Re: It won’t be so bad, Opinion March 5
Re: I finally understand Donald Trump's appeal, Opinion March 10
Re: , Cobourg
The Trump phenom might be ugly, as your editorial states, but it says a lot about the anti-intellectual stream that exists in American society. It’s not just Trump, but most of the Republican candidates for president are worse. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are downright scary. They look like characters in a bad Hollywood movie.
This is the country that put a Man on the moon and developed the Internet, but a good chunk of America is quite ignorant and knows nothing about the rest of the world. And in many ways, why should it? It has a huge domestic economy where internal trade is more important than external trade. They don’t need to look outside their borders.
But saying that, there is no excuse for ignorance. Let’s face it, many Americans, including most Republicans, still believe in Creationism. They believe the world was created in six days and many deny climate change. Even though cities like Miami and New York will be under water in a hundred years.
Obviously, Donald Trump plays to the anger many feel over their lot in life; lost jobs due to globalization and the hollowing out of the American manufacturing sector. Trump speaks to their fears, even though he has no real solutions. Crazy American elections aren’t new, just look at 1968 with the likes of Richard Nixon, George Wallace and Hubert Humphrey. But what is consistent in American life, despite their immense power, is their parochialism and small mindedness.
That is dangerous and sad.
Andrew van Velzen, Toronto
I have read literally hundreds of negative reports on Trump campaign, yet not one article mentions why he is so popular. Although the average American does not know for sure why things are so bad regarding wages, job opportunities or how the 2008 Wall Street fiasco screwed them out of millions of homes, they instinctively know they are being lied to. It would be nice if the schools taught the real history of what has been happening and what led to World War II, but somehow I doubt that is going to happen.
Add to that the “dumbing down of America” that has been in full swing since the mid 1970s and this is what America has become.
All we have to do is look at Germany in the 1930s. They were probably the most educated and advanced society in the early 20th century, yet they allowed a tyrant into power who led the world to a world war.
And why did this tyrant get into power? The economy had collapsed, the German dollar had collapsed and people were desperate for help. Now we see America with cities in ruin, poison water, jobless people living in tent cities and they do not have the social net we have in Canada.
Let’s be honest. The so called 1 per cent has put us in this position and Trump is the answer the Americans have come up with.
If we do not wake up and realize that without a solid middle class, we are doomed to repeat history, then people like Trump will rule.
Gary Brigden, Toronto
I find it interesting and disturbing that the media is so focused on the character of the candidate. I tend to think that this approaches “lazy” journalism. The more important story is the degree and depth of people’s dissatisfaction with their leaders, and their lack of power to make changes.
What motivates people to support unsuitable/unorthodox candidates, to the point of blowing-up today’s political and business environment? Is turning everyone’s world upside down worth the pain to have their political and business leaders set aside their self-interest, and improve the lives of the 90 per centers?
Exploring these issues defines real journalism, in my mind.
And let’s not castigate these Trump voters as uneducated, racist, or just angry. They’re using the power of the vote that democracy gives them to send a message to those in power. Let’s see if the politicians and business people are willing to listen and act, not to change the political process to avoid a Trump presidency, but to start creating a truly inclusive and just society.
That would make America whole and great again.
Gunter Haibach, Oakville
Perhaps a significant block of American voters are responding to Donald Trump not because they admire a bully, but because in one respect at least he’s finally speaking to something that no North American politician, and few elsewhere, have dared to speak to in a generation, something that has detrimentally affected and continues to affect virtually every working-class person on the continent.
The so-called “free trade” deals that have been imposed continentally for the past 30 years were calculated to wipe out domestic manufacturing, simply and solely for the sake of somebody else’s bottom line. Although new deals in the offing still persist in callously promising us the moon, they only ever leave a decimated economy at street-level, and diminished opportunities to prosper for succeeding generations. This is clear to anyone who has experienced life in such an economy, such as the current generation of Canadians.
Trump speaks to the fraudulent nature of these multiple ersatz trade deals, which plainly have always had more to do, even in the latest proposals, with investor rights than with broad economic advancements.
If Trump is finally talking turkey about the daily lived fraud that North American workers have endured for too long, and if his message in this respect is resonating with workers, then perhaps his opponents and his critics might take a lesson from his strategy and finally start talking real cases themselves.
Justin Trudeau, are you listening?
George Higton, Toronto
After his primary wins in Michigan and Mississippi, it’s clear that momentum is building for the demagogic Donald Trump’s quest to become this year’s Republican Party presidential nominee. If Trump can survive the big March 15 winner-take-all votes mostly unscathed (beware the Ides of March?), he would have to be considered a Flint-Michigan-lead-pipe cinch to represent the GOP in this fall’s election for president.
And there in a sentence are two highly toxic things known to pose a great threat to some or all of the American populace in 2016.
Robert McBride, Thornhill
I feel for the soul searching in America amongst Republicans and Democrats regarding Donald Trump. Unfortunately, Trump is unleashing pent-up, destructive, fascist energy.
