Hugh Mackenzie
Huntsville Doppler
Some people keep strange things behind their furnace. In Huntsville, there was a woman named Winnie Trainor. She was the girlfriend of Tom Thomson, one of Canada’s most famous wilderness artists who died under mysterious and long-contested circumstances. Winnie never married and lived in Huntsville until she expired from old age.
In her later years, behind her furnace on the dirt floor of her basement, was a quart basket with rolled up sketches and paintings by Thomson. Probably worth a fortune. There was a concern expressed by some that they might burn and after she died they disappeared.
In my case, one of the things I have behind our furnace is a framed autographed picture of Donald Trump on the front page of the Toronto Sun, posing with the “sunshine girl”. Across the page he had scrolled, “Hugh, you’re the greatest!” and signed his name.
This was from more than twenty years ago when Donald Trump was competing for a casino in Niagara Falls, Ontario, and my firm at the time was acting on his behalf. It was an interesting experience, and in the end it was his ego, his inability to focus, and his penchant for conspiracy theories—and not his brilliance as a developer—that did him in. However, all of that is a story for another day.
There are many times, especially in more recent years, when I have been sorely tempted to take Trump’s picture from behind the furnace and (metaphorically speaking) throw it into the furnace. But then, quite recently, Trump has said anyone who has an autograph from him could sell it on eBay for $10,000. And that’s American dollars! Not really a fortune and he is never too fussy about the truth, of course. But still, I should probably check it out before I have it consumed by fire!
As people who are regular readers of this column will know, I am not a fan of the current president of the United States, conservative though he may be. In many ways he frightens me. I believe he is dangerous and unfit for the position he holds. I also fear, in spite of current polls, he will be re-elected or retain his office, and that is most frightening of all.
Most leaders work hard to build people up, to make them feel good about themselves, but Donald Trump does not. He is a bully. Expert opinions mean nothing to him unless, first, they are also his opinions. He thrives on insulting and ridiculing people and tearing down well-earned reputations of those who dare to disagree with him. Truth means nothing to him.
Donald Trump has said there are “good people” in organizations like the white supremacists. He defends people, organizations, and even governments who most of us would view as repugnant as long as their support or clandestine activities support and help him. His moral compass never stops spinning. Donald Trump only cares about Donald Trump.
And yet Donald Trump leads one of the most powerful and strident political movements ever seen in the United States of America. His core is strong and loyal. He has an iron grip on the Republican and conservative establishment. People who are well aware of his character, his temperament, and his abuse of power still flock to him. During this COVID-19 pandemic, some are literally dying to see him. They have blinders on instead of masks and, to them, he can do no wrong. This is what I find frightening and difficult to understand.
I find it particularly hard to understand or forgive Donald Trump’s self-serving approach to the COVID-19 pandemic. He denies science, he down-plays the seriousness of the virus, he enables those who reject masks and social distancing, and to a degree he encourages civil unrest. I have no doubt that there is a correlation between this and the fact that on a per capita basis there are twice as many deaths from COVID-19 in the United States than there are in Canada. How can anyone believe that this is acceptable leadership?
I have heard from people I know, good people, who defend at least some aspects of Donald Trump’s administration. Some for example, say he has done a great deal for the Christian church. I have tried to understand that but cannot help concluding that he actually lacks what I understand to be Christian values and that he is only using the church and religion of any type for his own political purposes. A wolf in sheep’s clothing. I have trouble with that.
Two events during the past week have gained much public attention. One is the nomination by President Trump of Amy Coney Barrett as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. There has been a hue and cry about this especially because her predecessor is not yet even in the ground. I do worry that the SCOTUS is being stacked to reflect far-right views that can adversely affect the rights of women and minority groups.
The haste to replace Justice Ginsberg is unseemly but not surprising. It is what politicians do when they are committed to a certain agenda and when they may be running out of time. It doesn’t just happen in the United States. It has happened here in Canada. The real test will come, as it thankfully did with Chief Justice Roberts, when Justice Coney Barrett must decide while adjudicating a decision whether she is her own person or a captive of the political establishment. We will have to wait and see.
