Remember in Back to the Future when 1955-Doc was skeptical about Marty’s claim that he was from 1985, and Doc said, “So, who’s the president?” And Marty kind of cringed and said, “Ronald Reagan.” Doc rolled his eyes and hooted, like, “Yeah, right. Ronnie Regan’s the future’s President of the United States, my ass.” I remember sitting in the theater (with my mom, about a month pregnant with Nate as it turned out) and cringing myself. I was 29 years old and mortified that a dim-bulb B-movie star known for lame westerns and Bedtime for Bonzo was the current president of our country. It was unbelievable.
Nothing about him represented me, and I saw him as an embarrassment to the rest of the world with his bad-actor backward views of Reaganomics, women’s rights, his silence on Aids due to the right-wing influence of the “Moral Majority,” and his war-mongering.
The only time I supported him was when he said: “Mr. Gorbachev, take down this wall!” And shortly afterward, the Berlin Wall came tumbling down.
Fast-forward 30 years and Ronald Reagan would be considered a radical left-winger, based on today’s political lunacy. And now Donald Trump, who looks more and more like the GOP nominee, is cheered for claiming that he will BUILD a wall along the Mexican border (“to keep those rapists out!”)
David Brooks’ recent op-ed says, “There is a hint of violence undergirding [Trump’s] campaign. There is always a whiff, and sometimes more than a whiff, of “I’d like to punch him in the face…” Trump’s style is bashing and pummeling. Everyone who opposes or disagrees with him is an idiot, a moron, or a loser.”
Trump is like Jerry Springer, WWE, and yes—Biff Tanner from “Back to the Future”—all rolled into one. When he stands on a stage with his Botoxed Barbie Doll wife and
daughter, I’m reminded of the Robert Palmer music video “Addicted to Love.” He is a carnival barker, an evil clown, a freak show, and he has the full support of the KKK.
The most terrifying aspect of his racist, hateful, authoritarian rhetoric is best described by my friend, Carol:
As the daughter of a German Jew who lived in - and was persecuted by - the Nazi regime, I simply MUST say it now: Trump's behavior during this election is not all that unlike Hitler's behavior in the late 20s and early 30s. Both play on people's fear and uncertainty, both make promises they can't keep, both are hateful and bigoted, and both develop massive and almost fanatical following by people who are willing to not ask questions or look into the future of what such a charismatic but megalomaniacal "leader" would mean to their country -- and to the world. The similarities seriously terrify me, and I'm surprised, to be honest, that more people aren't making this comparison. Maybe it's the fear...
It is unbelievable.