When Kayleigh McEnany handed Leslie Stahl of 60 Minutes a six-inch thick encyclopedic styled book allegedly containing the President's healthcare plan, I was skeptical. When Ms. Stahl said the book was filled with superfluous Executive Orders, ancillary paperwork, but no healthcare plan, I believed her. There lies the problem with the current American President. As accomplished as Ms. Stahl is and as averse as the administration may be toward her interviewing style, I believed her word over that of the President of the United States; that is a problem.
I purposefully avoided the media stories, Mr. Trump’s tweets, and the innumerable radio voices that told of the President’s encounter with Leslie Stahl during her shortened interview on 60 Minutes Sunday night. The interview was cut short because Ms. Stahl had the temerity to challenge him, question his lies, and look him in the eye and say, “no sir.” For her efforts, President Trump cowardly walked out in a tempestuous huff. I wanted to vicariously experience what Ms. Stahl must have felt, I wanted to watch Mr. Trump’s eyes, his manner, and listen to his tone of voice.
Unfortunately, that up-close look at the President at his most vindictive was disturbing. His ability to summon, at will, the evil to tear at other men and women’s character, stare, with contempt at Ms. Stahl, saying what he knows is not true; all the while displaying a tenacious impassivity and malevolence. Seldom can I stomach the sycophantic peons who prop up the President and cater to his ego on Fox News. Most of my exposures to him are via his press conferences, numerous debates, and televised rallies. I laugh, sometimes cover my mouth, and most often shake my head that America could have done this to herself.
Generally, I can ignore the wild claims, even giggle a bit at the absurdity of a seventy-something-year-old man with his face spray painted orange and hair teased up like someone from a Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello beach movie. I write often about the President; I take great care not to present facts I cannot back up or ideas I cannot support. For the first time last night, I understood the questions, the doubts of sanity, and the fears for the country expressed to us by people like James Clapper, John Bolton, and James Comey who more than once has likened Mr. Trump to a mob boss.
I had a visceral reaction to Mr. Trump Sunday night. I felt revulsion, and my heart pounded. I felt fearful, not only for myself but for America. The audacity it takes to lie to America without recrimination is extremely frightful. The audacity it takes to brush off the deaths of hundreds of thousands and feeling aggrieved by questions is frightful. Asked if he bore any responsibility for the divisiveness or the legitimizing of white supremacist groups, the president snarled and attacked Ms. Stahl as a fake and a shill for Joe Biden. I have used a lot of expressive prose to simply say; Donald Trump demonstrated once and for all he is an evil man, and we deserve better.
Vote in 2020 for Change—and for your lives.