How will America purge itself from this toxic soup of hate, xenophobia, white supremacy and parochialism that has its roots going back to before the Civil War? Jefferson, after all, had slaves!
Yet, America is a great nation. Its entrepreneurs, original thinkers and scholars, inventors and creative artists are of the highest calibre. Black American musicians have given the world the blues, rock ’n’ roll, jazz, doo wop and rap.
Meantime, we are especially lucky to be living in Canada. Democracy is working well here. Canadians recently voted out mean-spirited Harper in an election that was orderly. We elected a dashing prince and his “sunny ways.”
Canada endures as the country of peace, order and good government. We are the True North, Strong and Free!
Louis Solnicki, Toronto
Let me be clear. I’m not a big fan of Donald Trump or of Hillary Clinton. But the Canadian reaction to Trump is laughable; especially by Ontarians and Ontario media types.
Ontario voters voted in a succession of incompetent governments – perhaps criminal. And yet “we” think we have the right to preach about The Donald. Plus, Canadians voted in a Liberal government led by a boy with nice hair. He got elected due to his Trudeau lineage and nice hair, not competence. Did we not learn anything?
So, Canadians get off your high horses about Trump and tend to your own knitting.
Ralph Awrey, Toronto
Tony Burman is correct in pointing out that Donald Trump is getting promoted by news media that have sold their soul for massive profits. Instead of challenging or minimizing Trump coverage, they are salivating over his outrageous positions and celebrating ratings over balanced reporting.
In the U.S. a lot of people are getting a “sugar rush” when Donald Trump says outrageous racist comments pandering to common fears. My hope is that we don’t have to find out the hard way about the costs of a reality TV inspired Trump presidency.
Russell Pangborn, Keswick
The blistering attack on Donald Trump by Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate for 2012 U.S. presidential race and an erstwhile acolyte of Mr. Trump, signals the total rejection of the Republican party stalwarts of the frontrunner. As such, it is clear that the party will nominate someone else to carry its standard.
This might force Mr. Trump to run as an independent candidate in the same way once Republican president Theodore Roosevelt tried to seek re-election for third time as a candidate of a third party of his own creation. Mr. Roosevelt lost the election despite his popularity.
Theodore Roosevelt faced the opposition of the party elites led by his former ally William Howard Taft and was forced to form his own party the Progressive party. He argued his cause persuasively, but with two “Republicans” contesting against one Democrat, he could not hope to win and Woodrow Wilson won the election easily.
Same fate may be waiting for Mr. Trump.
Mahmood Elahi, Ottawa
It won’t be so bad, Opinion March 5
Adam Alter’s blase commentary that “disappointed voters” following a Trump electoral win “ will go on . . . living the same lives in the same country they inhabited before Nov. 8, 2016” displays the same unfeeling myopia that will have fueled the clown-bigot’s victory.
Will the 12 million “illegals” marked (tattoos on their arms?) for deportation continue to “inhabit” the U.S.? Or will they first be corralled by that lunatic Arizona sheriff into mass desert holding camps — Wow! A “beach Gitmo.” Will they fear vigilantes and snitchers roaming the streets, scooping late-night shift workers and burning mosques? Will both Muslim and African American also fear the KKK, freshly invigorated by the new Commander in Chief’s fearless moral laxity? And will the 18 million Americans who’ve benefited from Obamacare be de-registered and turned into the walking dead?
Social chaos will be the co-winner of the election. The “same country”? Only if they admit the Civil War never ended and that egalitarian leadership is viewed as a socialist conspiracy.
Chris McNaught, Ottawa
Love him or loathe him Donald Trump has turned the presidential race into a “box office” bonanza especially for the media who are laughing all the way to the bank. Can you imagine, purely from an entertainment angle, a contest between say Bernie Sanders and Ben Carson for president of the United States?
Max Desouza, Toronto
Hearing reports of how protesters were treated by the guards at a recent Donald Trump rally reminds me of how the storm troopers controlled rallies for another leader, in another part of the world in the 1930s.
Edward A. Collis, Burlington
Trump the vodka failed. Trump the university failed. Trump Airlines failed. Trump Magazine failed. Trump Mortgage failed. Trump the steak failed. Etc. But, Trump the Movie just might succeed. There are even enough cliff hangers in the story to produce a series.
Douglas Cornish, Ottawa
The U.S. puts a very high price on democracy and freedom, so much so they are willing to invade foreign countries in order to instil America values. Now we see Mr. Trump as the front runner for the GOP. The polls so far would suggest Mr. Trump is headed for the Republican nomination. Some people may not like it, others have suggested they may even leave the country, but that’s how the democratic systems works.
How ironic, the White House can overthrow foreign governments, hold elections, disapprove of the people’s choice, then attempts to overthrow the newly elected officials, all in the name of, you guessed it, democracy. Now they see the same scenario happening at home.
If Americans truly believe in democracy, that is, “Government for the people, by the people,” then allow the people speak and honour their choice. Don’t become a demockery.
