General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBREAKING: President Trump walks ahead of King Charles, breaking royal protocol.
Last edited Wed Sep 17, 2025, 11:30 AM - Edit history (1)
Link to tweet
Link to tweet
Link to tweet
trump has done this before
Link to tweet

dalton99a
(90,765 posts)Moostache
(10,842 posts)Main character syndrome isnt a medical diagnosis, but its a term thats quickly piqued curiosity online and social media over the last few years. Main character syndrome is defined by a series of behaviors in which you see yourself as the main character in the story of your life. You are the protagonist and everyone else is often a sidekick or a villain. You often see yourself as the most important person in the room, and you act according to the narrative of your plot however you define it.
3catwoman3
(27,932 posts)
wedding, the baby at every baptism, and the corpse at every funeral.
I think this is what Alice Roosevelt Longworth said about her Uncle Teddy.
niyad
(127,889 posts)3catwoman3
(27,932 posts)during a road trip (Im not the one driving).
niyad
(127,889 posts)and someone said something to him about controlling Alice's behaviour, he responded with "I can control Alice, or I can run the Navy. I cannot do both." (slight paraphrase) I wish I could have known her. She died in 1980, age 86.
3catwoman3
(27,932 posts)niyad
(127,889 posts)Various forms of that quote attributed to her, quoted also in "Steel Magnolias".
Cha
(315,020 posts)show.
TomSlick
(12,756 posts)Trueblue1968
(18,841 posts)OLDMDDEM
(2,818 posts)NCDem47
(3,138 posts)Johnny2X2X
(23,504 posts)Maybe the one thing I agree with that Trump has ever done.
The royal family and their protocols are bullshit.
newdeal2
(4,337 posts)Hes just being his usual nasty self.
pcdb
(67 posts)niyad
(127,889 posts)And, wiithout confirmation, citatons, etc., why should I believe some unknown-to-me individual on leon skum's platform?
Intractable
(1,325 posts)Ocelot II
(127,765 posts)ReRe
(12,087 posts)And I agree with them.
BaronChocula
(3,558 posts)the insults we label as vulgar and coarse
are the ones they use as normal course
You know what I'm talkin' about.
ReRe
(12,087 posts)Ocelot II
(127,765 posts)a president is expected to observe them as a matter of simple courtesy - just as King Charles would observe our protocols when visiting the US.
OLDMDDEM
(2,818 posts)Torchlight
(5,890 posts)Problem solved, and no one throws a tantrum.
GusBob
(8,023 posts)YOU own it everytime
As They say in England, "In for a penny, in for pound"
Omnipresent
(7,232 posts)
mwooldri
(10,738 posts)They are born into public service, they die in public service. They know it. We know it. They stay out of politics (for the most part, though we know they do have their pet issues like the environment and such). It's a soft power they have. Prime ministers come and go and parties switch places. But the one constant is the Royal Family.
I would not want to see the UK become a Republic. Though Parliament has the power to do this at any time it wants.
It's a system that works. Mostly. As Americans used to say "if it ain't broke don't fix it".
ReRe
(12,087 posts)BaronChocula
(3,558 posts)I'll just add:
"If I break it, Biden owns it."
soldierant
(9,040 posts)As in any family, they are not all equally good or equally talented. But they are brought up to do their best, and to work for the nation. Those pet issues that they work on help Parliament in getting things done, thus saving the state money. When Charles was the Prince Royal, one of his pet issues was conserving historical buildings. An Antiques Roadshow UK spinoff had him on as a guest and got him to speak about this. It's not surprising they really appreciated his work. And whatever he may be like in private, he had enough manners to not appear arrogant. Imagine that.
JI7
(92,801 posts)Ocelot II
(127,765 posts)We have our own problems, and they are much bigger (and much more orange) than Britain's antiquated royal ceremonies, which they mostly seem to enjoy. They have a constitutional monarchy (like many other European countries, including "socialist" Scandinavia) which gives the monarch very little actual power. He's their symbol, a kind of mascot. We, on the other hand, somehow managed to elect a malevolent doofus who thinks he's a king and strives for the kind of power Charles doesn't have, and that his predecessors haven't had for centuries (the first Charles was executed by Parliament for treason).
