FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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If Trump showed just one iota of class, his ratings might shoot up

If Trump showed just one iota of class, his ratings might shoot up

Re: “Screams from the liberal cradle as Trump rocks establishment again”, Have Your Say, October 8.

Clara Holzer condemns me as one of the “lobotomised ‘sheeple’ who have blind hatred of Trump no matter what he does”. I really like the term “sheeple”, and wish I had invented it. So far as I know, HHB first used it in a recent letter to this column. 
As a Yankee Americano gringo paleface dog and wicked limb of the Great Satan, I would like my president to show a little class. People will say, “Obama had class, but he didn’t get much done. Trump has no class, but he gets things done. Which do you want?” The answer is: Both. I want a president who gets things done but who also has just a tad of class. And the things he gets done have to be the right things.
My antipathy toward Trump is based not so much on what he does as on what he says and how he says it. He is a loudmouthed braggart. We have lots of these in the US, and Trump is their epitome, paragon and avatar. At the age of 72, Donnie the Mouth is not likely to change. If he did, and if the change were for the better, I and many like me would eventually change our opinion of him and applaud. There are times when he falls silent on Twitter, as he did on the death of John McCain; and when he does, I almost start to like him. But then he ruins everything by bursting forth in another mouthy tirade, like the one I referred to in my letter. 
If his minders can keep his baser instincts under control, he may yet measure up. There is a saying, “Nobody ever got into trouble by keeping his mouth shut.” Trump could win many accolades by doing just that. Add a little discernment, self-restraint and gravitas to his current volcanic mix, and he might make a good president. Till then, I call him NMP Trump. You can figure out the acronym.
Ye Olde Pedant

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