The Bully

What makes a person say nasty things about another person, group, or people?  Is it a hidden prejudice?  Is it bullying?  Is it narcissism?   Why does a person need to put another person down?  Is it that they themselves feel insecure?  Do they need to make themselves feel in control by belittling others?  Why does a person who is rich, who holds great power, put others down?

Is there a hidden prejudice?  Mr. Trump kicked off his presidential campaign by labeling immigrants from Mexico “rapists” and criminals.  A few weeks later he accused Mexican immigrants of being “killers.”  A month or so later he said Mexican officials were only sending “the bad ones” to the U.S.  He made a crude remark about Jeb Bush speaking “Mexican” (Bush’s wife is Mexican-American).  A little while later he booted Jorge Ramos out of a press conference. On Cinco de Mayo, Trump tweeted that the best taco bowls are made in Trump Tower Grill.  In June 2016 he suggested that the federal judge (born in Indiana) presiding over a fraud case against Trump University would not be fair because of his “Mexican heritage.”  "He's a Mexican," Trump told CNN.  “We're building a wall between here and Mexico. The answer is, he is giving us very unfair rulings — rulings that people can't even believe." I'm building a wall.”  When asked whether he would trust a Muslim judge (referencing his proposed restrictions on Muslim immigration) Mr. Trump suggested that such a judge would not be fair to him either.  

Is it racism?  Trump has an insidious tendency to attack the intelligence of black critics he does not like (and women).  He was the prime leader in the “Birther Movement.” He tweeted: “Lebron James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon. He made Lebron look smart, which isn’t easy to do.”  He calls Elizabeth Warren “Pocohontas.”  He says Maxine Waters is a “seriously low IQ person.”  Yet, he also calls his own Attorney General “Mr. McGoo” and uses the word “stupid” (and other synonyms) regularly to describe the FBI, the NFL, Democrats, the filibuster, the nation’s immigration laws, and journalists.  When he heard that his own Secretary of State (Tillerson) reportedly called him a “moron,” he challenged Tillerson to an IQ test.  He also calls Robert DeNiro “a very low IQ individual.”

Let’s forget all the psychological humbug.  Mr. Trump is a bully—pure and simple—beating up on anybody and everybody whenever he feels like it and especially if they are critical of Mr. Trump.  Sure, all those other psychological labels may apply—but at bottom he is not a rich business man, he is a poor man of low character, At bottom he is not a powerful man, but a weak and insecure man who only survives by destroying the character of others.  At bottom he is a dangerous bully—and as a bully—only he exists in his world.  No one else counts—no one!

Psalm 121