2/9/26

‘UNHINGED’
The Word That Defines Donald Trump. Every Time

DONAL TRUMP, America's unhinged president, at the National Prayer Breakfast, Feb. 5. Photo Credit: The White House

ONE OF THE DIFFICULTIES in coming to terms with Donald Trump is the fickleness of the word “president.”
     Just saying the word “president” suggests elements of wisdom, competence and control associated with the country’s highest political office.
     Every time we hear or read the word, we assume that the president, or at least the people around him, knows what they are doing.
     What’s needed is a means of explaining the particularly flawed nature of Trump’s presidency, noting that every time the title is used, it’s out of step with our history.
     As a remedy, we can attach a short explanation, signaling the special circumstances of Trump’s presidency – that it’s not normal.
     “Unhinged” does the job, and it should be associated with Trump every time he’s introduced in a news story. It would work this way: 
     “Donald Trump, America’s unhinged president, blah, blah, etc., etc., etc. ….” 

“UNHINGED” IS A SIGNAL THAT NOBODY IS MISLED or argues that Trump is a standard president. Instead, there’s an acknowledgement that the system has made a tragic, dangerous and historic mistake.
     Take a recent Trump outrage, his reposting of a racist social media item that featured the heads of Barack and Michelle Obama attached to the bodies of apes.
     Here’s the lead paragraph to a New York Times story about the controversy:
     
     President Trump posted a blatantly racist video clip portraying former President Barack Obama and the former first lady Michelle Obama as apes, but he insisted he had nothing to apologize for even after he deleted the video following an outcry.
     
     That's a pretty damning summary: blaming Trump for the posting a “blatantly” racist image; noting that Trump pulled back the post; and calling attention to the fact he didn’t apologize to his predecessor. But because “President” Trump” did it, it was somehow “presidential.”
     However, what if we add our special Trump qualifier?

     Donald Trump, AMERICA'S UNHINGED PRESIDENT,  posted a blatantly racist video clip portraying former President Barack Obama and the former first lady Michelle Obama as apes, but he insisted he had nothing to apologize for even after he deleted the video following an outcry.

     This does a couple of things. It uses his full name, which sounds a little less godlike; it puts Trump’s action in its proper context, something being done by someone who holds - but maybe shouldn’t -  the nation's most important office.
     Let’s try it with another story.

BEFORE:
     President Trump moved on Friday to allow commercial fishing in the only marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean, an area the size of Connecticut that is home to dolphins, endangered whales, sea turtles and ancient deep-sea corals.

AFTER:
     Donald Trump,  the country's unhinged president, moved on Friday to allow commercial fishing in the only marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean, an area the size of Connecticut that is home to dolphins, endangered whales, sea turtles and ancient deep-sea corals.

     Let’s try it again.

BEFORE:
     WASHINGTON, Feb 5 - U.S. President Donald Trump,  offered last month to drop his hold on funding for a key $16 billion New York Hudson River tunnel project in exchange for Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer supporting the renaming of Washington Dulles Airport and New York Penn Station after Trump, a source told Reuters Thursday.

AFTER:
     WASHINGTON, Feb 5 -  Donald Trump,  the unhinged U.S. president, offered last month to drop his hold on funding for a key $16 billion New York Hudson River tunnel project in exchange for Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer supporting the renaming of Washington Dulles Airport and New York Penn Station after Trump, a source told Reuters Thursday.

MY EYE CAUGHT THE WORD in a comment by Hakeem Jeffries, the minority leader of the House, reacting to Trump’s racist post:
     "The Obamas are brilliant, compassionate and patriotic Americans. They represent the best of this country. Donald Trump is a vile, unhinged and malignant bottom feeder."
     I thought all three descriptions of Trump were accurate, but that “vile” was a too editorial for routine news duty, and that “malignant bottom feeder” was similarly biased, as well as being too wordy.
     
     “Unhinged,” on the other hand seems more descriptive, even objective, and gets to the heart of what’s wrong with Trump.
     Also, with Trump, there’s always a temptation to sink into name-calling, or to diagnose Trump as mentally unfit. 
     “Unhinged” isn’t a gutter word, nor is it a medical term.
      It also doesn’t suggest that Donald Trump was unfairly elected. It just says something has gone wrong, politically and Constitutionally, and now we have someone who’s inappropriate for such a powerful position. 
     Merriam-Webster’s dictionary definition of "unhinged," an adjective, goes like this:
     “Highly disturbed, unstable, or distraught.”
     Perfect.
     It fits all sorts of scenarios, even those with loathsome  supporting actors.

BEFORE:
      Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet President Donald Trump in Washington on Wednesday to discuss developments surrounding negotiations with Iran, the Prime Minister’s Office said. 

AFTER:
     Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Donald Trump, America's unhinged president, in Washington on Wednesday to discuss developments surrounding negotiations with Iran, the Prime Minister’s Office said. 

BEFORE
     President Trump said on Friday that the U.S. and Iran had "very good talks" in Oman on Friday and claimed the Iranian position is more favorable regarding a nuclear deal than it was before the 12-day war last June. 

AFTER
     Donald Trump, the unhinged president of the United States, said on Friday that the U.S. and Iran had "very good talks" in Oman on Friday and claimed the Iranian position is more favorable regarding a nuclear deal than it was before the 12-day war last June. 

     Works every time.

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