Better than almost anyone
Yesterday Trump talked to a law enforcement conference in DC yesterday, and seized the opportunity to set the assembled law enforcement people straight about the law.
Trump kicked off his remarks by reading out loud the Immigration and Nationality Act, the law that gives the president authority to stop the flow of classes of aliens entering the U.S. The Trump administration has used that law as its legal standing for a controversial order temporarily banning all immigrants from seven Muslim-majority nations, a policy that created mass chaos at America’s airports and drew criticism even from some Republicans.
“It’s sad, I think it’s a sad day. I think our security is at risk today. And it will be at risk until such time as we are entitled and get what we are entitled to as citizens of this country,” Trump said. “It was done for the security of our nation. The security of our citizens. So that people come in who aren’t going to do us harm. And that’s why it was done. And it couldn’t have been written any more precisely. It’s not like, ‘Oh gee, we wish it were written better.’ It’s written beautifully.”
Whoa, go easy with the technical language there, dude, have a little compassion for us non-experts.
Despite the prior rulings against him, Trump argued Wednesday that the law is clearly and unequivocally in his favor. But his order could still be undone by constitutional concerns, which would supersede what is written in the statute, if courts find that Trump’s action was done for improper religious reasons or deprives individuals of legitimate rights without due process.
“You could be a lawyer, or you don’t have to be a lawyer. If you were a good student in high school or a bad student in high school, you can understand this, and it’s really incredible to me that we have a court case that’s going on so long,” Trump told his audience. “I was a good student. I understand things. I comprehend very well, OK? Better than, I think, almost anybody. And I want to tell you, I listened to a bunch of stuff last night on television that was disgraceful. It was disgraceful because what I just read to you is what we have. And it just can’t be written any plainer or better and for us to be going through this.”
Did you see it? I’ll play it again, with emphasis.
I was a good student. I understand things. I comprehend very well, OK? Better than, I think, almost anybody.
That’s one of those instant self-undermining things. Nobody who “understands things” would ever say that in a million years. Nobody. Nobody who had the most minimal understanding of how the world works would ever claim to have more cognitive firepower than “almost anybody.” Making that claim neatly demonstrates its own falsity.
And he doesn’t. He doesn’t comprehend anything.
He doesn’t understand, for instance, that the fact that he can understand the wording of a law does not mean that there is no room left for hearings and appeals. He doesn’t understand that that’s not how the law works. He doesn’t understand anything.
Plus, he does not understand that this particular audience is somewhat selected for understanding these complex matters in the first place. Maybe that’s why he bends over backwards to use such over-simplified language, talking down to experts in the feild (hopefully)? Or maybe he is just blinded by his own brillince again? And who can blam him, really?
I have a hypothesis. I think that a lot of Trump’s presentations are not for the people who are actually sitting in front of him. I think his words are intended primarily for his base. The people there certainly know much better than he does or ever will, but they are polite enough not to interrupt him and call him out on his bullshit. The fact that they don’t scores Trump points with his fans because it shows that he is telling these experts how things are. If ” silence means consent,” then these experts (whether it’s CENTCOM or law enforcement) must agree with him. It would be interesting to see what would happen if someone at one of these gatherings of highly trained experts were to call his bluff and say out loud that the emperor has no clothes.
Your hypothesis seems to fit the data.
Oh sure. He’s talking to himself, and thus to his base. That much is obvious enough. But given the nature of his self and his base…that still leaves us where we were. He’s carrying on like an angry petulant narcissistic imbecile, and that’s not good for the country as a whole, or indeed for the world.
I rather think it’s a perfect example of the Dunning-Krueger effect. A total lack of insight into ones ignorance.
Race to base … sad!
When can we see him hit the ground flailing? And actually HIT the ground? It’s been three weeks folks! Come on.
I think he probably is talking to his base, but…he thinks everyone is his base. Anyone who says otherwise is just FAKE NEWS and SAD. He just shoots off his mouth and assumes he has said something so brilliant that no one can dispute it; anyone who does is just a hater.
I think one of the real differences between Trump and Dubya, and it’s crucial, is that, like it or not, Dubya thought of himself as president of all the people. He might dismiss liberal thought, and so forth, but he did not dismiss the reality that liberals and others who disagreed with him were part of the country. He just thought we were wrong, and probably thought we were stupid.
Trump honestly believes that he is the president only of those who voted for him, and the rest of us are fake Americans. We aren’t American at all, we are unAmerican, we are even anti-American. He doesn’t have to consider us, because we do not count. For him, we are fleas on fleas on fleas.
Dad sat down next to Billy, who was still crying.
“Look,” he said. “I know you’re mad at me for taking away the wings, the ones you and your friend Skippy made out of newspaper and feathers. You think I’m wrong when I say you can’t just jump off the roof with those wings and fly. Sure, your Old Man doesn’t know everything, I admit that. But look. I was a good student. I understand things. I comprehend very well, OK? Better than, I think, almost anybody. Better than anybody you know. Better than Skippy. And more than you. I’m sorry. But no wings.”
Then he smiled. “Turkey legs?”
Billy jumped up eagerly. “Let’s go!”
This just in:
That sentence leapt out at me too. He reminds me again and again of the idiotic braggarts from Billy Madison, the O’Doyle family.