Features
The Trump Convention – A Reality Show Without The Reality
by Vijaya Chandrasoma
The Republican National Convention kicked off on Monday, August 24 in the backdrop of racial violence, when yet another unarmed black man was shot in the back by policemen, in front of his three children in Kenosha, Wisconsin, provoking a further series of violent protests; a grim Coronavirus death toll of 177,000 and climbing; firefighters battling raging wildfires in California; and a Category 4 hurricane, threatening havoc and evacuations for portions of the Texas and Louisiana coasts.
The Convention had as its theme the concept of an Alternative Reality, with America enjoying a period of economic prosperity; a pandemic firmly under control; a continuing era of social and racial justice; and the effects of natural disasters minimized, thanks to the competent leadership of the Trump administration.
This parade of blatant lies and the pageant of criminal hypocrisy were the features of the Convention, absent any sense of responsibility or shame.
The four days of the Convention had their own themes:
Land of Promise –
Day 1 of the Convention included speeches from Donald Jr. and his girlfriend, Kimberley Guilfoyle, Ambassador Nikki Haley and Senator Tim Scott.
Two family members who were not invited to speak at the Convention were niece, Dr. Mary Trump, who recently published a tell-all book, the title of which was: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man; and older sister, retired Federal Judge, Maryanne Trump Barry. An audio was released last week in which Ms. Barry was heard bitterly excoriating Trump, saying “Donald’s out for Donald, period…. He has no principles. None.….It is the phoniness of it all and this cruelty. Donald is cruel.”
It is not known whether President Putin will attend the Convention to deliver his instructions for the next four years after he helps rig Trump’s re-election.
Donald Trump appeared on numerous occasions, introducing various “ordinary folks”, frontline workers battling the Coronavirus. They all confirmed that Trump was doing a wonderful job in controlling the virus. Their adulation was matched only by their hypocrisy and dishonesty.
Rioting, looting and vandalism all initiated during the watch of the Trump administration.
Ambassador Nikki Haley and African-American Senator Tim Scott gave the only speeches approaching sanity. They talked of their backgrounds, Haley about her traditional Sikh immigrant parents, and “the promise of America”; and Scott who said that his family had gone “from cotton to Congress in one lifetime”.
Quote of the day goes to Tim Scott: Biden and Harris will turn our country into a socialist Utopia.
Either Scott doesn’t know the meaning of the word “Utopia” or he’s a Democrat in Fox’s clothing.
Land of Opportunity
– Day 2 of the Convention continued in the face of deadly crises of protests against police brutality, ravages of the pandemic and natural disasters caused by climate change and a collapsing economy,
The ubiquitous Trump was joined at the podium by First Lady Melania, Trump’s children, Eric and Tiffany, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Senior Economic Adviser, Larry Kudlow, Senator Rand Paul and former Florida Attorney General, Pam Bondi.
Pompeo raised an ethical and legal conundrum by his decision to send a taped statement to the Convention in support of the Trump agenda. Cabinet officials are barred from indulging in political activity when they are on state business, as Pompeo currently is, in Jerusalem. Sadly, ethical and legal rules are observed more in the breach by this administration.
White House Chief Economic Adviser, Larry Kudlow lied in his speech, “There is an economic boom, a housing boom”, created entirely by the magnificent leadership of our Fuhrer, Donald J. Trump. A boom in the context of an economic recession and unemployment rates near the depths of the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Besides, Trump did not “create the pre-pandemic economy”. He inherited a booming economy from the Obama administration and merely helped himself from an already well-stocked buffet.
Pam Bondi lied of the corruption of the Biden family, in Ukraine and China. The same Pam Bondi who, as Attorney General of Florida, accepted a $25,000 bribe from the Trump campaign in 2016, for dropping a lawsuit against the fraudulent Trump University. Accusing Biden of nepotism and corruption, as Bondi did, is like the pot calling the kettle orange.
Lt. Governor of Florida, Jeanette Nunez spoke of the three Fs, Faith, Family and Freedom, being the credo of the Trump administration. Not the usual F words that come to mind when thinking of Donald J. Trump.
First Lady Melania broke from tradition by using her own words for the last speech of the day. A departure from 2016, when she plagiarized one of Michelle Obama’s previous Convention speeches.
In a moving and balanced address, a pleasant contrast to previous high decibel tirades lionizing Trump, she spoke of her own pursuit of the American Dream. She acknowledged the “invisible enemy”, Covid19, which has “swept across our beautiful country and impacted all of us”, and touched on racial reconciliation, 100 years of women’s suffrage and the opioid crisis.
Unfortunately, she reverted to the Convention theme of an Alternative Universe. She made the most preposterous statement in a Convention hardly lacking in absurdity, when she said, “We need Donald’s leadership for four more years, ….to bring us back to the greatest economy and strongest country ever seen. Donald doesn’t waste time playing politics!”
Quote of the day: Registered Nurse, Amy Johnson Ford: Donald Trump’s quick action and leadership saved thousands of lives during Covid19.
