Donald
Trump schlepped across town on Tuesday to meet with the publisher of
The New York Times and some editors, columnists and reporters at the
paper.
As The Times reported, Trump actually seemed to soften some of his positions:
He
seemed to indicate that he wouldn’t seek to prosecute Hillary Clinton.
But he should never have said that he was going to do that in the first
place.
He
seemed to indicate that he wouldn’t encourage the military to use
torture. But he should never have said that he would do that in the
first place.
He said that he would have an “open mind” on climate change. But that should always have been his position.
You
don’t get a pat on the back for ratcheting down from rabid after
exploiting that very radicalism to your advantage. Unrepentant
opportunism belies a staggering lack of character and caring that can’t
simply be vanquished from memory. You did real harm to this country and
many of its citizens, and I will never — never — forget that.
As I read the transcript and then listened to the audio, the slime factor was overwhelming.
After
a campaign of bashing The Times relentlessly, in the face of the actual
journalists, he tempered his whining with flattery.
At one point he said:
“I
just appreciate the meeting and I have great respect for The New York
Times. Tremendous respect.
It’s very special. Always has been very
special.”
He ended the meeting by saying:
“I will say, The Times is, it’s a great, great American jewel. A world jewel. And I hope we can all get along well.”
I
will say proudly and happily that I was not present at this meeting.
The very idea of sitting across the table from a demagogue who preyed on
racial, ethnic and religious hostilities and treating him with decorum
and social grace fills me with disgust, to the point of overflowing. Let
me tell you here where I stand on your “I hope we can all get along”
plea: Never.
You
are an aberration and abomination who is willing to do and say anything
— no matter whom it aligns you with and whom it hurts — to satisfy your
ambitions.
I
don’t believe you care much at all about this country or your party or
the American people. I believe that the only thing you care about is
self-aggrandizement and self-enrichment. Your strongest allegiance is to
your own cupidity.
I
also believe that much of your campaign was an act of psychological
projection, as we are now learning that many of the things you slammed
Clinton for are things of which you may actually be guilty.
You slammed Clinton for destroying emails, then Newsweek
reported last month that your companies “destroyed emails in defiance
of court orders.” You slammed Clinton and the Clinton Foundation for
paid speeches and conflicts of interest, then it turned out that, as BuzzFeed
reported, the Trump Foundation received a $150,000 donation in exchange
for your giving a 2015 speech made by video to a conference in Ukraine.
You slammed Clinton about conflicts of interest while she was secretary
of state, and now your possible conflicts of interest are popping up like mushrooms in a marsh.
You
are a fraud and a charlatan. Yes, you will be president, but you will
not get any breaks just because one branch of your forked tongue is
silver.
I am not easily duped by dopes.
I
have not only an ethical and professional duty to call out how obscene
your very existence is at the top of American government; I have a moral
obligation to do so.
I’m
not trying to convince anyone of anything, but rather to speak up for
truth and honor and inclusion. This isn’t just about you, but also about
the moral compass of those who see you for who and what you are, and
know the darkness you herald is only held at bay by the lights of truth.
It’s
not that I don’t believe that people can change and grow. They can. But
real growth comes from the accepting of responsibility and repenting of
culpability. Expedient reversal isn’t growth; it’s gross.
So
let me say this on Thanksgiving: I’m thankful to have this platform
because as long as there are ink and pixels, you will be the focus of my
withering gaze.
I’m
thankful that I have the endurance and can assume a posture that will
never allow what you represent to ever be seen as everyday and ordinary.
No,
Mr. Trump, we will not all just get along. For as long as a threat to
the state is the head of state, all citizens of good faith and national
fidelity — and certainly this columnist — have an absolute obligation to
meet you and your agenda with resistance at every turn.
I know this in my bones, and for that I am thankful.
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