25 July

One Man’s Truth: Goodbye Mr. Nice Guy. The New Donald Trump Is Here! Are You Sure, Sir?

by Jon Katz

Yesterday, Donald Trump gave me a good laugh – this is unusual –  when he told his cult followers at one of his rallies that there would be no more “Mr. Nice Guy.”

He was taking the gloves off.

No more Mr. Nice Guy? I am sorry to have missed that. Nobody even laughed.

That did get my attention, and I noticed my draw dropping just a little bit.

I’ve often described myself as crazy, but as odd as it seems, I’m feeling saner by the day lately.

I was trying to imagine what it must be like to go to one of those Trump gatherings and listen to his  “niceness” for a few hours now that we will miss it.

Was it when he vowed to build the biggest concentration camp the world has ever known for illegal immigrant refugees?

Or when he promised to throw his political opponents in jail when he takes office? It may be time to build that bunker under the barn.

Will he come to speak near me? Mr. Trump will not come too close to the farm, but I might go and buy a ticket.

I’d love to catch Mr. Trump before he stops being nice and takes the gloves off.

I might also get a couple of those huge red hats for the donkeys—it would keep some flies off their ears.

It’s time to get the kids off to safety and the animals in their barns. The new non-nice Trump is coming, and maybe he will bring tea to some grandmothers and miserable cat ladies before he changes.

At the same time, Trump was tired of being friendly, President Biden gave his sad but finally honest reasons for giving up the ghost.

The softness of his message struck me and what I foolishly thought was the cruelty and rage of Trump’s two-hour rampage in North Carolina.

They are indeed different in their approaches, those fading old men. . Trump sells a lot more hats and sneakers than President Biden ever did.

I lost track of all the names Trump has called people, and I wondered if anyone who knew how to talk without anger and cruelty was left working for him or near him. Surprisingly, he has gotten boring.

Anyone who was “nice” was  either not hired or “dismissed quickly.”

I picture the job interview as beginning with someone foaming at the mouth or showing their Dracula joke teeth. Friendly people are tossed out into the road and blacklisted.

Perhaps he will one day talk about what he wants to do for the country rather than what he demands the government do for him.

He volunteered that he had nearly given his life to democracy and would like to do more. How about moving to South America?

I sincerely feel bad for those real people in those red caps who have been standing out in the heat and cold for hours  listening to him be nice. It’s like watching some songbirds fly into a glass window.

They come with open hearts but are about to get betrayed once more, which is why they loved Donald Trump so much in the first place. They deserve better.

I was interested, as a fellow author, to hear about JD  Vance’s early comments as a Candidate for the United States Senate, calling Democratic women without children “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices they’ve made so they want to make the rest of the country miserable too.”

How nicely put. He can be nice, too.

Tucker Carlson, the Fox News  TV host JD was trying to impress, nearly wet himself laughing. Nice begets nice.

Wow, I could never have gotten away with being that nice on one of my book tours. ( I fantasized tossing one of my dog books at an older  childless audience member who loved her dogs and then spitting on him or her.)

I’d like to know if Vance has also stopped being nice. Imagine how pleasant it would be to listen to these two excellent candidates for four more years.

No wonder Mr. Trump chose Vance. He wanted somebody to counter his niceness.

 I have learned from this.

I am resolved to be nicer to people than I have been, although listening to the Trump Ex Nice Choir makes me feel good about myself. I gulp, wondering if I had become one of those men I keep hearing about.

I looked up the dictionary meaning of nice to see what the Trump I’ve missing has been like:

I found that “nice” is defined as “pleasing, agreeable, delightful,” while “kind” is defined as “having, showing, or proceeding from benevolence.”

This difference explains why we use “nice” but not “kind” to describe things other than people and how they treat each other. I’m texting this to Mr. Trump.

So far, Kamala Harris’s instincts are good. Donald Trump, who is never quite in control of his emotions, is coming unglued.

He is spending too much time at those grotesque rallies and too little time talking to friendly and kind people.

There are many of them, and I enjoy talking to them, having dinner with them, and listening to them.

The smart money says that Trump will fall apart under a skillful assault by a powerful woman; this is a new challenge for the older, meaner Donald Trump, who seems to get meaner day by day.

I can’t wait for his farewell speech.

When I meet someone new, I always ask myself if I could picture myself having lunch or dinner with them.

I don’t think I’d invite any of the grumpy white men Mr. Trump loves to surround himself with. I don’t think he would offer me a job. Whew.

If the “nice” Trump returns, we may have lunch at Jean’s Cafe in Hoosick Falls, New York. He has a lot of followers there.

 

10 Comments

  1. I know a couple of childless cat ladies who are Trump Supporters. I wonder if this will be the final straw. I listened to that talk as well and I felt slimed afterwards. I can’t imagine what it must feel like to have Trump as your personal savior. I hope they truly find salvation following a road of kindness and empathy whatever their political persuasions are.

  2. Wow! I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many “One Man’s Truth” posts in such a short period of time. Keep ’em coming! The times call for a more clear eyed perspective than what we get from the major media companies. Nice touch, too, interspersing your commentary with your beautiful flower pictures and life on the farm. Keeps it all in perspective. Thank you!

  3. You gave me a good laugh, Jon. It’s nice to be able to laugh sometimes during this miserable situation.

  4. You’d think a close brush with death, especially a violent death, might change a person’s attitude – make him contemplate his choices in life – do some introspection. I guess Trump did that and decided he was just being too darn nice. And look where it got him. Thanks for the laugh, Jon. You’re good at this.

  5. I absolutely love this post.. Your article about Kamala Harris is the best. Your article about “nice” Mr. Trump is equally good. I have never been on Tic Tok. Today I am going to visit the site.
    One of the highlights of the day are the photos of your farm. I especially love your animals. The donkeys are precious.

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