Lack of understanding of Trump is hitting me hard

Aug. 4, 2020 | G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.com

Everyday, I can count on several things: my grumpy 19-year-old cat Ginger will try to trip me as I feed him; the vegetable garden will require watering; and incidences will underline my general ignorance.

You see, there are many, many things I don’t understand. I don’t mind this condition, as I’m a reporter. I’m supposed to ask questions and learn things.

Sometimes, though, my lack of understanding hits me hard.

On July 30, President Donald Trump tweeted the following: “With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???”

Now this is what I don’t understand. If Trump is a defender of the Constitution, then why would he even propose something like that? Doesn’t he understand only Congress could change the date? It’s not within the power of the presidency.

Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin was in Springfield last week to speak about the importance of the census and he quickly refuted any claim that voting by mail is not secure.

Galvin pointed out that registered voters in the Commonwealth have received a post card that instructs them how to receive a ballot for voting by mail.

“Voting by mail is a necessity under the circumstances,” he said.

He called Trump’s claims “ridiculous” and noted the president has voted by mail with traditional absentee ballot.

“There is no difference. It is the same,” Galvin asserted.

He then stressed how any misuse of absentee ballots – such as the incident with former East Longmeadow Selectman Jack Villamaino in 2012 – has been met with prosecution.    

So what don’t I understand: wouldn’t you think someone in the White House would be advising the president about what’s real and what’s not?

Yes, that was a joke, folks. Sarcasm. Clearly no one in the administration acts as a common sense sounding board to the president.

The polls indicate at this point Trump is going to lose the election, so he is coming up with what he sees as a way to buy time.

 It’s a strange time in American politics. When facing reelection, one would think the president would be trying to appeal to the greatest number of the electorate. Instead he seems to be bent on irritating the greatest number of people he can.

His response to the racial injustice in this country, the fact he wished “well” to a person accused of sex trafficking teenagers and his ill-advised use of federal agents in Portland, OR, as if they were his personal police force, are just three of his flashpoints.

His post on Twitter said all it needed to say about low income people who need decent housing. It read, “I am happy to inform all of the people living their Suburban Lifestyle Dream that you will no longer be bothered or financially hurt by having low income housing built in your neighborhood. Your housing prices will go up based on the market, and crime will go down.”

Wow. Mr. Trump, you do realize that just because a person is low income does not mean they are a criminal? Right? You understand?

Ah, no. You clearly don’t.

 It’s time to figure out sports betting

My buddy Dave, one of the brightest guys I know, asked me what happened to sports betting in the Commonwealth.

I thought it was a good question, as it illustrates something that has been killed, at least for the time being, by COVID-19.

With the casinos closed for months and open under many restrictions as well as sporting events being very limited, sports betting is a moot issue on this point.

I would like to see the Legislature deal with it so when the pandemic lifts the Commonwealth could be in the right spot for this kind of endeavor.

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