Trump is a salty sailor. He is also a bad president.
If the bar for a heaven-chosen hero is this low, our country may very well be the helpless, hopeless place Vaughn describes.
For a couples years (and especially right now) a particular post defending the behavior of Donald Trump has made it rounds on Facebook, shared by Republicans and conservatives who support the President, despite his unruly behavior. It’s author is a woman named Karen Vaughn.
Her argument is that President Trump is indeed, yes, less like a saint and more like a salty sailor: a grumpy old man who is loud, incautious, out of order, and bit obnoxious, but, in the end, a person who gets the job done.
Please read her post first before continuing my piece. It’s not too long, and it’ll help the commentary below make more sense.
Vaughan says, “Sometimes God uses the no-nonsense, salty sailor to get the job done. … I believe with all my heart that God placed that salty sailor in the White House to give this nation one more chance in November 2016. Donald Trump is what he is…without guilt.”
Here, the author pushes the popular American-Christian belief that God is ultimately in charge of the country’s general direction, even dictating the results of a nationwide election if He wants to. So rather than giving credit to the electoral college that won Trump the position he now holds, Vaughan thanks God for his ultimate unilateral vote He cast for Donald.
Additionally, the assertion Trump, “is what he is without guilt,” feels odd coming from a person who clearly believes in the doctrine of Christianity. Is Vaughn saying a person’s past decisions don’t actually matter, at least with substantial significance, and that an individual can disregard God’s word and still be favored by Him? If so, why do commandments even exist, or why does faith in God matter, if, believing in Him or not, we qualify for life-benefiting blessings?
Vaughan continues, comparing Trump to a firefighter, saying, “Should it matter to me if a firefighter drops an f-bomb while he’s pulling me from a burning building? Would I really care about what came out of his mouth in those moments? Heck no! … AND DONALD TRUMP IS OUT FIREMAN.”
Huh?
Comparing what the president is asked to do to and what a firefighter is asked to do is ineffectual. Here’s a simple chart to explain why:
Firefighters are hired to fight fires. The President of the United States is hired to lead a nation. Our country is not aflame. It does not require a speedy, swearing serviceman or woman to drag it out of harm’s way. There is no falling, unsafe lit structure surrounding us.
No, Karen — our nation does not need a fireman, much like a charred, blazing home doesn’t need a president. They are different jobs with different objectives.
Donald Trump may have been a good firefighter, or even good sailor, in another life, but he certainly hasn’t done what successful presidents are supposed to do.
The president of our country isn’t meant to be a prophet, but he or she should be better than the cranky seafarer Donald Trump evidently is. In a nation of 328 million people, we can surely find someone to lead who doesn’t gloat about sexually assaulting women, actively avoids blame, relentlessly bullies, refuses to promote country camaraderie, rejects science, accepts conspiracy, mocks the differently-abled and abused, incites commotion, detracts from real issues, and silently sits by as women and children are mistreated and mangled at our southern border.
I agree with Karen Vaughn that Trump is a salty sailor. He is also a bad president.
