In one of her recent New York Times' columns, Michelle Cottle pointed out that our former president, Donald J. Trump, was "refusing to put on his big-boy pants." The comment was based on Trump's refusal to debate his Republican Party opponents (last night, on the Fox television network). Cottle went out of her way to denounce Trump's effort at counter-programming - namely, Trump's interview with Tucker Carlson, scheduled to compete with the official Republican Party debate.
I didn't remember having heard that "Big Boy Pants" charge before, and I thought the phrase was pretty appropriate. As it turns out, Cottle wasn't the first person to make that accusation. Way back in November 2020, the Mayor of Philadelphia told the nation that our then-president's refusal to admit that he lost the 2020 election proved that the president wasn't willing to accept the decision of the voters. Indeed, as we now know, he never was, and still isn't.
I am hoping (and it may well be a "fond hope") that everyone will now "get the picture," given that the Republican Party's official debate has come and gone - with our former president not participating. A person who is unwilling to face up to those running against him for public office is someone who is not willing to "put on his big-boy pants," and any such person is definitely not a person that anyone should want to be in charge of the Executive Branch of our national government.
Yesterday, I referred to "Rich Men North of Richmond" as a "song of resentment." I think that was an accurate statement of what this incredibly popular song is all about.
Our "resentments," generally, are related to the fact that things aren't the way we'd like them to be. Don't we all have them? I know that I have a few complaints about the realities I see, as I look around. Still, as common as an impulse towards resentment may be, a person who is governed by abiding resentments about how things have gone should not be put into elected office. Our government has to begin with a recognition of the truth.
Let's hope that voters do get the message and "get the picture." We absolutely must not elevate into the presidency a person who refuses to admit, and deal with, the "unacceptable" realities that are, oftentimes, what we must deal with, like them or not.
If I am right that those operating on the basis of "resentment," instead of reality, are not suitable for elected office, then that means that Donald J. Trump should never, again, be elected to any office whatsoever.
Last night, we just had another demonstration of just how true that is: Trump will never put on his "Big Boy Pants."
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