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Basura: President Trump so often dishes disrespectful nicknames

I was recently asked to reconsider my harsh treatment of President Donald Trump. I respect the source of the request, and I believe it was made with sincerity without malice.

I’ve been severe regarding Trump; but much of this, I believe, he brings on himself. He’s been elected to be the leader of the country, all the country, and that includes me. With that high office, he should be held accountable:

• To tell the truth.

• To work diligently at the country’s business.       

• To oversee the military.

• To keep himself informed and engaged.

• To communicate to the American people in a straightforward fashion.

• To focus on the serious business at hand and not be easily distracted.

Yet this is not what I believe I see from him. I care about the country. I fear he is harming it.

President Trump is very fond of nicknames. Perhaps he’s trying to channel George W. Bush, though the two of them seem to be going through a rough patch at the moment. President George W. Bush also loved to nickname people — Stretch, The Big O, Brownie; President Bush was on it.  

I remember as a schoolboy that nicknaming was a very popular activity. I think, in college too, it was quite widespread among the frat groups. Nicknaming someone, and having it stick, was cool. Especially if it was pejorative, like Stinky or Snaggletooth.

President Trump likes to nickname people, and it’s often a form of aggressive power display. Calling the president by a discourteous nickname is frowned upon. It’s probably foolhardy to hook up a president with scornful nickname – but let me give it a shot. While that sort of thing may well be beneath me, it’s certainly not beneath him, as he’s shown us time after time.

Does Trump deserve better treatment than being saddled with a disrespectful nickname? I wonder. If we could hear an off-record response from Crooked Hillary, or Lyin’ Ted, or Crazy Bernie, or Little Marco, or Liddle Jeff, or Low Energy Jeb – what might they say? Referring to the man with a negative nickname is beneath the dignity of the office, which I offend by calling the man President BoneSpur. Guilty as charged. How trashy of me. I thought of perhaps hanging a different nickname on him. How about President Lady Clairol for his blond locks? Or President Maybelline, for his in-artful use of makeup? Orange foundation? White eye makeup? On a man in his 70s?

I thought of one nickname bound to gather some notice. President PussyGrabber, referring to his predilection for sexual assault (criminal by his own description). Those are his words, not mine. Nonetheless, he received the Republican nomination, perhaps to their shame, and won the electoral college, and got a lot of votes of those Americans who bothered to vote; almost half.

President PussyGrabber would be demeaning to the man, of course, but isn’t that the whole idea behind a derogatory nickname? But I didn’t even bother running it by my wife, anticipating her response, which might be something like: “Don’t say that – he deserves it, but don’t.”

Of course, if I did employ the nickname President PussyGrabber, everyone would understand what I meant. That said, I think President BoneSpur still conveys Donald behaving in a sleazy way, but in a different sort of sleazy way. Remember the whole bone spur thing? One foot hurt so much he wasn’t fit for military service. Yet he was unable to remember which one.

Using President BoneSpur conveys disdain, and it does so without employing the crude term employed by Donald to refer to women’s genitalia.  But I gotta admit, it’s hard to talk about this president without muddying oneself.

4 Comments

  • Humorous: but truthful and to the point! The “President” obviously never passed a class on public speaking. Of course, if he could tell you, he would say he was very very intelligent, forceful, and truthful. Maybe I should add another “very” to that sentence. Oops! That would be another “tall tale”, but I am sure everyone loves the way he speaks because he loves everyone! That is why he gives disrespectful and misleading nicknames to anyone that might dare criticize him. It is really because he “loves” them.
    I am sorry. I did not like the man or his aura while he was running for the office. He has done nothing to persuade me to think any better of him since taking office…. So very very SAD

  • Mr. Basura,

    You (Marines), Army Bob, and I have served in the armed forces of the United States. And we all know many people during the Vietnam War that had draft deferments for college, failed physicals, or other reasons. If you want to see some hilarious methods to get out of being drafted, watch the movie “Big Wednesday” about draft age eligible surfers in the late 1960’s.

    While your disdain and hate for President Trump knows no bounds, my assessment of your wrath about “bonespur” Trump is you doeth protest too much!

    If you look at earlier presidents, the “greatest” recent Democrat President William Jefferson Blythe Clinton jerked his draft board around so much and he finally said he would join the Reserves and managed to get out of that too. Of course his mentor, Sen. William Fulbright, probably had a lot to do with his elusive behavior. And his letter to the commander of the Reserves about “loathing the military” would have gotten any other civilian drafted PDQ (for you civilians, that is “pretty damn quick) for such disrespect. But since he is a Democrat, he gets a pass because everyone knows Democrats as a whole disrespect the military, especially during that time.

    Oh, and Clinton didn’t receive a degree from Oxford (one of his deferments) – he was thrown out before for allegedly attacking and rape of a female student (sound familiar?). Instead, he left and came home before any action was taken for his behavior. Guess he didn’t learn anything at Oxford except to know he could get away with it – his history from that time on bears that out. Speak of deplorables!

    If you want to show hate and scorn for those getting deferments, at least be even handed. The Democrats have plenty of candidates in local, state, and national positions over the years in getting physical deferments as well as Republicans.

    You want to hold that against them, so be it. I wouldn’t vote for any candidate that openly criticized drafting or joining the military service. And to think President Clinton was the Commander in Chief after “loathing the military”! He was deplorable years ago and hasn’t changed a bit, he keeps getting away with being a scumbag.

    • I don’t disrespect the military. I guess you’re saying that DJT loves the military – just not enough to have joined when he could have served his country in uniform, as you and Army Bob and I and so many others did.

  • I have yet to hear from any Trump supporters who purport to be level
    headed conservatives speak about about our current President’s past and recent viscous denigrating remarks about fellow USN vet and US Senator John McCain.

    Big tough talking President Trump who ducked every chance through student deferment and then fortuitously noticing bone spurs after graduation to avoid military service himself brought the US Presidency to a low point when he said he’d have to “Get tough” with McCain.

    John McCain was a POW for 5 years sustaining major injuries while being tortured. As a USN fighter pilot officer he won a Silver Star, 3 Bronze Stars, Legion of Merit and a Purple Heart.

    Our President who went to great lengths to avoid serving thinks it’s acceptable to insult and challenge an 80 year old US Senator who served his country and has terminal cancer.

    How anyone who is a veteran thinks it’s befitting of a US President to publicly demean people, both foreign and domestic is astounding and disappointing.

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