A British writer's commentary on "why don't the British people like Trump"?
Contribution from a LONG Quora thread asking what people think of Trump. Haven't read all (they seem to run the gamut) but this one stands out, especially because it is IMO quite different.
Personal, really personal (human), not high falootin', and hits a thousand nails on the head.
quote:
Here’s what a part of the world thinks:
Someone asked "Why do some British people not like Donald Trump?"
Nate White, an articulate and witty writer from England, wrote this magnificent response:
"A few things spring to mind.
Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem.
For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace - all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed.
So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trump’s limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief.
Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing - not once, ever.
I don’t say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility - for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman.
But with Trump, it’s a fact. He doesn’t even seem to understand what a joke is - his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty.
Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers.
And scarily, he doesn’t just talk in crude, witless insults - he actually thinks in them. His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness.
There is never any under-layer of irony, complexity, nuance or depth. It’s all surface.
Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront.
Well, we don’t. We see it as having no inner world, no soul.
And in Britain we traditionally side with David, not Goliath. All our heroes are plucky underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist.
Trump is neither plucky, nor an underdog. He is the exact opposite of that.
He’s not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedy fat-cat.
He’s more a fat white slug. A Jabba the Hutt of privilege.
And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully.
That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a snivelling sidekick instead.
There are unspoken rules to this stuff - the Queensberry rules of basic decency - and he breaks them all. He punches downwards - which a gentleman should, would, could never do - and every blow he aims is below the belt. He particularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless - and he kicks them when they are down.
So the fact that a significant minority - perhaps a third - of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think 'Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy’ is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people, given that: * Americans are supposed to be nicer than us, and mostly are. * You don't need a particularly keen eye for detail to spot a few flaws in the man.
This last point is what especially confuses and dismays British people, and many other people too; his faults seem pretty bloody hard to miss.
After all, it’s impossible to read a single tweet, or hear him speak a sentence or two, without staring deep into the abyss. He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of ****. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum.
God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid.
He makes Nixon look trustworthy and George W look smart.
In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws - he would make a Trump.
And a remorseful Doctor Frankenstein would clutch out big clumpfuls of hair and scream in anguish:
'My God… what… have… I… created?
If being a twat was a TV show, Trump would be the boxed set.
he didnt steal the election. The media gave him the primary, and HRH, with significant help from Jim Comey, gave him the election. Her deplorables comment - oy.
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he didnt steal the election. The media gave him the primary, and HRH, with significant help from Jim Comey, gave him the election. Her deplorables comment - oy.
None of the people she referred to as "deplorables" were going to switch from Trump. They hoot and hollered about the phrase because the shoe fit.
"Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront."
No deal. President Trump is not popular in America, is not popular among the American people. He was elected by a minuscule total of votes in three relatively large states. The trope of President Trump as an exemplar of Americana, to be compared with the British, or anyone else, is problematic and frought.
I know people who think the D is the cat's pajamas because 'he speaks his mind', is 'open and forthright', and 'upfront about what he thinks'. Also, that 'he doesn't care what people think of him'. That is what they say about him.
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Originally posted by piqaboo: I know people who think the D is the cat's pajamas because 'he speaks his mind', is 'open and forthright', and 'upfront about what he thinks'. Also, that 'he doesn't care what people think of him'. That is what they say about him.
They will never admit that he just says the things he thinks people want to hear to get their support. He was a life-long democrat. He was staunchly pro-life. Until it was more popular or profitable to change his tune. He is a con man. People will never admit that they've been conned.