Land of Heroes –
Day 3 of the Convention saw Vice President Mike Pence take center stage as the keynote speaker. Second Lady Karen Pence, presidential daughter-in-law Lara Trump, Trump Senior adviser to the president, Kellyanne Conway, South Dakota Governor, Kristi Noem and Senator Marsha Blackburn were also among the speakers.
Karen Pence, Trump Press Secretary, Kayleigh McEnany and Kellyanne Conway all attempted to woo female voters by emphasizing Trump’s mythical treatment, respect and empathy towards women. A hard sell indeed, in the backdrop of Trump’s long history of misogyny and sexual assaults.
Pence accepted the nomination of the Vice Presidency of the Republican Party at Fort McHenry, a storied national monument, a coastal bastion which provided a defence against the British in the War of 1812.
In a hard-hitting speech, Pence described Biden as a Trojan Horse to the Far Left. He stated that Biden will not be able to provide the leadership needed to contain the continuing violence in the inner cities; that Trump will be best qualified to keep America safe against violence, again forgetting that all this violence has occurred during Trump’s watch. He provided a complete makeover of Donald Trump, replete with lies, misrepresentation and hyperbole. He described Trump as a Law and Order president, with exceptional leadership qualities, which saved thousands of lives by his prompt (?) action during the pandemic, and built the strongest economy the world has ever seen. He lauded Trump for his compassionate empathy for the welfare of all Americans, including minorities.
Trump and First Lady, Melania made a “surprising” appearance at the podium with VP Pence and Mother Pence, creating a photo opportunity while the Star Spangled Banner was sung by American Country singer, Trace Adkins.
Pence made a passing mention of the administration’s support of the police, but remained silent about the shooting of yet another unarmed black man by Kenosha cops and the subsequent murder of two peaceful protesters by a Trump supporter imported from Illinois. Or the escalating violence raging in Kenosha before he started his speech.
Quote of the day goes to Pence: You won’t be safe in Biden’s America.
We sure don’t feel safe in Trump’s America, the America Biden will inherit.
Land of Greatness –
The final day of the Convention belonged to the superstars of Greatness, Donald J. Trump and his Senior Adviser and daughter, Ivanka. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and former New York Mayor Rudi Giuliani also lied. An audience of 2,000 attended the proceedings in the South Lawn of the White House, ignoring medical guidelines of masks and social distancing. Also ignoring laws that prohibits the use of the White House for political purposes.
I am unable to continue reporting on the speeches of the Republican convention any longer except to say that Trump accepted the nomination for the Presidency with the supreme lie he has “followed the science” in his management of the pandemic and saved thousands of lives.
I am sick to my stomach, listening to three days of threats, stoking fears and shameless lies during this Convention. Lies that the nation is doing wonderfully well under the leadership of Trump, his cronies and his crime family.
The reality is that the pandemic is raging unchecked by a president who cares more for his personal gain than for the safety and health of the American people. A president who will do anything, break any law, risk any life to win re-election, because defeat will mean exposure of the plethora of crimes he has committed.
Covid19 has now claimed over 180,000 lives. Trump has never had a national plan to control the virus, in fact makes matters worse with “happy talk” and ridiculous and dangerous medical advice. He keeps lying about the fatalities in the USA when every other developed nation has the virus contained to manageable levels, thanks to competent leadership.
America’s economy has been reduced to Depression levels, with over 30 million unemployed, and millions facing hunger and homelessness.
Category 4 Hurricane Laura is wreaking havoc in Texas and Louisiana and wildfires continue to rage in California. Both disasters caused by Climate Change, dismissed by Trump as a hoax.
In Kenosha, Wisconsin, protests against the shooting in the back of unarmed black man, Jacob Blake by cops, escalated when two protesters were shot and killed by a 17-year-old vigilante, Kyle Rittenhouse, a Trump supporter imported from Antioch, Illinois. Rittenhouse has been identified sitting in the front row of a Trump rally in January. Many other white men, calling themselves an “armed militia” have descended on Kenosha from neighbouring states, ostensibly to “safeguard the businesses in Kenosha”; their real intent is the escalation of the violence against peaceful protesters. The Kenosha police has implicitly encouraged this extra-military action, justifying the murders of protesters by stating that “they should not have been breaking the curfew” while ignoring the imported militia also guilty of the same “crime”.
Trump’s efforts to suppress voters, cast doubts on mail-in voting, while encouraging Trump appointee Postmaster General to impede the system, and again seeking help from Russia to help him rig the election, are perhaps the greatest threats to the oldest democracy in the world.
It is obvious where Republican policies are leading the people of Trump’s America. I have lived in Colombo long enough to recognize the makings of a police state. I have read enough about the Third Reich in Germany to see Fascism and White Supremacy raising their ugly heads.
What amazes and frightens me most is that educated and prosperous people of the most powerful nation in the world are willing to believe in a pack of lies, to sacrifice their long-fought for democracy …. For what? To appease the voracious ego of a madman and the insatiable greed of a band of racist crooks?
The old maxim that you get the leaders you deserve has never been more amply demonstrated.