@Jazzhead @Emjay Okay, fine, @Emjay , so I'm a jerk. But my jerky behavior doesn't threaten GOP control of Congress and the prosperity that is lifting all boats. Trump's does.
What you object to is constructive criticism of the President. He has kept his promises and accomplished a great deal in the face of unyielding opposition. But he exhibits a toxic brew of megalomania and an appetite for self-destruction, and it is overshadowing his accomplishments. He's had a year and a half to conform to reasonable norms of how a President should behave. Yes, he's being goaded on a daily basis. But he needs to realize that he is his own worst enemy.
Well, this is interesting because I think it highlights
the critical point that separates so many people. I bolded the language I think hits the key issue.
You're arguing that your criticism is "constructive" because Trump "needs to realize that he is his own worst enemy." Presumably, that means you think your criticism -- as echoed by many,
many others -- is going "to make him realize that he is his own worst enemy."
Seriously?
I think that's about as likely as the New England Patriots winning the World Series. Anyone remotely familiar with Trump and his background knows that
this is who he is. He's a blowhard who gets in trouble because he can't stop putting his foot in his mouth. And he's thin-skinned, so the more he gets criticized publicly, the more likely his behavior is to get
worse. People throughout the media, in the GOP, and ordinary people like you have been blasting Trump literally for
years trying to get him to stop doing that stuff. How has that worked out?
John Kelly -- who trust me is a pretty persuasive, impressive guy in person -- communicates with Trump on a daily basis, and obviously would prefer that Trump not say things that get him in trouble. Yet even he hasn't managed to stop those things despite being Trump's COS for more than a year. And I bet Trump's own wife, daughter, and son-in-law all have done their best in private to restrain him. How's that worked out for them?
But he is going to wake up and change his ways sooner or later.
Based on
what??? That is pure wishful thinking - literally. The man is 72 years old, and is nothing if not consistent in his personality.
Where is there a shred of evidence to support this idea that he is "going to wake up and change his ways sooner or later?" I would say that every shred of evidence actually suggests that the opposite is true. The most rational conclusion -- and the only one supported by any facts -- is that he is not
ever going to every wake up and change his ways, and there is nothing you or anyone else can do about it.
No matter how well-meaning your intentions may be with this criticism you believe is "constructive", it just
isn't. He is who he is, and the cacophony of public criticism from critics who claim to support most of his substantive agenda isn't having the effect you desire. It's not changing his behavior --
it is handing to the opponents of his policies more ammunition with which to oppose him on substance. The left loves nothing more than to take something stupid he's said, build the narrative that he's a bad, evil guy, and then use that narrative to discredit his policy proposals, judicial nominations, etc., as well as anyone who supports those proposals. And when GOP critics decide to pile on when he says stupid things, they are helping the left build that narrative.
I'm not saying that Republicans should give him false praise when he says something stupid. I'm saying that the piling on based on the false belief that such criticism is "constructive", and will change his behavior for the better, is actually
destructive of the substantive agenda so many of them claim to support.
tl;dr
We know he says stupid stuff. Repeatedly focusing on it just plays into the hands of the left.