Wayne Fraser, Toronto
Your editorial ends by saying, “Trump’s scorched-earth campaign has brought the party to this sorry pass.” Wrong! The party has brought itself to this sorry pass. Trump didn’t materialize out of thin air, he was conjured up by the GOP. For many years the Republican party, and the conservative media it supports, have nurtured and fostered the worst tendencies in the American public. Meanness, racism, sexism, intolerance, have all been fed and nurtured by the GOP. Now they’re horrified by the monster they’ve created.
If only more conservative politicos were English majors, they might have seen this coming.
Daniela Battistella, Toronto
The Republicans are now panicking over the thought of an extremist like Donald Trump taking over the party. But for the last several years, really since the election of a black president, they have been nurturing the very support that Trump has stirred up and now they’re concerned. As you sew, so shall you reap, as the saying goes.
But here in Canada we have our own version of the same dynamics. In an interview with CBC, Doug Ford is on record of supporting Trump and even bragging that the renegade Republican has taken a page from his brother’s play book.
Kevin O’Leary is not all that different. The extreme right is taking over the legitimate parties of the right all over the world. They are playing on the fears and frustrations of the underclasses and using the meanest possible tactics to win their support. Trump is merely a symbol of this political upheaval.
Stephen Bloom, Toronto
Donald Trump’s campaign buttons may as well read: “White Supremacy Rules!” But being a Ku Klux Klan member isn’t mandatory to cover your face in shame, after voting for Trump.
JoAnn Lee Frank, Clearwater, FL
I finally understand Donald Trump's appeal, Opinion March 10
Please let Darren Thorne understand that Donald Trump can win the presidency, too. Large numbers of Democrats who have been disenfranchised by the smug Clintons and environmentalists in their own party and who have swarmed to Bernie Sanders’ side could more easily vote for Donald Trump than for yet another Clinton.
Much will depend, therefore, on whether Republican elites like Cruz and Rubio can hold their noses long enough to vote for Mr. Trump in November.
Patrick Cowan, North York
In the closing paragraph of his excellent column, Darren Thorne opines that should Trump win the Republican nomination “that’s a step that all logic, reason and common sense say can’t possibly happen.” In response I respectfully remind Mr. Thorne that despite all logic, reason and common sense, America’s northern neighbour recently elected a drama school teacher as Prime Minister.
Edward Nix, Oshawa
It is hilarious to watch the reaction of so many, but especially the media, to Donald Trump. There’s this clear disdain mixed with a fearful expectation of the future. First, they dismissed him and now that he seems more likely to win the Republican nomination, they report this possibility, subtly mocking the very notion.
It is amazing how certain people have the power to make so many groups nervous. When directed the right way, it can be a gift. And for that reason alone, we should have more of them.
Renae Jarrett, Ajax
On the off chance that The Donald becomes the next U.S. president I would like to propose that the Canadian federal government engage in a massive infrastructure program to build a wall along the Canada/US border. I know this is not a new idea but the purpose would be entirely new: to keep Americans out of Canada.
Joe Virio, Bowmanville
In one of his famous put-downs, Samuel Johnson said of a contemporary, “He is not only dull himself, but the cause of dullness in others.” If he were around today he might say of Donald Trump, “He is not only vulgar himself, but the cause of vulgarity in others.”
Bruce Donald, Toronto
Word has it should Trump win the Republican nomination, Chris Christie would be promoted to his personal food taster.
Richard Kadziewicz, Scarborough
Having grown up on Cape Breton Island I feel obliged to point out to Americans considering a move there to escape “the Donald” that half the population of Cape Breton are Donalds — MacDonalds and McDonalds. Nor should our American friends go to Cape Breton hoping to “feel the Bern” as the days of Cape Breton electing social democratic politicians are long gone.
That said, a nicer place to get away from the ugliness of American political life you will not find.
Simon Rosenblum, Toronto
Although the offer of a “Trump Free Zone” by Cape Breton is both noble and generous, I have to think that they underestimate the potential consequence.
As early as November, as many as 300 million Americans could attempt the perilous journey across the St. Lawrence or Great Lakes to flee political oppression. That huge parking lot, also known as the CNE, may likely become the largest resettlement camp in history. And yes, commuters should expect TTC and GO train delays.
As the last U.S. refugee reaches our shores and is welcomed with open arms, as Canadians tend to do, we should begin building our own wall to keep out the likes of The Donald, the National Rifle Association, the KKK and of course Sarah Palin.
And perhaps we could borrow part of the inscription on the Statue Of Liberty that has welcomed many immigrants to the United States: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to breath free. Your wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest tost to me.”
Steven Clift, Whitby
If Donald Trump wants to “Make America Great Again,” he should move to Mexico or Canada.
Herb Stark, Mooresville, NC
Donald Trump is the Freudian id of the Republican Party.
Peter Omnet, Willowdale
If too many Americans want to move to Canada, we’re just going to have to build a wall.
George Smith, Cobourg
There is a quote from Barbara Tuchman’s “The Guns of August” that perfectly describes Donald Trump’s utterances: “Sir, whenever you speak, you subtract from the sum total of human knowledge.”
Andrew Monk, Orillia