Response to Johnny2X2X (Reply #3)
Bev54 This message was self-deleted by its author.
Bev54
(12,957 posts)stopdiggin
(14,500 posts)and a crass embarrassment.
No - this is intentional, and deliberate, disrespect. (in full view, at state function .. )
(And this- along with some other deliberate fuckery - is why our allies - are coming to loath the US! Don't think that is going to eventually redound on the country and people that inhabit .. ? Good luck with that!)
(Would that your feelings on the subject - and the deliberate disrespect - be enacted against the likes of Putin, or Kim, or Orban, or Maduro, or other dangerous thugs where the slights might actually bear some weight or meaning ... But, no .. lets give the poor old queen the back of our hand ...)
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Bluetus
(1,673 posts)Last edited Wed Sep 17, 2025, 03:01 PM - Edit history (1)
We have a war criminal actively participating to maintain genocides in Gaza and Ukraine. We have a traitor who has stolen classified information and most likely sold it to our enemies. We have a sex trafficker, especially concentrating on procuring young girls for rich and powerful people. We have a dictator commanding "his" army to take up arms against the people. We have a dictator illegally shutting down programs properly appropriated by Congress.
And some people are concerned about walking in front of an otherwise irrelevant person of "royalty" according to some ridiculous medieval customs that should have ended a millennium ago?
niyad
(127,889 posts)demonstrated lofty egalitarian principles, nevertheless, there are standards of behaviour that heads of state, their representatives, etc., observe when they are GUESTS in another country. We even have a Chief of Protocol office in the White House, the function of which is to try to ensure that our representaives do not insult the host country and its people, or make blooming arses out of themselves. Their job is to see that our representatives do not reinforce the view that others have of the "ugly american", a type that I saw far too often.
For you to find his boorish, crass, rude, egotistical behaviour acceptable, to defend it, is disappointing, to say the least. His disgusting behaviour is NOT something insignificant, it is part of his whole sick, twisted, destructive, hate-filled mindset.
Given your defense of boorish crassness in visitors, I would be curious to know how you behave when you visit other countries.
Bluetus
(1,673 posts)and probably an INTENTIONAL one pushed by the right wing.
There are 1000 things we should be a lot more focused on.
niyad
(127,889 posts)niyad
(127,889 posts)of things in the same time frame, and assessing their relative importance.
Oeditpus Rex
(42,951 posts)As in "over everything else"?
Hardly. We just added it to the very long list.
Bluetus
(1,673 posts)This can't possibly be on the top 100 Trump sins list.
Oeditpus Rex
(42,951 posts)I see this as just another of tens of thousands of "The ignorant bastard fucked up again." It'll be forgotten by tomorrow. Meanwhile, many of the "top 100" will take weeks, months, even years to play out.
Nobody's thinking of this as the most egrigious fuck-up The Felon will make today, this week or this month. We're simply rolling our eyes once again at his ignorance or utter lack of concern for the societal rules we all know and, for the most part, follow.
Bluetus
(1,673 posts)Last edited Thu Sep 18, 2025, 09:51 PM - Edit history (1)
I have no doubt it was intentional. He is, more than anything else, a full-time bully. He has never given a shit about laws, protocols, customs, politeness or any of that. He sees all of that as signs of weakness. The word grace means nothing to him.
As I see it, fixating on this only helps him, because he WANTS people to take note of the fact that he can bully people like this.
Torchlight
(5,890 posts)I don't see mocking trump as "getting uspet", but our definitions of tantrum most likely differ.
FakeNoose
(39,003 posts)Chump is a complete ass with no couth. He thinks he's being cool, or whatever. Showing off to the peasants.
You know what? I think his real reason for doing this he can't walk slow alongside anybody.
Because whenever he does he has an "episode" in his diaper.
vanlassie
(6,159 posts)Europeans are already loosening their talk about America. Theres plenty of resentment stored over many years.