The really scary thing that happened this week is the inference by the President of the United States that he would not necessarily leave the White House if he lost the election this November. His supporters dismiss his refusal to commit to a peaceful transfer of power as bombastic rhetoric in response to an unreasonable question from the media. But it’s not.
Never in our history have we heard that from a president of the United States. It is a danger to Americans and if you think about it, it is a danger to Canadians.
Donald Trump is a despot. He craves power, he shuns opposition, and he avoids accountability like the plague. He has laid the groundwork for challenging the election, no matter the actual outcome, through undermining the credibility of mail-in ballots during the pandemic and by his public inference that the Supreme Court, in the event of a challenge, will have his back. He has also hinted rather strongly at a third term in office.
Americans have a tough choice this November. One candidate has visions of omnipotence and the other is somewhat past his best-before date.
I don’t agree with some of what Joe Biden stands for, but I believe him to be a decent man with a track record of collaboration and compromise, who believes in the equality of every individual, and who is a person to whom integrity is important. Some of my conservative friends will disagree with me but if I were voting in the United States, I could live with that.
Hugh Mackenzie
Don’t miss out on Doppler!
Sign up here to receive our email digest with links to our most recent stories.
Local news in your inbox three times per week!
Click here to support local news
Hi Hugh,
Just a point on your ‘somewhat past his best-before date’ comment. Biden was born in 1942. You were born in 1943. Just sayin’
The leadership of the U.S. greatly affects Canada (and other countries). My priorities are straight.
Hugh, it’s terrific to find you on the side of the angels this time: It allows me to totally agree with you.
Trump is a fascist; who is disloyal to colleagues (who take the fall for him), and he rules by division. His strongest supporters are the uber-rich (who he assists with tax advantages) and the second-amendment faction (who bring their long guns to his NRA speeches). A very disturbing element this week was the surfacing of a pink, Women-for-Trump bus that is circulating the battleground states; with one of the Trump women speechifying (Lana???).
One of his most interesting ploys is to bring in border-patrol personnel to exacerbate disturbances (against the wishes of both mayors). Then he proceeded to blame this on Biden, and claim that only a law-and-order president like himself could bring internal peace.
In 2016, Mitch McConnell, Senate majority leader, stated categorically that he would never allow the appointment of a Supreme Court Justice in an election year. That would be up to the people and the result of the election. Just more high-sounding Republican lies. As you say, within days of RBG’s passing; SCOTUS was transformed from 5-4 (with an occasional vote moving left) to an incontestable 6-3. And Ms. Ginsberg’s vote was often more than singular; considering the importance of her opinion in the pre-vote discussions. The catcalls that reigned down on the president and Melania during their “in-state” visit indicated the emptiness of the manouevre.
Joe may well be a place-holder president (but for all his bluster, so WAS Donald). And contrary to minority opinion, Ms. Harris would be an excellent substitute; if it unfortunately became necessary. I cannot even countenance yes-man Pence fulfilling the successor role.
I can’t wait for Kamala vs. Ivanka in 2024.
I agree 100% with Murray Christenson’s comments.
Well said sir!
Mr. Christianson; interest in the US politics, leader, etc. is due to the influence on Canadian culture and our political response. We live next to a big elephant of a country that casts its shadow over our economy and much more.
Some of our conservative leaders in the recent past have been to the US, been tutored in the use of populism by the GOP in campaigning (if you would like a reference for this, let me know), and dragged this strategy to Canadian campaigns. As I believe use of populism is emotional abuse of the electorate and antecedent to civil war, it is wise to keep a discerning, critical eye on US politics in my view.
Also, it is essential to keep a watchful eye on their elections to understand with whom our leaders (provincial and federal) must engage. Same applies internationally.
I find it quite incredible how many people in Canada are emotionally invested in current US politics…witness the response on this piece. It’s particularly amazing considering what’s going on in our own country, our current administration and the apathy towards it.
The US is not my country and Donald Trump is not my president nor will Joe Biden be…I couldn’t care less. Canada I care a great deal about…I hope people get their priorities straight.
Wow, your courage Hugh in tackling this important topic! I add the following.
