On being … a nostalgic look back?

By Ingrid Sapona

Hard to believe the Trump presidency is less than a month old, isn’t it? From January 1 through the inauguration on the 20^th, I made note of some of the terms I read or heard others use to describe him. (Even in Mexico it was impossible to escape the news of the impending inauguration.) It was an interesting exercise then and reflecting on these descriptions is perhaps even more interesting now.

So, here are some of the words. You’ll note that there are some letters missing (Y and Z, for example) – but, there are so many multiples for some letters (see C, for example), the descriptors more than cover the alphabet.

Keep in mind, these are ways others (journalists and public figures, like George Soros) used to describe him or what they thought his presidency will bring:

A is for: angry; autocrat; acrimonious

B is for: bully; bigoted

C is for: combative; contradictory; contempt; crass; circus, conflict of interest

D is for: disparagement, demonization; disorganized

E is for: erratic

F is for: fact-challenged; flippant

G is for: golden rain (if you don’t know what this is a reference to, don’t feel bad… honestly, it’s just as well …)

H is for: humiliation; hostile

I is for: inflammatory, intemperate; imposter; intimidating; insulting

L is for: lacking filters

M is for: menacing; mocking; master showman

N is for: nasty

O is for: ostentatious

P is for: petty; phoney

R is for: ridiculous

S is for: self-aggrandizing; show biz; science denialist; scorched earth

T is for: tyrant; thin-skinned; temper-tantrum

U is for: unpredictable; unhinged; unpresidential

V is for: volatile; vitriol

X is for: xenophobic

I don’t know about you, but these aren’t exactly the words I’d be looking for in the resume of – or terms I’d expect to see in a recommendation letter of – my ideal candidate for President.

Post Script: As I wrote this, I wondered if some of my readers might have found some of these descriptors harsh, or unfair, or merely sentiments of those whose opinions one might expect reported on by the “liberal media”.  Well, now that we’re just over three weeks into Trumps 208 week (first?) term, I have to say that I think these descriptors are definitely on point – and if anything, perhaps even on the polite side.

One last thing: I promise that I’ll return to a traditional essay format – I won’t be turning On being… into a column of alphabetical lists.

© 2017 Ingrid Sapona