The leader of the free world somehow always finds a way to flaunt his narcissistic personality and his outstanding capacity to shift to inconsequential chatter. But United States President Donald Trump’s recent interview on Fox Radio also showed he is ill equipped to make life-and-death decisions, not only for Americans but for the rest of the world.
Earlier on in the interview with host Brian Kilmead, Trump made a general comment on how immigrants were of a different kind from Americans. He made a mental leap from a single case of a naturalized citizen from Sierra Leone attacking a university, to saying those who come to the US from other places are from mental institutions, and are drug dealers and murderers.
“The genetics are not exactly…they’re not exactly your genetic…” he told the host, who was white.
Trump then talked about how mighty the US military had become, thanks to his own efforts, and how they have crippled Iran’s capabilities down to the factories that manufactured missiles. He used the word “beautiful” to describe B2 bombers he had unleashed. Speaking in customary superlatives, he had no shortage of words describing how he was single handedly responsible for the success of this current war, even as he does not exactly know whether the new supreme leader of Iran – the previous ruler died a few days ago as a result of the US attacks – is alive.
“I think he probably is. I think he’s damaged, but I think he’s probably alive in some form, yeah.”
He boasted he did not think the war was going to be long. “But when are you gonna know when it’s over,” Kilmeade asked.
“When I feel it – I feel it in my bones.”
Many people know Trump’s decisions are made almost always on a whim, without the benefit of data-driven guidance, expert opinion, or sound advice. But when a world leader who started this current war that has so far killed numerous civilians in many parts of the world, and that has started to take its toll on the world economy, “feeling it in my bones” is no longer a humane, and human, response.
But wait, there’s more.
Toward the end of the interview, Kilmeade asked Trump whether it was true he asked his Cabinet men to wear the same shoes.
“I have fun with it,” Trump responded, saying he does not like his men wearing sneakers. “When they tell me they have a problem I say, ‘Let me get you a pair of shoes.’ And seems to work out pretty well.”
True enough, there have been photos of his closest aides sporting the same shoes, with State Secretary Marco Rubio doing so even when his pair was clearly too big for him.
Such sycophancy and unquestioning loyalty from enablers have driven strongmen to get away with the reprehensible decisions. And lest we think this mindset is confined to the people around the US leader, we better think again. Let us be wary of people pleasing their idols so bad they would suspend common sense, like wearing ill-fitting shoes, and sound judgment, like carrying out illegal and immoral orders, just to stay on their good side. Idolatry messes with the mind.
