“He’s a dickhole to everyone” is not an appropriate defense of a president. <em>(Photo Jim Lo Scalzo – Pool/Getty Images)</em>
Anyone who ever predicted that we’d have a president who was celebrated for being an equal-opportunity asshole, stop lying, because there’s no way you predicted anything that specific.
But that’s what we’ve got. Our president, who’s a fighter! and who’s going to hit back! and the people knew what they were getting into when they voted for him! might be a complete and utter dickhole, but he’s not a bigoted dickhole because he’s a dickhole to everyone.
“He’s a dickhole to everyone” is a widely held defense of our president. This is the world we live in.
But it’s what we hear from commentators to defend Trump against accusations of bigotry — if they can provide examples of white guys he’s attacked, that means he’s not actually a bigot.
He doesn’t hate women! He’s only attacked
– Rep. Frederica Wilson, implying that she’s a liar on Twitter and at a Senate committee meeting
– Myeshia Johnson, the widow of a soldier who died in Niger, implying on Twitter that she’s a liar
– Jemele Hill, insisting that ESPN fire her for posting critical tweets about him
– Alicia Machado, former Miss Universe, calling her “Miss Piggy” and “Miss Housekeeping”
– San Juan Mayor Carmen Yuliz Cruz, live and on Twitter, for criticizing his insufficient response to the disaster in Puerto Rico
– and all the other WOC his administration has slammed and/or disrespected
but he also called Bob Corker “liddle,” so he’s not racist or sexist.
And he doesn’t hate white women, either! He’s only attacked
– Carly Fiorina, calling her ugly
– Megyn Kelly, calling her a bimbo, a liar, a lightweight, and sick, plus the whole “blood coming out of her whatever”
– Mika Brzezinski, whom he called “wacky” and “dumb as a rock” and was also concerned where blood was coming out of her, like, ew
– Natasha Stoynoff, a writer who accused him of assaulting her, whom he insisted he’d never have touched because she’s ugly
– Jessica Leeds, who also accused Trump of groping her, and whom he also declared not hot enough for him to assault
– and so many others, particularly members of the press, because if there’s anything he hates more than being criticized, it’s being criticized by a woman
but he’s also gone after John McCain, so for real, he’s not sexist.
He doesn’t hate black men! He’s only attacked
– NFL players who kneel during the national anthem (who are overwhelming black) calling them sons of bitches and saying they should be fired
– CNN’s Don Lemon, calling him “the dumbest person in broadcasting”
– Steph Curry, jabbing at him on Twitter for not wanting to visit the White House
– Kenneth Frazier, CEO of Merck, whom Trump hit on Twitter for resigning from Trump’s Manufacturing Council
– Barack Obama, for… everything he is and has ever been and ever done
He also said that there were “some very fine people” marching with tiki torches in Charlottesville, but he also called Chris Cuomo a “chained lunatic,” so he’s not racist.
He’s never criticized Al Franken for questioning his mental health, or Stephen King for calling him “an idiot” and “a fake president,” or Keith Olbermann for writing a book that calls him “f*cking crazy” in the title, or Gregg Popovich for defending the NFL protesters and once saying that “you can’t believe anything that comes out of [Trump’s] mouth,” or the 11 other (white) CEOs who left the manufacturing council, or Eminem who essentially eviscerated him in a freestyle rap at the BET Hip Hop Awards. But he’s also feuding with Mitch McConnell, and that means he definitely is not a bigot.
It’s obvious that in the eyes of the Trump administration and all of his mouthpieces and enablers, if Trump doesn’t attack all WOC/white women/MOC and exclusively WOC/white women/MOC, he can’t be accused of targeting any of them. He may be an asshole, but how dare you call him a bigot! How dare you!
We heard one form of the argument a lot when he first signed his Muslim travel ban: It’s not actually a Muslim ban! Look at all the Muslim countries that aren’t included! Indeed, if you aren’t discriminating against every single member of a oppressed population, you aren’t discriminating against any of them. If you’re willing to give some of them a pass because, for instance, you have business interests in their country of origin, and banning travel from that country would affect your bottom line, that makes it officially not at all Islamophobic. It’s all or nothing.
And more recently, of course, we have the arguments that Trump didn’t show disrespect for Rep. Wilson, Myeshia Johnson and her family, Jemele Hill, and others because they’re black women — it’s just that they attacked him, and he’s going to hit back, because that’s totally acceptable for presidents to do. And that he also strikes out at white Congresspeople who don’t support his agenda means none of his other attacks are motivated by racism or sexism. He can’t be an all-around jerk and a bigot, right? It’s simply impossible.
It’s not impossible. It’s not only possible that he’s both an ignorant, tacky, reactionary infant and a bigot, it’s likely — once you cram all of that reprehensible crap into the blackened crater where his character should be, it can’t be all that tough to cram in just a little more. Let’s give the man some credit: He really raises the bar on being a horrible person.
Also: “He’s an equal-opportunity dickhole” is never a standard to which we should hold our president. “When he’s hit, he hits back” is not even remotely presidential. My mind boggles at the thought that anyone might say, with a straight face, that an unending stream of lies, slurs, and insults tweeted by our chief executive during his morning dump is appropriate behavior for a president, because he’s attacking straight, cis, white guys, too. Whether or not he’s an equal-opportunity dickhole, the president should not be a dickhole. How is this even a question?
“I might be an asshole, but don’t you dare call me a racist!” And it is ever so.
Recommended Reading
Midwin Charge, “From April Ryan to Rep. Frederica Wilson: How The Trump Administration Continues to Disrespect and Dismiss Black Women”
Jamelle Bouie, “Grief and Grievance: What a botched condolence call reveals about President Trump”
Michelle Ruiz, Attempting to Discredit Rep. Frederica Wilson as ‘Wacky’ Is Trump’s New ‘Nasty Woman'”