Cirsium
(3,032 posts)Trump thinks he is the king. That is why he rudely upstages others. You are OK with that?
Trump doesn't follow any protocols, any rules, any laws, any norms. He is not making a statement about British royalty.
GoneOffShore
(17,926 posts)niyad
(127,889 posts)because you don't like the royals? How do you behave when you go to another country?
Cha
(315,020 posts)
viva la
(4,337 posts)It is common courtesy. The king has it.
The Ugly American doesn't.
This is an ally-- one of our closest global friends. Trump has alienated just about every ally we have while kowtowing to Putin and that little tubby tyrant Kim.
I wish the king or that cute beefeater would have tripped Trump. Accidentally of course!
Cha
(315,020 posts)Fuck the Despot
no_hypocrisy
(53,423 posts)Turbineguy
(39,512 posts)irisblue
(36,256 posts)Turbineguy
(39,512 posts)We Eat This Shit Up.
irisblue
(36,256 posts)Clouds Passing
(6,148 posts)bucolic_frolic
(52,795 posts)Nope.
llmart
(16,957 posts)niyad
(127,889 posts)to, and many do not want to see our alliance trashed.
Attilatheblond
(7,491 posts)then open the door, toss in an airline cracker package, and say "See ya, asshole"
Loryn
(1,035 posts)Predictable, but somehow not surprising.
snowybirdie
(6,394 posts)welcome he got this morning, he thinks he's King! Looks,like all that pomp and circumstance is backfiring on England
Emile
(38,292 posts)William Seger
(11,897 posts)Marcuse
(8,700 posts)
LetMyPeopleVote
(171,403 posts)
Botany
(75,563 posts)And he did the same damn thing w/Queen Elizabeth too. The man has the class of a rats ass.
Ocelot II
(127,765 posts)He did it to the Queen last time too; he knows better but he's a pig.
Raven123
(7,155 posts)Botany
(75,563 posts)
Dulcinea
(9,295 posts)...I kept waiting for her to hit him with her purse & tell him to not act like a rube.
stopdiggin
(14,500 posts)And particularly after he caused a similar (perhaps greater uproar) when he did exactly the same thing - in exactly the same setting - to the much beloved queen.
No - this is intentional, and deliberate, disrespect.
(And this- along with some other deliberate fuckery - is why our allies - are coming to loath the US! Don't think that is going to eventually redound on the country and people that inhabit .. ? Good luck with that!)
LetMyPeopleVote
(171,403 posts)Dr. Shepper
(3,190 posts)So this makes me lol chuckle.
DURHAM D
(32,949 posts)C_U_L8R
(48,281 posts)Or as the ignoramus says it a total disgrace
Horse with no Name
(34,198 posts)The world should treat him as such.
ReRe
(12,087 posts)to see him stumble and fall flat on his orange face and lose whatever that is on the top of his head.
maddiemom
(5,149 posts)it's such a relief after all the years of the ridiculous comb- (over) forward. Sometimes the camera would catch him at a certain angle, other than straight on, and you realized how silly he must look in person. If he's so ashamed of his real appearance, he should have shaved his head like so many today, or just got a decent hairpiece to begin with.
ReRe
(12,087 posts)If he shaved it all off, he would be no Telly Savalas.
mahatmakanejeeves
(67,074 posts)Once we had knocked out the RAF at Valley Forge, it was pretty much all over.
And good morning.
irisblue
(36,256 posts)
VTderry
(52 posts)* sneak-peek of a future chapter in Dear Leader Trump's Big Beautiful Book of Best American History, the required textbook in all K-12 classrooms beginning in 2026, per the Dept of Reeducation.
mahatmakanejeeves
(67,074 posts)being doled out in U.S. gallons, not Imperial gallons. Their school systems were spending time on lesbian dance theory rather than readin', 'ritin', and 'rithmetic. Hence the pilots ran out in mid-air.
Yankee ingenuity.
sop
(16,454 posts)Heidi
(58,843 posts)GopherGal
(2,645 posts)to the extent I even let that POS bother me anymore.
