Why Trump is Dangerous: The Final Pitch

Published: November 4, 2016

By Jim Lichtman
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I have written about Republican Presidential Nominee Donald J. Trump for more than a year now. Why?

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His disdain for people and institutions is beyond anything ever seen before. As CEO of Conspiracy Central, his statements range from the bizarre, “…what was [Ted Cruz’s father] doing with Lee Harvey Oswald shortly before the… shooting?,” to the bizarrer: “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.”

During one of the debates, Trump, then claims he never said that:

Clinton: “Donald thinks that climate change is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese…”
Trump: “I did not say that. I did not say that.”

While Hillary Clinton is guilty of using a private email server in her tenure as secretary of state — of which the FBI (as of this writing), has found no indictable evidence; and rumors, mostly from Trump, of “pay-for-play” between Clinton Foundation donors and Secretary Clinton (the meeting with a Moroccan King was made before she was secretary of state or a presidential candidate), never took place — Donald Trump, on the other hand, puts our democracy at enormous risk when he pledges to lock up his political opponent; when, without a shred of evidence, he continues to call a national election “rigged,” and suggests that he won’t respect the final results. All this from a man who actually is facing a civil trial for fraud concerning Trump University.

In putting together a final argument against a man who clearly is the most unqualified and “dangerous” candidate, who “lacks the character and values to be President” (as affirmed in a letter by 50 former National Security Officials, (Aug.) and another signed by 122 GOP National Security leaders, (Mar.) – I thought what more can I say!?

In reviewing the sheer volume of Trump statements, I realized that Trump makes the best case against himself.

Let’s begin with PolitiFact’s top Pants-on-Fire lies by Trump:

“Of course, there is large-scale voter fraud happening on and before Election Day,” October 17, 2016

“[Barack Obama] founded ISIS. I would say the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton,” Aug. 10, 2016

“Hillary Clinton and her campaign of 2008 started the birther controversy,” Sept. 16, 2016

The unemployment rate may be as high as “42 percent,” Sept. 28, 2015

The number of illegal immigrants in the United States is “30 million, it could be 34 million,” July 24, 12015

“The Mexican government …they send the bad ones over,” July 8, 2015

“I watched in Jersey City, N.J., where thousands and thousands of people were cheering” as the World Trade Center collapsed,” Nov. 21, 2015

Says after Clinton helped a man accused of raping a 12-year-old, “she’s seen laughing on two separate occasions, laughing at the girl who was raped,” Oct. 9, 2016

“I was totally against the war in Iraq,” Sept. 7, 2016

Then there’s Trump’s non-release of his tax records. Let’s begin with a YouTube video of an interview Trump gave to an Irish TV channel in 2014.

“If I decide to run for office, I’ll produce my tax returns, absolutely.”

Of course that was more than a year before he decided he would run, and then changed his mind. The Washington Post compiled a list of his excuses for not releasing his taxes. Here are just a few:

Trump: “I’m being audited … so I can’t.” (Repeatedly since February)

Trump: “There’s nothing to learn from them.” (Fact-checkers say this is false.) (FebruaryFebruaryMay, May)

Trump: “Mitt Romney looked like a fool when he delayed and delayed and delayed and … didn’t file until a month and a half before the election and it cost him big league.” (February, July)

Trump: “I don’t think anybody cares.” (Polls show this is false.) (May, September)

Kellyanne Conway, campaign manager: “I just can’t find where this is a burning issue to most of the Americans.” (In April, before joining his campaign, Conway said, “Donald Trump’s tax returns aren’t … transparent” and called for their release.) (September)

Trump: Blames Clinton for fact he doesn’t pay taxes: “A lot of my write-off was depreciation, and that, Hillary as a senator, allowed. The people that give her all this money want it.” (As a senator, Clinton *did* vote to close tax loopholes — including one Trump may have used to pay no federal income taxes.) (October)

The following is my list of Trump’s greatest “hits”:

“I know Hillary and I think she’d make a great president or vice-president.”                — Trump, in a blog post during the 2008 presidential campaign.

