWithAri ?

[Dan Rather @DanRather]

Dude. You lost.

[Mike Walker @New_Narrative]

2/2. I was under secretary for memorial affairs at VA when I retired from federal service. I have never been more shaken by the comments of an American president. He deserves not one more day in office. And could we hear an apology before he goes?

[PammyR @PamRussell806]

@ChrisJansing Love the pizza pic! I’ve always thought you were great, but much more so since the “We’re in this together” ad with your family! *sniff, I’m not crying, you’re crying!*!