For an egalitarian-leaning democrat such as myself, his walking in front of a foreign king is nowhere near as gross as barging in front of a frail nonagenarian woman (regal or not)
llmart
(16,957 posts)I seem to remember something about how he got out of the vehicle and just started walking leaving her behind.
FoxNewsSucks
(11,357 posts)first official visit, when the Obamas did the right thing and followed custom.
MF45 got out of the car, and walked off without Melanomia, leaving her to carry the gift.
We really had no idea how bad shit would get, even then.
ReRe
(12,087 posts)As opposed to his coldness by leaving her behind.
FoxNewsSucks
(11,357 posts)but she turned out to be just as shitty as MF45
ReRe
(12,087 posts)and she doesn't mind. I'll leave it at that.
llmart
(16,957 posts)I can't begin to tell you how much I miss having that wonderful Obama family in our White House.
Heidi
(58,843 posts)because its all about his ego everywhere, all the time.
FakeNoose
(39,003 posts)But Chump was never taught any manners or discipline, nor does he care about anyone else's comfort.
He's just a horse's ass.
maddiemom
(5,149 posts)Solly Mack
(95,847 posts)bucolic_frolic
(52,795 posts)and governments.
58Sunliner
(6,153 posts)drmeow
(5,797 posts)on his last visit.
mnhtnbb
(32,922 posts)irisblue
(36,256 posts)walkingman
(9,968 posts)sinkingfeeling
(56,562 posts)pandr32
(13,511 posts)
BoRaGard
(7,591 posts)as usual
Freddie
(9,974 posts)ananda
(33,610 posts)He did say so before.
And now he is.
surfered
(9,771 posts)ReRe
(12,087 posts)LeftInTX
(34,006 posts)Last edited Wed Sep 17, 2025, 12:29 PM - Edit history (1)
traveler50
(16 posts)He has never respected another human being. Why would he start now.
jmbar2
(7,372 posts)Walking side-by-side with the biggest hat. Bwahahahaha.....
littlemissmartypants
(30,173 posts)Who wants to be seen in public with a convicted felon pedophile?
kimbutgar
(26,246 posts)Treated the queen the same way.
moniss
(8,178 posts)about him getting a horse drawn carriage ride that it was apropos for horseshit to be hauled around by horses.
ReRe
(12,087 posts)











FakeNoose
(39,003 posts)When Chump was visiting the Royal Family during his first term, he wanted to ride in the Golden Carriage. He specifically asked for THAT carriage, even though it's only reserved for the Royal Family. They only use it for coronations and specific state occasions.
The answer Chump received was, "No sorry, it's in the shop being repaired now."
Link: https://www.rct.uk/visit/the-royal-mews-buckingham-palace/the-gold-state-coach
maddiemom
(5,149 posts)Surely not, but what a great speculation! I hope he's not planning on having the Beast made over to copy it.
FakeNoose
(39,003 posts)I know that Chump didn't get invited to ride in the Royal Golden Carriage. The Windsor family stood firm on that.
Dave Id
(190 posts)Surely the King of England is supposed to walk behind the king of the world.
Mark.b2
(652 posts)In the lead paragraph:
Donald Trump received a stunning gesture from King Charles at the start of his historic second UK state visit when the monarch invited him to walk ahead of him during his ceremonial welcome.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15106071/donald-trump-melania-uk-state-visit-king-charles-windsor.html
Curious, I googled the King and Biden inspecting troops when Biden visited in 2023. Biden walked in front, too.
My guess is Charles doesnt care and is being a gracious host to an important ally.
No, I doubt Queen Elizabeth took the same attitude, and Trump was just being Trump.
Anyway, Im not getting my panties in a bunch on this one.
markodochartaigh
(4,330 posts)Queen Elizabeth looks to me like she is motioning him to walk, maybe because he doesn't know when to start, he starts walking and just kind of drifts, probably from a lack of attention, in front of her. Then she has to decide where to walk knowing that if he tripped he would surely crush her flat.