“It’s freezing and snowing in New York – we need global warming!,” November 7, 2012

“My IQ is one of the highest, and you all know it! Please don’t feel so stupid or insecure; it’s not your fault,” May 8, 2013

“26,000 unreported sexual assaults [sic] in the military — only 238 convictions. What did these geniuses expect when they put men & women together?,” May, 2013

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people,” June 16, 2015

“The wall will go up and Mexico will start behaving.” — doubling-down on his comments about building a wall at the border between the U.S. and Mexico, from The O’Reilly Factor, June 16, 2015

“I don’t mind apologizing for things. But I can’t apologize for the truth. I said tremendous crime is coming across. Everybody knows that’s true. And it’s happening all the time. So, why, when I mention, all of a sudden I’m a racist. I’m not a racist. I don’t have a racist bone in my body.” — in response to his earlier comments about Mexicans, July 5, 2015

“What can be simpler or more accurately stated? The Mexican Government is forcing their most unwanted people into the United States. They are, in many cases, criminals, drug dealers, rapists, etc.” — tripling-down on his earlier comments about Mexicans, July 6, 2015

“I get called by a guy that can’t buy a pair of pants, I get called names?” — Trump’s comment about paralyzed commentator Charles Krauthammer, July 15, 2015

“He’s not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured, OK, I hate to tell you.” — on Senator John McCain, July 18, 2015

“I’m not sure I have ever asked God’s forgiveness. I don’t bring God into that picture…. When I go to church and when I drink my little wine and have my little cracker, I guess that is a form of forgiveness,” July 18, 2015

“While @BetteMidler is an extremely unattractive woman, I refuse to say that because I always insist on being politically correct,” October 28, 2012

“I think the big problem this country has is being politically correct,” August 6, 2015

“You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever. In my opinion, she was off base.” — regarding FOX News host Megyn Kelly at the Republican presidential debate, August 7, 2015

“Well, that is a ‘gotcha’ question, though. I mean, you know when you’re asking me about who’s running this, this, this… I will be so good at the military, your head will spin.” — Trump’s response to conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt asking him if he knew the difference between Hezbollah and Hamas, the Islamic militant groups based in Lebanon and Palestine, September 3, 2015

“This could be one of the great military coups of all time if they send them to our country — young, strong people and they turn out to be ISIS.  Now, probably that won’t happen, but some of them definitely in my opinion will be ISIS,” October 3, 2015

“They’re going to build a plant and illegals are going to drive those cars right over the border… And they’ll probably end up stealing the cars.” — on car maker Ford’s announcement that they’re building a plant in Mexico, October 21, 2015

“It depends if the mosque is, you know, loaded for bear.” — on closing mosques, October 21, 2015

“An ‘extremely credible source’ has called my office and told me that Barack Obama’s birth certificate is a fraud,” October 21, 2015

“Anytime you see a story about me or my campaign saying ‘sources said,’ DO NOT believe it. There are no sources, they are just made up lies!,” — September 30, 2016

“How stupid are the people of Iowa?,” November 12, 2015

“I watched when the World Trade Center came tumbling down. And I watched in Jersey City, New Jersey, where thousands and thousands of people were cheering as that building was coming down. Thousands of people were cheering.” — Trump overestimates the number of people cheering after 9/11 by thousands and stuck with it even though he knew what he said wasn’t true, November 21, 2015

“We’re losing a lot of people because of the Internet. We have to see Bill Gates and a lot of different people who really understand what’s happening and maybe, in some ways, closing that Internet up in some ways,” December, 2015

“The other thing with the terrorists is you have to take out their families, when you get these terrorists, you have to take out their families,” December 2, 2015

“Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States,” December 7, 2015

“I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters,” January 23, 2016

“I wonder if President Obama would have attended the funeral of Justice Scalia if it were held in a Mosque?,” February 20, 2016

“There has to be some form of punishment.”  – on women who have abortions, March 30, 2016

“Oh, look at my African-American over here. Look at him. Are you the greatest?,” June 6, 2016

“Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don’t want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance. We must be smart!…” — on his prediction of another terrorist attack, June 12, 2016

“…we have to have our Republicans either stick together or let me just do it by myself,” June 15, 2016

“I think profiling is something that we’re going to have to start thinking about as a country,” June 19, 2016

“I know more about ISIS than the generals do, believe me,” July 28, 2016

“Election is being rigged by the media, in a coordinated effort with the Clinton campaign, by putting stories that never happened into news!,” October 16, 2016

“Polls close, but can you believe I lost large numbers of women voters based on made up events THAT NEVER HAPPENED. Media rigging election!,” October 16, 2016

“Watched Saturday Night Live hit job on me. Time to retire the boring and unfunny show. Alec Baldwin portrayal stinks. Media rigging election!,” October 16, 2016

“The election is absolutely being rigged by the dishonest and distorted media pushing Crooked Hillary – but also at many polling places – SAD,” October 16, 2016

“[Hillary Clinton] wants to let people just pour in. You could have 650 million people pour in and we do nothing about it….  You triple the size of our country in a week.” October 30, 2016

THIS  IS  IT, AMERICA!

Do you want an experienced, calm, thoughtful, rational individual, or a shoot-from-the-lip, make-up-whatever-fact-he-wants, irrational, authoritarian know-nothing?

This is a no-brainer.

Coming Monday: What Makes America Great

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