In the year preceding the election and in the days that followed I wrote a number of essays about President Trump and included them in my book, Why the Kof? Getting the Best of Rabbi Fuchs https://tinyurl.com/jz4utns
For several months, though, I have had nothing to say about him.
The primary reason is that others have—more pointedly and eloquently than can I–written everything I feel about his policies, appointments and public statements.
But eight months after his inauguration I must express my dismay:
Donald Trump diminishes the pride I feel as an American.
When I see him dressed as the American flag in red (tie) white (shirt) and blue (suit) responding in such an equivocal, mealy-mouthed way to the violence in Charlottesville, I want to vomit.
As horrible as they are, moments of tragedy are golden opportunities for a president to stand tall and unite the country in pride and resolve.
Such horrible moments allow the president to speak for all decent Americans and express the country’s outrage and resolve to do all that is necessary to comfort the victims and condemn the perpetrators.
Even a president I did not like, George W. Bush, rose admirably to that responsibility in the aftermath of Nine Eleven.
But Trump? Uh Uh!
Whether you agreed with him or not, Barack Obama is a man of gentility and class. He was almost always eloquent and appropriate in his responses to terror and those who besmirched the values this country represents.
But Trump is the opposite. He represents nothing but selfishness, greed and a callous disregard for the very people, as Emma Lazarus wrote on the Statue of Liberty, our country is here to protect: “your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”
Donald Trump has offered these precious potential sources of our country’s future greatness nothing but an upraised middle finger.
He seems to wink at—if not fan–racism, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism. His grandiose promises to repair our country’s infra structure, bring thousands and thousands of jobs back to America, bring an end to urban violence and uproot international terrorism have been nothing but empty words.
But what is most disturbing is that so many people continue to rally around him.
In addition to continuing to condemn Trump and protest his actions and policies, it is in our vital interest to understand why.
What is it that he brings to the table that induces so many to resonate to his words and persona?
Until we find the answers to what is really behind Trump’s appeal, we will continue to write essays that allow us to get things off of our chest. And yes, we should.
But we will really be no closer to fixing the problems that led to his election in the first place.
And that is what disturbs me most about Donald Trump!
Finding Ourselves In The Bible 
Rabbi Fuchs is entirely correct. We do not have a statesman for a leader. We have someone who fails to thinks and when he does comes to conclusions that defy his responsibility to a nation of inclusion.
What will it take for his party to repudiate him and take a stand for the real American tradition?
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Thank you, Your question is my question!
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“Donald Trump diminishes the pride I feel as an American!” So well said Rabbi, and I feel the same, I am ashamed in front of the World that we not only have such a president, but a society who elected him and continues to support him. That is the scariest part.
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Very scary, Kati! Thank you so much!
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People rally around him because his policy allows them to finally make public the bigotries that they have been hiding from the world for such s long time.
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Yes, Barbara, but in your opinion is there any more to it than that? Is so much of the country that bigoted?
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Well said. We used to set the standard for others with our moral leadership. Now the division has spread beyond words. Looking at the escalating hatred and violence reminds me of Germany under Hitler. I never thought it would happen here in America.
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I pray, Ellen we will extract ourselves from the clutches of Trump before we descend to Hitlerian depths
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Thank you for your words. They echo my concerns and grave disappointment in Donald Trump. He has shown little leadership that speaks of compassion, mercy, justice for each person, forgiveness or a leader for peace in our world. Hatred and revenge cannot continue.
We are called to goodness and hospitality and to reaching out to our most vulnerable sisters and brothers.
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What he does not do, Mary Louise, we mus redouble our efforts to do! Thank you for your comment!
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By being hateful and divisive, he empowers those who breathe the same. He is a living testament that no amount of money can buy character, class, civility, or a presidential carriage. He is a disgrace and an embarrassment of epic proportions. Period.
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Exclamation mark too, Dani! Thank you!
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