Reason # 37: Personal Warmth
Why do we need to defeat Donald Trump and ensure that a Democrat occupies the White House?
I was going to dig deeper into the realtor aspect of Donald Trump today, but a column, “A 17-year-old uttered the three most memorable words of the convention” in today’s LA Times by Robin Abcarian steered me in a different direction, toward a consideration of the display of personal warmth displayed by the candidates.
This should be a no-brainer. Politics 101 insists that the prime requisite for an individual seeking election is an ability to kiss babies convincingly. Abcarian lauds Joseph Biden for the unconditional love he clearly and demonstratively shows for his entire family, including his troubled son Hunter. Biden and his wife Jill radiate love and affection for each other. The same features were on display between Kamala Harris and her spouse Doug Emhoff and between Tim and Gwen Walz. In contrast, the marital relationship between Donald and Melania is famously and patently icy, whether it is reflected by her swatting away his attempt to hold hands or to trade a smile for a scowl as he turns away.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10156302490527708
His wife does not even show up for him in court. Who can blame Melania, after her husband has frequently betrayed and humiliated her, including a very public tryst with a porn star before and after the birth of their child?
The same differential was also clear between the candidates and their extended families. While Joe, Kamala and Tim smiled upon and embraced their siblings, children, stepchildren, grandchildren and others and the children radiated that affection back,
poignantly so in the reaction of Gus Walz to his father’s speech.
At the Republican National convention, Donald Trump was consistently aloof, distant and austere with his children and extended family and their hugs and air kisses were unemotional and perfunctory.
What we know about Donald Trump’s treatment of his family would appear to explain the lack of warmth displayed in public. His callous and cruel treatment in disinheriting the children of his brother Fred III is detailed in their descriptions of his behavior in two books and media interviews. His niece, Mary Trump, displays an incandescent loathing of her uncle at all times. His nephew Fred III gave a chilling example of his uncle’s cold spitefulness in a passage of his newly published memoir “All in the Family”, in which he states that Donald Trump advised him that, since his disabled son, William “didn’t recognize” his father, Fred III should
“just let him die and move down to Florida.”
https://slate.com/culture/2024/07/trump-nephew-fred-iii-all-family-book-review.html
A classmate of Donald Trump junior posted the following disturbing anecdote on his Facebook page, describing how his father slapped son Don Jr. in the face, in a University of Pennsylvania dormitory, in the presence of other students. Trump has denied the allegation.
What about J.D. Vance? He and his wife appear to be a happy, affectionate couple. Abcarian chides him for telling his son to “Shut the hell up.” about his favorite Pokémon character, Pikachu, while he was on the line with Donald Trump, but that doesn’t seem too terrible; I have certainly said the same. But what about pets? J.D. clearly is not all that fond of cats. Oops.
While on the subject of pets, Donald Trump does not have any pets, neither does Kamala Harris. Tim Walz has a cat called “Honey”, a rescue (acquired following a Power Point presentation plea from son Gus) and a Labrador retriever mix, also a rescue dog, named “Scout”. Scout’s motto is reported to be “If I can reach it, I can eat it.”
JD Vance has a “very good” German Shepherd puppy named “Atlas” It is unknown whether (and unlikely that) JD has a cat. I would like to ask Atlas what he thinks of cats, but he would probably just shrug.
It appears that there will be no pets in the White House, come 2025. White House personnel are unlikely to mourn the departure of “Champ” and “Major” the Biden dogs, who allegedly have acquired a taste for Secret Service agent ankles.
How can you consider a vote for a man who is so cold that not even his wife will hold hands with him?
Have a heart; use your mind, search your conscience, and vote for Democratic candidates – across the ballot – on November. 5th.
Please share this message with your friends and please, add your thoughts, to expand upon what are only brief sketches here.
Fred Grannis
August 25, 2024