In a recent book, “Jesus and John Wayne; How white evangelicals corrupted a faith and fractured a nation” (Kristen Kobes Du Mez, 2020), the author outlines that DT is not an aberration of American politics at this time but a culmination of the ‘moral majority’ movement. Kristen is a history professor at Calvin University. There is much uncovering of the business, wealth, and corruption of evangelical Christian culture ministry in the US, and the survivors left in its wake. This Christian culture & politics includes the betrayal of Christian theology.
One quote, “Trump … is hardly the first flashy celebrity to capture evangelicals’ hearts and minds, nor is he the first strongman to promise evangelicals protection and power. The … values at the heart of white evangelicalism today – patriarchy, authoritarian rule, aggressive foreign policy, fear of Islam, ambivalence toward #MeToo, and opposition to Black Lives Matter and the LGBTQ community are likely to persist long after Trump leaves office”. Kobes Du Mez was recently interviewed by Wycliffe University, Toronto. Kobes Du Mez identifies herself as an historian, not a theologian. Thanks for listening.
Karen: Very well said. Trump is morally and ethically deficient, corrupt, lacks empathy, is conniving, lies incessantly, indulges in conspiracy theories, bullies others, shies away from accountability, and engages in pervasive acts…The list is endless. It’s really not a difficult choice for those who have morals and a conscience. I too, disagree with the opinion that Biden is past his “best before date.” Kindness, empathy, compassion, and common sense are admirable and desirable qualities for any politician (or human) to have; they don’t have a shelf life. Trump lacks all of these qualities. Again, given the facts, it’s not a difficult decision.
One factor that seems to be being left out here, in both column and comments, is that Trump is a criminal. Not in jail yet, but the Mueller report made it clear that he was not being indicted only because there is a Justice Department policy of not indicting a sitting president. Several other men were charged, convicted and jailed for their actions made at Trump’s behest as the result of the Mueller investigation — whose conclusion that the Trump campaign in 2016 colluded with Putin’s people to interfere with the election was confirmed by the *bipartisan” Senate intelligence Committee, just recently. (Britt, you won’t have seen that on Fox. Many others ran it, though.) He was impeached by the House of Representatives for criminal activity (trying to blackmail a foreign nation dependent on US aid into providing “dirt” on Joe Biden’s family), and only not removed from office due to Senate Republicans, in a kangaroo-court process in which witnesses were not even permitted, covering for him. The recent expose of his tax returns points strongly at tax evasion and mortgage fraud. His “charitable foundation” was shut down for illegal activity. He had to pay a multi-million-dollar settlement to students of his “university” for defrauding them. 26 women have accused him of sexually abusing them, which shouldn’t be under much dispute after he bragged about “grabbing them by the pussy” as was famously recorded. He was quite open about entering the changerooms of his teen pageants where underage girls were undressing, saying he had the right because he owned the pageants. Literally hundreds of small businesses who did work for him have complained of not being paid. He’s even stiffed several cities in the USA, not paying contracted rally expenses. He orders his underlings to ignore subpoenas, refuses to obey orders from judges, routinely breaks the Emoluments Clause (against receiving foreign gifts) and the Hatch Act (forbidding him to have his public service underlings in effect campaign for him using official channels).
.
His attitude is that laws are for inferior people, i.e. everyone but him and his family.
.
Another factor being left out is Trump’s cognitive problems. (He’s past his best-before date too, Hugh!) The repeated verbal errors (e.g. “herd mentality” when he meant “herd immunity”) are a sign, as is his inability to stand still due to balance problems (he sways and keeps catching himself). I recommend to anyone to view a recent video of him speaking and compare it to one from 30 years ago. Back then he could actually utter lengthy sentences and discuss complex concepts. He cannot any more. (Sorry, Britt, but there’s not a chance Biden is going to back out of tonight’s debate.)
.
Hugh, you write that you have trouble understanding two things about Trump: 1) his supporters being literally willing to die to see him; and 2) his own attitude about Covid-19. Let me help with that.
.
