3/9/25

CAN WE HAVE A WORD?
What word best describes Trump and the awful country he is crafting? How about  “crackpot?” Maybe “absurd?”  Perhaps “demented,” “bonkers?”

 WE NEED A WORD.
     Just one  that describes what Trump – and so many of our fellow citizens  – are doing to our country.
     I’ve been puzzling about this for a while.
    We need a word – one, in Trump-speak, that’s “perfect.”  A word that captures the outlandish, abnormal, cruel, bizarre, destructive and just plain stupid changes in the national character that have evolved since Trump took office in January.
     A word that describes his unfunny joke of annexing Canada. Or expelling the Palestinians from Gaza, so it can be turned into a beach resort. Betraying Ukraine. Reviving America’s racist roots. Breaking the government. Imperiling the economy. Snuffing out scientific and medical research. Accelerating climate destruction. Replacing truth with lies. Playing the bully.
     The various actions that Trump has undertaken as an individual are  ludicrous, lethal, silly, absurd and hurtful, and need a word to define them.
     The same applies to the country – our country – when it  likewise becomes ludicrous, lethal, silly, absurd and hurtful. Because the new America is not just one man - it's all of us.
      Is there a unique word that will describe all of these dreadful individual and national betrayals? Here are some ground rules:

• We need just one word.  No cheating with hyphenated concoctions. No phrases. No subtitles.
• The word must apply to both Trump and the country.
• However tempting and fitting, the word must not be salacious or profane.
• The word must not compare humans to animals, especially when that is meant to degrade people, while simultaneously insulting the creatures.
• It should not belittle people with mental illness or physical disabilities.
• It must convey the cruelty, malice and sadism in which Trump thrives.
• The word should suggest betrayal of American ideals and traditions.
  
• It should note the racism that is Trump’s only core principle.
  
• It’s probably an adjective.

     You might well ask: Why fuss over the “perfect” word, when the crisis demands real action?
     We already know the damage, which Trump is inflicting and which  many people are mimicking, actively or passively. So, screw the semantics, and let’s concentrate our limited resources on the practical challenges of resistance, reform and recovery.
      My answer is that language is a weapon beyond all others.
     If we can somehow divine the right word, one that puts Trump in his place, while doing the same for a Trumpified America, we will clarify our goals in defending democracy, while increasing our chances of success.

HERE’S A LIST of some of the words I’ve come up with.
     I’m not at all satisfied with the list. For one thing, it's too short. And none of the words completely hits the spot. So consider this just as a starting point:

• CRACKPOT
• MALEVOLENT
• BONKERS
• DEMENTED
• CRAZY
• MAD
• ABSURD
• VINDICTIVE
• MANIACAL
• MALICIOUS
• MALIGNANT
• EVIL

     One way of testing a candidate word is through a fill-in-the-blanks exercise.

     Donald J. Trump, America’s _________ president, today declared a “Freedom to Drive” program, the latest in a series of __________ proposals, programs and “ideas” announced since he took office.
     Under the --------- executive order, individual drivers will decide on which side of the road to drive, and whether or not to be guided by traffic signals and signage at intersections.
     Trump is considering imposing more  ____________ tariffs on countries that penalize visiting American drivers who operate vehicles under ________________Freedom to Drive principles.

 I’M PARTIAL TO “CRACKPOT.”
     CRACKPOT president.
     CRACKPOT country.
     But it’s not a winner. As one friend noted, CRACKPOT conveys a charm and zaniness that you might associate with a favorite uncle who invents things in his backyard shack. CRACKPOT lacks the serial-killer menace that infuses Trump’s activities.
      Still, the word does imply danger. Who knows what the CRACKPOT  uncle is actually up to in his shack. And it does convey silliness, stupidity and recklessness of a president and country, neither of which are firing on all cylinders.
     It also works nicely in our test sentences.

 the       Donald J. Trump, America’s CRACKPOT president, today declared a “Freedom to Drive” program, the latest in a series of CRACKPOT proposals, programs and “ideas” announced since he took office.
     Under the CRACKPOT executive order, individual drivers will decide on which side of the road to drive, and whether or not to be guided by traffic signals and signage at intersections.
      Trump is considering imposing more  CRACKPOT tariffs on countries that penalize visiting American drivers who operate vehicles under  the CRACKPOT Freedom to Drive principles.

     Another favorite is BONKERS. While it lacks the fire of some of the others on the list, it does capture the ridiculousness of Trump and his presidency.  
     Strangely, it seems to me more judgmental than I would like, since I’m searching for word that’s objective and descriptive.
     But BONKERS also works in the test case, and has a nice cumulative effect:   

     Donald J. Trump, America’s BONKERS president, today declared a “Freedom to Drive” program, the latest in a series of BONKERS proposals, programs and “ideas” announced since he took office.
     Under the BONKERS executive order, individual drivers will decide on which side of the road to drive, and whether or not to be guided by traffic signals and signage at intersections.
      Trump is considering imposing more  BONKERS tariffs on countries that penalize visiting American drivers who operate vehicles under the BONKERS Freedom to Drive principles.

I INVITE SUGGESTIONS.
     As noted, my list is imperfect. It’s distressingly short, and there’s a problem with every word.
     Some of the words stray into prohibited mental health area. For example, CRAZY, while not an approved medical term, implies discomfort with mental illness, although its meaning is broader than that.
     Another favorite is ABSURD, but someone knocked that one down, because it lacks fire, and it seems a little too happy when there’s nothing happy about Donald Trump or the cloud smothering democracy and its citizens.
     At one time, I hoped that TRUMP itself would the perfect word, that it would enter the language as its own universal pejorative, like Hitler, Stalin, Mao or any of the other  monsters of history.
     So far, however, TRUMP is a word that won the last election, has mesmerized the Republican Party, intimidated business leaders, frightened much of academia and so far seems to be holding its own in the polls.
     If anyone has a nomination, I’d invite you – no, I beg you - to suggest it.
     Proposals  can be submitted to the comments section of the blog, or as replies to emails that alert readers to new blog posts.
     If there are enough suggestions, I'll include them in a new post.
     Should this treasure hunt be successful, the terrible times in which America finds itself  will be closer to ending, heralding a day when we've written the last word on Donald Trump.