Missing the Point – A simple, but nonetheless powerful argument for not voting for Donald Trump.

The featured image above is a map of Springfield, Ohio.  Springfield is the town that Donald Trump and J.D. Vance don’t mind trashing to distract voters from the much more serious problems with their candidacies.  The map, devoid as it is of humanity, is how these two candidates see Springfield.

As for the people who live there – native-born and immigrants – struggling to save their city in what, for them, have been difficult economic times?  They don’t matter.  And for the Haitian families in particular who Trump and Vance have falsely accused of eating people’s pets?  Like all immigrants, they are a subspecies of lesser value whose primary value for Trump and Vance is as a target for riling up their MAGA base.

Let’s not overthink this.

It is well known that Donald Trump is prone to making statements that are not true.  Could it be that he actually believes the erroneous things he says, however bizarre or unsubstantiated?  Or that he is a pathological liar who uses mistruths, purposely, to demean his political opponents and move public opinion in his favor?

It doesn’t make any difference why he is so persistently untruthful.  Is he as dumb as he is nuts?  Is sowing confusion and chaos the objective of someone who is, otherwise, unable to compete? The point is that questions like these are irrelevant.  All that counts is that he lies almost all the time he’s talking.

The only meaningful question is, does Donald Trump’s tendency to lie disqualify him from managing our government?  Does it impair his ability to conduct important discussions with Congress, with private sector leaders, with you and me and with our country’s allies and adversaries?

In an age of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction deliverable at hypersonic speeds, do we really want a liar and promoter of baseless conspiracy theories working with our international partners and negotiating with our opponents?

Forget about any concerns that foreign leaders, friend or foe, might think our President is an idiot.  Our problem is that the success of international discussions is essential to world peace.  As a practical matter, can we afford to have a President that we and others around the world cannot trust to be truthful?

Whatever your political leanings, the answer is “No.”  Of course not.

“Wait a minute,” you might say to yourself, “I don’t trust the other candidate either.”  But then you’ve got to vote for one of them, otherwise, what’s the point of having an election?

Let’s assume that all politicians have a less-than-perfectly honest relationship with the truth.  Do you really believe that Donald Trump’s affection for lying is normal?  That it’s within the usual, acceptable limits of exaggeration and self-serving interpretations of one’s history from which almost all politicians suffer?

Don’t worry.  I’m not going to argue with you one way or the other.  If you think Donald Trump won his debate with Vice President Harris…  If you think legally admitted Haitian immigrants are eating people’s dogs and cats, despite what local officials claim to the contrary…  The originator of that rumor has since apologized.  If you really believe that Kamala Harris was wearing a secret earpiece during the debate over which she was getting instructions from her staff…  And that Trump is innocent of all the various criminal and civil charges levied against him by an allegedly weaponized Justice Department…  That Donald didn’t actually lose to Joe Biden, but had the 2000 election stolen from him…  That’s the claim widely known as “The Big Lie.”  Or that he didn’t instigate the January 2021 attack on the Capitol hoping to reverse the outcome of the election…  I could go on and on and on, but you get the point.

If you’re buying what Donald is selling and seriously believe that Kamala is the clinically dishonest one of the two candidates, then there’s no convincing you otherwise and you should vote to re-elect Donald Trump.

If, on the other hand, you’re either undecided or your support for Donald Trump is soft, ask yourself this simple question…  “Would you hire a pathological liar to represent you and your family in the most serious negotiations of our time?”

It’s simple.  Either you trust Donald Trump, more than you trust Kamala Harris, or you don’t.  Forget about understanding “the weeds” of government policies and programs.  What does your gut tell you?  Which of the two candidates is more likely to be lying to you from the Oval Office?

All this said, Donald Trump will keep lying, further disqualifying himself to be President virtually every time he opens his mouth.  Despite the advice of his campaign managers and advisors.  Why?  Because he can’t help himself.  That’s his nature.  If he were a member of your family and you really cared about him on a personal level, you’d recommend that he get help.  What you wouldn’t do is vote for him to run your government.  Under no circumstances would you bet your family’s welfare and lives on decisions made by such an obviously disturbed individual.

One more example for you to think about…  The video below this paragraph will take you to a Springfield, Ohio father whose 11-year-old son was accidentally killed by a Haitian immigrant in an auto accident when the minivan the Haitian was driving hit a school bus.  It was a horrific and sad event for all involved that Donald Trump has purposely mischaracterized as an example of an immigrant having “murdered” the boy.  The father is asking Mr. Trump to stop using references to his son’s death for political gain and is demanding an apology for having done so – which the father has yet to receive.