28 juin 2020
Thank you my Seattle friends for forwarding my this opinion.
Article transmis par de précieux amis de Seattle. J’ai tenté dans la seconde partie de la page une traduction de l’analyse de Steve Schmitt, la partie en italique.
Yes, he says (and tweets) things that no past president would ever utter publicly. Yes, he operates without any sort of blueprint or plan, choosing instead to wing it. Yes, he takes credit for everything and blame for nothing. Yes, he has upended decades’ worth of carefully crafted relationships with friends — and enemies — around the world.
But there’s just SO much to say about the radicalness of Trump that it all sort of cancels itself out.
(It reminds me of a Simpsons episode where ancient tycoon Monty Burns decides to get a physical. A set of tests is run. And the doctor informs Burns he is “the sickest man in the entire United States. You have everything.” And yet, Mr. Burns is healthy. Why? Because all of the diseases in his body are jamming each other up as they try to attack his body. “We call it ‘Three Stooges Syndrome,'” the doctor tells Mr. Burns. Watch it here.)
Every once in a while, however, someone is able to break through the clutter — and nail exactly what it is that makes Trump so unorthodox as president. Over the weekend, Steve Schmidt, who ran John McCain’s 2008 campaign for president, was that person in an interview on MSNBC.
Here’s his analysis of Trump, which ran almost exactly two minutes (and special shout-out to CNN’s Allison Gordon for the transcription!):
“Donald Trump has been the worst president this country has ever had. And I don’t say that hyperbolically. He is. But he is a consequential president. And he has brought this country in three short years to a place of weakness that is simply unimaginable if you were pondering where we are today from the day where Barack Obama left office. And there were a lot of us on that day who were deeply skeptical and very worried about what a Trump presidency would be. But this is a moment of unparalleled national humiliation, of weakness.
“When you listen to the President, these are the musings of an imbecile. An idiot. And I don’t use those words to name call. I use them because they are the precise words of the English language to describe his behavior. His comportment. His actions. We’ve never seen a level of incompetence, a level of ineptitude so staggering on a daily basis by anybody in the history of the country whose ever been charged with substantial responsibilities.
“It’s just astonishing that this man is president of the United States. The man, the con man, from New York City. Many bankruptcies, failed businesses, a reality show, that branded him as something that he never was. A successful businessman. Well, he’s the President of the United States now, and the man who said he would make the country great again. And he’s brought death, suffering, and economic collapse on truly an epic scale. And let’s be clear. This isn’t happening in every country around the world. This place. Our place. Our home. Our country. The United States. We are the epicenter. We are the place where you’re the most likely to die from this disease. We’re the ones with the most shattered economy. And we are because of the fool that sits in the Oval Office behind the Resolute Desk.”
Like I said: It’s brutal. But it’s also a decidedly succinct assessment of what Trump’s conduct in office — from coronavirus to protests over police brutality and back — have meant to the Republican Party and the country.
Now, Schmidt is without question a leading voice in the “Never Trump” movement. He is a founder of The Lincoln Project, an effort aimed at beating Trump in November.
But Schmidt is also a lifelong Republican. He worked for Lamar Alexander’s 2000 presidential campaign. He worked on Capitol Hill for Republicans. He served as the communications director of the House GOP’s campaign arm. He helped shepherd Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, to the California governorship. He managed McCain’s campaign.
This is not someone who has had an on-again, off-again relationship with the Republican Party. Schmidt has been partisan fighter for the bulk of his professional life. He has been a Republican for a lot longer than Donald Trump has been one.
And so, while it may be easy for Trump loyalists to dismiss Schmidt’s condemnation of the President, it’s not that simple. Yes, Schmidt is someone who has made no secret of his distaste for Trump. But that doesn’t mean that all of what he says about the President above is wrong. Or should be ignored.
Traduction du coeur de l’article
Cet article a été écrit par un Républicain de longue date, Steve Schmitt. Pour nous français, cela ne veut rien dire, mais Steve Schmitt a été un acteur important dans les campagnes présidentielles de John Mc Cain. Sa voix est entendue dans le parti Républicain, son ariticle mérite d’être lu.
“Donald Trump est, à ce jour, le pire président que ce pays ait jamais eu. Et je ne dis pas cela de façon hyperbolique. Il l’est. Sa présidence porte de lourdes conséquences. En trois années il a amené ce pays à un niveau de faiblesse qui tout simplement inimaginable, en particulier si vous considérez là où nous en sommes, aujourd’hui, depuis le jour où Barack Obama a quitté ses fonctions. Dès le premier jour de la présidence Trump nous étions beaucoup à nous montrer profondément sceptiques et très inquiets de ce que serait une présidence conduite par un tel personnage. Aujourd’hui c’est un moment de humiliation nationale inégalée, de faiblesse.
“Quand vous écoutez le président, ce sont les rêveries d’un imbécile, d’un idiot. Et je n’utilise pas ces mots pour l’insulter. Je les utilise parce que ce sont les mots précis de la langue anglaise pour décrire son comportement, ses actions. Nous n’avons jamais vu un tel niveau d’incompétence, un niveau d’ineptie aussi stupéfiant pointés au quotidien par quiconque dans l’histoire du pays.
“Il est simplement incroyable que cet homme, l”escroc de New York, soit président des États-Unis. A son palmares de nombreuses faillites, des entreprises disparues, une émission de téléréalité qui aura fabriqué l’image comme quelque chose qu’il n’a jamais été : un homme d’affaires prospère. Désormais il est le président des États-Unis poussé par le slogan MAGA (Rendre à l’Amérique sa Grndeur). Il a provoqué la mort, la souffrance et l’effondrement économique à une échelle vraiment épique. Regardons la vérité en face, de tous les pays du monde, chez nous, dans notre pays, notre patrie nous sommes l’épicentre d’un désastre, nous sommesle lieu où vous êtes le plus susceptible de mourir de cette maladie. A cela s’ajoute la catastrophe de l’économie la plus brisée. Et si nous sommes arrivés là, c’est cause de l’imbécile qui se trouve dans le bureau ovale derrière le Resolute Desk. ”