1) They actually aren’t willing to die to see him; they have been convinced that Covid isn’t really a danger by Trump, his underlings in government (including a corrupted CDC leadership) plus Britt’s favourite “news” channel and other right-wing media outlets which have pushed the same lines right from the start: it’s no worse than a flu, it’ll disappear, it’s a Democratic Party hoax, you don’t need to wear masks or distance, etc. etc. — even though Trump knew full well how dangerous it really is, as proven by his own words as recorded by Bob Woodward. The lies spread about Covid by Republican and allied forces have politicized the pandemic such that many Americans simply do not take it seriously. I know that is hard for a Canadian such as yourself to understand, Hugh, because the pandemic was correctly not politicized up here, but down there it was. (I hear about it from my American friends.) This is part of why the double per-capita deaths. The people at these super-spreader events think they’re going to be just fine, and don’t find out differently until it’s too late.
.
2) For space reasons I won’t get into the consensus among mental health professionals about Trump, except in one respect: he completely lacks empathy. He literally doesn’t care how many Americans die of Covid, just looks for how the pandemic can benefit him personally. He has already been caught deciding to neglect the first states hit by Covid because they are blue states with Dem governors, and he saw advantage in blaming them. The pandemic actually is what makes it possible for him to even contemplate stealing the election by discrediting and even trying to stop mail-in voting — hundreds of millions of dollars worth of sorting machines were purposely destroyed — because people want to vote by mail to stay safe from Covid. Why would he try hard to stop something that’s to his personal advantage? This is what extreme selfishness and lack of empathy produce.
.
It’s really not a hard choice.
Re your photo of Trump. IF, god forbid, he is re elected, sell it on ebay for $20,000 and donate the money to a cause that Trump hates, There are many. If, hopefully, he loses, burn the photo at a Guy Fawkes party. So much for his desire to be the next American king.
Hugh, I agree with your summary on Trump and would add the following points that have been re-emphasized in just the last day
• The New York Times was finally able to shed some light on why Trump has been so defensive about making his tax returns available for public scrutiny, as virtually every other president has done. “Donald Trump, the self-proclaimed billionaire, received a $72.9 million tax refund from the IRS while not paying a nickel in federal income taxes in 10 of the last 15 years,” As one prominent democrat put it, “Trump l-o-v-e-s corporate socialism for himself, and rugged capitalism for everyone else.”
• The Late-night shows are wondering why Trump paid $130,000 to a porn star and only $750 in taxes which support US domestic and foreign policy including the military. If everyone treated taxes like Trump, there could be no US military. But Trump brags about donating an additional $100 billion per year of other people’s money to the US military. All that does is provoke Russia and China into making a proportionate response that none of the three can afford.
• The NYT article also estimates that Trump’s debt of about $450 million is coming due soon. The question is “to Whom does he owe?” His illogical deference to Russia and Turkey points strongly in those directions. US experts say that puts US national security at risk. Of course, Trump supporters will call that false news, but there is just too much smoke pointing to that fire.
• To Jim Boyes, the third law of physics says that “for every action there is an opposite reaction”. The recent social unrest in the US in nothing more than a reaction to Trump’s actions including his failure to call-out right-wing extremists that stupidly parade around with their flags and AK47s.
• To Brett Stevens, I would say that both Trump’s domestic and foreign policy have been unmitigated disasters. Domestically he has significantly increased the national debt, inequity, and social unrest. His unravelling of environmental regulations is a huge setback, while the US and the world is grappling with the alarming growth in the effects of climate change in the form of unprecedented fires, floods, hurricanes, and arctic melting. The damage done by his uninformed and selfish foreign policy will take decades to repair. It takes a lifetime to build a reputation and it can be lost in a day. Without trust, there can be no effective foreign policy.
• We don’t have to believe any left or right experts when it comes to pandemics and climate change. We can just open our eyes and see what is happening.
Yes Biden is older, but most importantly, he is a decent human being with a good moral compass and a lifetime of the kind of experience needed to be leader of the free world.
Unbelievable. I cannot, for a moment, agree with the idea of supporting a morally deficient leader like Trump. After all the evidence of the past 4 years that someone would consider him for any role in government is repulsive to me. Huntsville is an ultra-conservative town but still it needs to show humanity over politics.
decent vs. morally deficient…..hmmm, that doesn’t sound like a tough choice to me. however, i do take exception with your reiteration of the “pass due date” comment. really. then lots of people should just stop striving
I don’t pretend to know much about American politics but from everything I’ve read and heard until this virus hit the U.S economy was the best it had been in years and the unemployment rate was the lowest it had been in years the stock market was doing great as well. Maybe Trump is not all that smart and is not a politician. But as I see it he was doing a good job at making America great again and that is what he promised to do. I guess it depends on what people want a country that is prosperous and people being well off or a country like ours that had an almost balanced budget a few years ago to being so far in debt that our great grand children will still be paying the borrowed money back.
