Jonah Goldberg was not entirely pleased with my depiction of him as the antithesis of Donald Trump.
On Twitter, he called my column on “Trump, Emerson and Questions of Character” at Real Clear Politics “profoundly dumb” and wasn’t sure if he would deign to respond to its argument.
That’s fine. I didn’t really intend to get in a tit for tat with Mr. Goldberg. Suffice it to say we have a “profound” difference in our assessment of the importance of Donald Trump — a difference which won’t be bridged by online sparring. I used Mr. Goldberg as the exemplar of a certain East Coast elite that finds Trump’s character so distasteful that they refuse to acknowledge his historical importance as the man who stopped the Clinton machine and the Obama “fundamental transformation” of the United States that was well underway by 2016.
It is understandable that Mr. Goldberg did not appreciate being so conscripted for my rhetorical purpose. However, I do hope that Goldberg will take the time to read my essay far enough to find this definition of character by Emerson:
“Character is the habit of action from the permanent vision of truth. It carries a superiority to all the accidents of life.”
I believe it more than adequately refutes Goldberg’s claim that Trump’s presidency is doomed by his character. Rather, Trump’s “habit of action” fueled by his “permanent vision of truth” has helped the president to already prevail beyond many people’s expectations in his battle with the forces arrayed against him — and demonstrate that he has a good chance of vanquishing them altogether based on not the quality of his character, but the strength of it.
As Emerson says there are no “ideals” in history; just people who have risen to the challenges put before them. I and millions more have put our confidence in President Trump to do so.
Maybe Jonah Goldberg would consider me dumb, too, since I agree with everything you said about President Trump’s character. He is terrific. He is s hardworking business man who causes resentment by those who are not used to working hard. He sees what needs to be done and finds solutions. The Washington Swamp cannot force themselves to work up a sweat. They hate that the President works hard. He doesn’t do it to show people up. He does it because he has always known that hard work gets things done. Simple. Once more I will say, thank God for President Trump. As you said, the Hillary election machine was formidable. A friend of mine, a very brilliant friend, not dumb like me, who is a PhD in nanotechnology told me in 2016, “Not IF Hillary is elected, but When she is elected, things will change.” That made me sick to think Hillary and her entitled claim to the presidency would drive the country further into despair and unemployment and high taxes. I remember when Jonah criticized Candidate Trump ( he attacked first), all Mr. Trump said about Jonah Goldberg was that he looked like a slob. Well that did it. Jonah was now even more a “Never-Trumper” than he was before. Coincidentally, Jonah immediately cleaned up his wardrobe and trimmed his college-dorm beard after hearing Mr. Trump’s opinion of him. Before Mr. Trump decided to run for President, Jonah was predictable in his pontification about how awful Obama’s foolish policies were every time he appeared on Fox’s Special Report . And, how awful Hillary was. How bad Obama’s policies were for America, Israel, everyone. How bad Obama’s lack of intelligence was creating a horrible future for freemarket capitalism and freedom of speech. So when Mr. Trump won, you would think Jonah, Bill Kristol, and other conservatives, would feel an enormous sense of relief and euphoria that the dark days were over. No matter who the messenger was, America received the hope of freedom from the cancerous programs of Obama and his acolytes as well as a new spirit of happiness for a bright future for all of us because we would be free from Hillary and her foolish desire to make up social justice grievances for her life’s work. Hillary and her “Pay your Fair Share” slogan and mantra does not create jobs, does not incentivize corporations to return to the United States, does not encourage anyone to hire American, buy American, be proud of being an American. Instead, Hillary’s objective was to create “victimhood for all.” Making people feel as though they are victims is big business. Ask Al Sharpton. Basic race baiting is really good business. Pitting one group against the other is another tried and true method of doing politics. No work involved. Just a negative word here and there. An unfounded accusation is always a popular ploy with politicians. This was so well done in the Kavanaugh case. But Mr. Trump is not a politician. Thank God. He actually did what other politicians swore to do. He promised to fix the economy, help create an environment to reduce unemployment, look into foreign issues from non traditional solutions and suggest conservative Supreme Court judges but these issues were still not good enough for Jonah or Kristol. Not good enough for these clever men. A non diplomatic business man was elected who could keep an eye on the swamp people who spent money on anything to make their power last for decades, but still not good enough. Trump just isn’t as pure as they are. But can Jonah or Kristol do one-tenth of what President Trump has done and with such vicious hatred aimed at them every day, all day, every hour? I think not.
Sincerely,
Joe Morrisco
Bedminster, NJ 07931
Great description Joe!
Terrific and accurate response. Swamp dwellers come in all shapes and sizes !
Absolutely! Add Coulter to the list!