Donald Trump’s lies, jealousies and medical disabilities
Donald Trump was backlit by intense sunlight as he emerged through the double doors of the Grand Foyer at the White House to address the American people Wednesday morning. The sunlight was dramatically cut off as soon as he’d stepped to the podium and the double doors closed behind him. Were the cinematic lighting effects deliberate? Has the demeaning of the office of the president of the United States come to that? Until some staffer writes a tell-all book we may never know. But a man who once described himself as “the chosen one” would probably not have minded the effect, and is certainly self-involved enough to engineer it.
After a long sniff, without the amenity of a greeting, Trump began with this preamble: “As long as I am President of the United States, Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.” That was an odd way to begin. But then Donald Trump is an odd man. Trump is so emotionally dead to other people that he is quite capable of thinking that this ham-fisted attempt to dazzle and the bizarre preamble could actually work. And it does, of course, but only with the feeble-minded or the hopelessly sycophantish. It was then that Trump deigned to acknowledge his audience and said, “Good morning.”
What followed was a ten minute cobbling of half-truths, self-justifications, self-congratulations and downright lies, punctuated by long sniffs (58 by actual count!) and bizarre slurring of mispronounced words (“tolerided” for tolerated, “accompliments” for accomplishments) delivered in a dreary, singsong monotone. Even if you’d been in a coma for the last three years and you were viewing the man on TV without preconceived prejudices you’d know something was wrong. You’d know the man was not well. The pasty face beneath the weird orange makeup wouldn’t work for you. The glassy stare would put you off. The overall look and sound of liverish peculiarity would give you pause. If you were a Republican you’d hope he was a Democrat, if you were a Democrat you’d hope he was a Republican. He is, in fact, a Trumpist, wholly given over to advancing himself and his glory – without concern for anyone or anything else.
Trump once again used the opportunity to deride the JCPOA (The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), what is more commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal. He (or his incompetent speech writers) incorrectly declared that the JCPOA was signed in 2013. It was in fact signed on July 14, 2015, between China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States and Germany. Trump also claimed that the deal gave Iran “150 billion dollars, not to mention 1.8 billion dollars in cash.” That money, actually about 32 billion not 150, belonged to Iran in the first place and was unfrozen in exchange for the deal. The 1.8 billion (actually 1.7 billion) was part of a hostage negotiation deal and had nothing to do with the JCPOA. Trump’s pathological hatred and jealousy of President Barack Obama and Obama’s achievements is the principal motivation behind his continued disparagement of the JCPOA and the only reason he abrogated it.
Trump’s further claim that Isis had been destroyed three months ago was also another work of fiction from the speech. If anything Trump gave Isis new wings by withdrawing troops from Syria, thus allowing Turkish invaders to liberate Isis operatives from Syrian prisons.
Trump’s glassy-eyed, dilated pupils and incessant sniffing and slurring suggest that he was high on something. People who know him claim he is addicted to adderall. Adderall addiction includes symptoms that are similar to ones commonly exhibited by Trump, including paranoia, irritation, excitability and disorientation. Dry mouth is also common and, together with the effect of the drug, can lead to slurred speech. According to the Treatment Centre, Adderall is often the drug of choice of “motivated individuals that don’t look like a stereotypical drug user.”
Trump’s bizarre nutritional practices, apparent drug use, allergy to exercise (golf doesn’t count, particularly golf in a golf cart) and malignant narcissism make him a major disaster waiting to happen. For any still unclear on the subject it ought to be obvious, we need to get Donald Trump out of office and safely in prison as soon as possible and we cannot afford to be picky about who replaces him.
Robert Harrington is an American expat living in Britain. He is a portrait painter.