“Trump is not perfect” is an understatement! He does not have positive international leadership skills; they reek of racism, anti feminism, dictatorship, and inequality – to name a few. I agree; without strong international leadership a country will shrivel up. However, Trump is all about Trump. He does not have the necessary qualities to oversee a country. It’s most frightening that he idolizes world leaders who espouse the same ideologies. And, to note, Trump believes that the U.S. is doing a good job re Covid 19. Really? Their Covid cases and deaths are sky high – but that’s another discussion. If Trump received a nickel for every lie he’s told the money accrued could be used to feed many hungry people worldwide. Finally, attesting to his honesty (or lack thereof) I shall mention that Trump paid “…a mere $750 in Federal income taxes in 2016” and 2017.” Whereas “the average American household pays federal income taxes of about $8,367, according to an analysis at the Motley Fool” (Toronto Star, September 28, 2020). But, of course, this too, is “fake news.” He craves power, I agree; and, he seems incapable of assuming accountability. His policies have made U.S. citizens a laughing stock of the world. An honest, trustworthy, equal rights President? I think not. Trump deserves our compassion because surely he is in a place of suffering. It’s not “a difficult choice for Americans.”
Well said Hugh. The Biden-Harris ticket may fall short of what the US needs and deserves at this challenging time but it is the one and only alternative. Trump must go ! In my dreams I see an army of young people rising up and going to the polls to Vote for Ruth and a return to decency and honesty and competent leadership. Democracy itself is at stake.
We know Donald Trump does not count over the number 1. He has a caddy for that! If we want him to understand the enormity of the Co-vid death count, we have to put it in golfing terms (remember his choke putt analogy?)
Mar-a-Lago occupies 20 acres. A standard coffin is 84 inches long and 28 inches wide and covers 16.3 sq ft of ground. 209,454 coffins cover 3,414,100 sq ft or 72.6 acres. If we stack these coffins on Mar-a-Lago, we would be well into our fourth layer. Just saying!
Hugh not to sound like a broken record but it is impossible to get an unbiased news source in Canada. Every news channel, CBC radio in your car, everywhere you turn the news is taking ridiculous 10 second news clips out of context and spewing it none stop; including your reference to him supporting white supremacist which is simply not true. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmaZR8E12bs Fox News has slowly been inching toward the centre and gaining more and more market share. Chris Wallace’s Sunday show is as unbias as it gets, he can be very critical of Trump.
I completely get why people think he is crazy.
However when he was elected he had a list and he is checking it off. His Foreign policy on all levels has been brilliant and that’s what is most important. Without strong international leadership a country will shrivel up and die.
The Dem’s had 4 years to get they’re sh%t together and easily beat Trump. They have failed miserably.
Obama sort of, kind of, barely endorsed his own VP at the last minute and Kamala did not even win the California primary, her home state which she represents as senator. Kamala was a horrible choice the polls tightened in favor of Trump as soon as Biden announced her as VP.
I will be surprised if Biden even shows up for the debates, as his cognitive decline is alarming and it is irresponsible that the Dems have him leading the DNC.
Hugh,
With respect, I was kinda sorta with you until your last paragraph.
There are far too many layers in what is actually going on in the USA to conclude that Biden should be the next President IMO. Any one getting information from a variety of sources knows that in several cities in the USA there is insurrection and out of control mahem. It has been going on for weeks.
Biden and company have not condemned it. But it is there and “Progressive” authority figures do not unconditionally repudiate it preferring to find ways to find justification for acts of anarchy and vandalism.
Trump is not perfect God knows. Boorish and offensive to polite society and traditional diplomatic sensibilities. However when we consider societal politeness and diplomatic effectiveness and ask how all that has worked out lately we must conclude that different tools may be called for.
A conundrum for the Americans as they contemplate voting. But not a one dimensional, simple consideration.
May they make a wise choice for all our sakes.