opinion

Donald Trump confirms that he is deplorable

As someone who has written in this column that Mr. Trump won the election, and deserves the opportunity to govern, I am dismayed but not surprised by his behavior with respect to accused child molester, Roy Moore. Mr. Trump continues to show the American people who he is and what he is about, and it’s not very nice. His support of an accused child molester separates him from almost all the Republicans in Washington, who say they believe the women who have accused Judge Roy Moore of child molestation and sexual predation. But Mr. Trump, who appears to be oblivious to shame and disgust, doesn’t seem to care. Deplorable is as deplorable does.

Up until recently, child molestation/pedophilia was something that people were darn near hung for, or at least thrown under the jail for, until Donald Trump and his base decided it is okay if it results in the election of a Republican. In the past, the mere allegation of child molestation or pedophilia was something that a person was shunned and condemned for. People who prey on children were thought to be the lowest of the low, until Donald Trump and his base decided it is okay if it means electing a Republican. Child molestation used to be one of the most deplorable things that a person could do to a child, but not now. Something happened to Mr. Trump and his loyal Trumpistas on the way to common decency.

Donald Trump, who has been accused by sixteen women of sexual predation and harassment, recently let it be known where he stands. Obviously, he could not condemn an accused sexual predator like Judge Roy Moore, because of similar accusations made against him during the past election cycle. His hypocrisy would be on full display. He has made it clear that he prefers an accused child molester in the Senate over a good and decent man, who happens to be a Democrat.

There are a lot of good Republicans and a lot of bad ones and there are also a lot good Democrats and a lot of bad ones. Doug Jones is a good Democrat. The fact that Donald Trump has thrown his support behind an accused child molester, tells you what kind of Republican he is. He is a bad Republican.

Over the last two years Mr. Trump has bullied and insulted a lot of people. It has given him the attitude that he can say and do anything he wants if he has the support of his loyal base, which he famously said would still support him even if he “stood in the middle of Fifth Avenue, and shot someone.” Unfortunately, that sentiment appears to be true, which is troubling and confounding. Mr. Trump won the presidency despite being seen by many Americans as a pathological liar and sexual predator. He continues to blur the lines between what is acceptable and what is decent.

The irony is that Judge Roy Moore and Donald Trump’s most ardent and rabid supporters are Evangelical Christians, who say they would rather see an accused child molester/pedophile in the Senate than Doug Jones, a conservative Democrat who agrees with Republicans on a whole host of issues. You can’t make this stuff up, because it is hard to believe that Evangelical Christians would overlook the words of a woman who says Roy Moore touched her inappropriately when she was fourteen years old. He is deplorable, and so is Donald Trump for supporting him.

This is now the party of Trump, and it is not a good look. The Trump Republican Party will be the party of child molesters/pedophiles, which is sad and disheartening for a lot of Republicans who believe in common decency. Donald Trump is proving that he is not one of those Republicans. He should have been the first person to condemn someone accused of pursuing sexual relations with little girls, but he couldn’t do it because of his sordid history with women.

It is difficult for most Americans to believe that an accused child molester/pedophile would be more acceptable for the senate than a Democrat, but that is the world we are living in right now. It is called the world of Trumpism, where normal has become abnormal and abnormal has become normal. The fact that the President of the United States could even entertain the notion of supporting an accused child molester speaks to the moral relativism that exists in partisan politics today. What Roy Moore tried to do to a fourteen-year-old girl disqualifies him to be Senator, and the president should have said that.

Alabama is one of the most religious states in the country, where God, guns, and family values are a way of life, but the people of Alabama have lost their moral compass. Their support of a child molester over a Democrat is still hard to believe, but there is still time for them to come to their moral senses. Recently, Ivanka Trump said this, “There is a special place in hell for people who prey on children.” Maybe she should tell that to her father, who doesn’t seem to understand that deplorable is as deplorable does. He continues to show us every day who he is and what he stands for. His support for Judge Roy Moore confirms that he is deplorable. And that’s my take. smithpren@aol.com