The choice between worse and better
The journey from “ask not what your country can do for you, but rather what you can do for your country” to “they’re eating dogs” took 63 years. It validated the genius of whomever first referred to a television as an “idiot box.”
A friend of mine whom I love like a brother, but who does not share my politics, laughed at me when I said this was the quote that defines an era. He called it “Steve Schmidt hyperbole,” which of course I completely rejected because he mistakes my precision for exaggeration around what we both see, but only one of us seems to understand.
It goes without saying that Trump’s outburst represented an apogee of stupidity in the history of presidential debates. It was pure venality wrapped in crystal clear racism, dipped in poison, and sprinkled with imbecility. Never has there been a lower moment, a meaner moment, or a greater slur uttered in an exchange between presidential candidates in the United States. Appalling doesn’t begin to describe it when the ludicrousness fades away.
Here is what Trump is saying, and it is disgusting:
He is saying that Blacks generally, and Haitians specifically, are predators and animals. He is calling Black people and Haitians animals, and it isn’t the first time he has done it. The picture that he is trying to paint is of savage Blacks from Haiti marauding about small town America killing and eating pets from the backyard, and geese from the town pond. This must be recognized for what it is and what it is only takes one word to describe: evil.
It is an evil message.
Donald Trump spent the day of the debate in a frenzy of madness. Over and over again he tweeted out slur after slur after slur for the purposes of antagonizing his community of malice. When he arrived at the Philadelphia airport his deplaning was covered as a live news event, but on CNN no detail was offered around the cretins preceding him down the ramp. They were:
Corey Lewandowski, who cut a deal with Las Vegas prosecutors after he was charged with misdemeanor battery, stemming from allegations of unwanted sexual advances toward a woman during a charity dinner in 2021. In 2016, he was charged with battery after grabbing the arm of a reporter at a Trump campaign event. The charges were later dropped though video did emerge proving that he had done what he’d previously denied.
Jason Miller, who secretly drugged his mistress with an abortion pill, and has also been accused of rape by the mother of one of his children, with whom he also had an affair
Boris Epshteyn, who has nine felony charges against him in the state of Arizona for trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election. He was also arrested in 2021 over allegations that he groped two women at an Arizona bar. Three sexual misconduct charges were later dropped, but he did plead guilty to a disorderly conduct charge two months after the incident.
Stephen Miller, who advocated blowing up migrant boats with drones, as well as the implementation of policies demonizing immigrants, regardless of their immigration status, to halt immigration into the US.
Laura Loomer, who describes herself as a “proud Islamophobe,” and has promoted conspiracy theories about January 6 and several mass shootings. Loomer has reportedly been staying at Mar-a-Lago of late. She’s sleeping there and seems to have filled a role that would be new in American life. What precisely is she? Will she be accompanying Trump to official functions, while Melania gets to the bottom of the assassination conspiracy? Insanity doesn’t begin to describe it, but one thing it certainly should be is a major news story.
The people that Trump is around are unhinged, criminal, delusional, corrupt, sexual predators and conspiracy loons. This should be reported as fact, and the reason that it is not is because ACCESS is more important than what is actually happening for America’s cable news honchos and clickbait pimps.
What Trump said was utterly sinister. He is promising to lock up 10 million people, and has already said that it will be bloody.
Indifference towards this is a position shared by far too many Americans. That is a shame because — for whatever reason — they can’t see that a great test is before them and a critical moment in history has arrived.
What Trump is and stands for is a harbinger of catastrophe. Catastrophe usually ends indifference, but the irony is that, in most cases, the catastrophe was wrought by it. Perhaps this is a pre-destined human condition to exist in a state of repetitive folly with tragic results. Who knows?
The bottom line is that this election is a choice between worse and better. There is nothing — ever — that Trump has touched that has ever been made better.
Let me show you a case in point. Look at Scott Jennings. Look at the shame drip off him. It is the price of being the mouthpiece for a racist and a fascist whose smear against Haitians is as absolutely vicious as anything that ever passed the lips of a Julius Streicher or Joseph Goebbels.
For those who prefer the written word, here is what Jennings had to say when asked if Donald Trump “amplifying” the conspiracy theory that immigrants were eating pets in Ohio will put a “target on the back of Haitian immigrants:”
Jennings began: “I do think it’s a legitimate conversation to have about the societal public safety health impacts anytime cities our communities get drastically changed because of our immigration system, whether that’s in Springfield, whether that’s on the border with Mexico, whether that’s New York City, which has had issues. So, I don’t think that’s an illegitimate conversation to have even in your answer, obviously, you don’t agree with where Trump is on it. You admitted their health impacts and that there have been public safety impacts. Those are not illegitimate, those are not illegitimate conversations to have. And I think people in communities all across this country are having them. Now whether we have them responsibly or flippantly or whether we have them seriously is the real question today.”
Anna Navarro responded: “When he said that he wasn’t being sarcastic, he wasn’t being hyperbolic. He was amplifying a conspiracy theory that I think you would agree puts a target on the back of Haitian immigrants and that it is based on racism. Would you agree?”
Jennings sat in prolonged silence, thinking out his answer.
Nina Turner added: “Anti-black racism would be more poignant.”
Navarro continued: “Do you think there were 20,000 Scandinavians that have been sent to Springfield people would be saying that they’re eating cats and dogs and geese?”
Jennings finally replied: “I’m not going to answer for his memes or anything else…”
Navarro shot back: “No. I’m asking you, do you think that what he’s done is based on racism?
Jennings returned: “Because I’m not going to answer. I don’t know.”
Abby Phillip: “That was a long pause, Scott.”
Jennings: “Because I don’t know the answer and I’m not going to sit here and answer for somebody. I don’t talk to Donald Trump about what the motivations are and I don’t answer to you either.”
Phillip tried to interrupt: “But Scott…”
Jenning continued: “But the bottom line is… bottom line is, immigration is a top issue in this election. It must be discussed and we’re either going to go down a rabbit hole here, which is not the real issue, or we’re going to talk about the real issues in which communities, cities whatever, are dealing with real societal…”
Navarro cut in: “The reason we are going down the road because the man you’ll support is making us go down that rabbit hole. The reason we’re not talking about the legitimate issues you had brought up is because he is claiming, with no facts, that Haitian migrants are eating pets! And that is a dangerous conspiracy theory to be spreading to America.”
Anyone who is still thinking about voting MAGA needs to do some soul searching. When you look at these people, such as Laura Loomer, it is clear that society’s misfits have found a warm and inviting place with the MAGA candidate. We live in a very dangerous world and it would be national suicide to put these people in a place of power.
Throughout history, when individuals are forced to flee their homes due to persecution, violence, or unlivable conditions, and seek refuge in countries offering better opportunities, they are often met with hostility and defensiveness from the native population. People in these countries may feel threatened, fearing that these newcomers will somehow "take" what they themselves have, whether it’s jobs, resources, or opportunities.
To justify mass deportations or the closing of borders, societies often begin by dehumanizing these immigrants, painting them as dangerous or unworthy. Historically, this is done by branding them with harmful stereotypes—labeling them as thieves, criminals, drug users, or worse. In the case of Haitian immigrants today, some are going as far as accusing them of grotesque behaviors like eating cats and dogs, in an attempt to strip them of their humanity and dignity.
This is the first step in a process that could lead to even greater cruelty, such as imprisonment or deportation. And yet, what these immigrants seek is no different from what all people desire: freedom, safety, and the chance to build a better life—the very ideals that form the foundation of the American dream.