Bernardo de La Paz
(59,595 posts)LetMyPeopleVote
(171,403 posts)niyad
(127,889 posts)the murderous scum.
Duppers
(28,441 posts)Glad I've already told my friends on that side of the pond that I cannot stand Trump.
malaise
(290,151 posts)Rebl2
(17,095 posts)He did the same with the Queen. He has no manners and doesnt care to learn protocol.
I have no idea why the King would invite him to the UK knowing what a disrespectful person he is.
Grim Chieftain
(707 posts)on every single level.
LetMyPeopleVote
(171,403 posts)Doodley
(11,444 posts)vapor2
(3,249 posts)NO respect for anyone
SpankMe
(3,614 posts)But, he willfully proffers disrespect toward them.
Kali
(56,493 posts)
such a goon, but this time everyone knows what to expect from the asshole.
not fooled
(6,489 posts)Apparently he smells bad. I wonder whether he will stink up the palace.
maddiemom
(5,149 posts)Remember the "disgrace" of Michele's bare ARMS?
Kali
(56,493 posts)as for mel's dress - to me the design was not that bad, but the colors...
Mblaze
(822 posts)Could power New York City.
Martin68
(26,545 posts)Irish_Dem
(76,262 posts)He has been briefed on protocol.
He does it because there is only one star of the show and that is himself.
And it is a big FU to the UK and British people.
I AM MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR KING.
AND THERE IS NOT A DAMN THING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT.
Silent Type
(11,458 posts)CoopersDad
(3,244 posts)Ewww!
barbtries
(30,832 posts)he did it to his mother. he pushed people out of the way during a NATO summit. he's a cretin.
Initech
(106,544 posts)
LetMyPeopleVote
(171,403 posts)US President Donald Trump has left members of the British public livid after committing a "cringe-worthy" mistake during his meeting with the Royal Family
Link to tweet
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/donald-trump-blasted-disrespecting-king-32494754
Viewers flocked to X to slam the faux pas, with one asking: "Trump walking in front of the King. Is that normal?" A second said: "I see Trump is walking in front of the King. Very cringe." Meanwhile, a third added: "Trump is walking in front of the King. Power move biggly."
As this commenter pointed out, it isn't the first time President Trump has been accused of disrespecting the British monarchy. During his last UK visit, he angered the public by stepping in front of the late Queen and blocking her from cameras.
At the time, one individual commented: "This is just a great depiction of who Donald Trump is. He cares only for himself." Meanwhile, others branded the US leader as "rude and vulgar".
niyad
(127,889 posts)Anybody remember that G-7 photo op, where he shoved everyone out of his way to get to thebfrint?
Jilly_in_VA
(13,284 posts)Obviously never taught manners, at home or anywhere else.
not fooled
(6,489 posts)but in reality he just embarrasses himself on the world stage.
republianmushroom
(21,658 posts)Autumn
(48,448 posts)to him. That cretin has no respect for anyone.
lonely bird
(2,577 posts)I am getting tired of waiting for a big grabber or stroke to do its job.
SamuelTheThird
(329 posts)Trump is obviously worse, but the concept of royalty is repugnant.
NoMoreRepugs
(11,670 posts)whatever he feels like doing at that moment in time.
kwolf68
(8,146 posts)gonna do national disgrace things. This man is a fetid waste of oxygen.
live love laugh
(15,984 posts)WestMichRad
(2,708 posts)
a member of the royal guard pushing out a leg and tripping him, so we can all enjoy seeing him fall flat on his face.
Trueblue1968
(18,841 posts)Blue Owl
(57,640 posts)eppur_se_muova
(40,309 posts)dem4decades
(13,208 posts)Time the world gets in line.
Norrrm
(3,147 posts)reACTIONary
(6,744 posts).... the royals eat cake.
LetMyPeopleVote
(171,403 posts)trump is being laughed at by the King's staff
Link to tweet
https://www.rawstory.com/king-charles-trump/
Courtiers at Windsor Castle a home to Great Britain's King Charles are reportedly joking that Trump wants to avoid leaving stains on the royal bedding from tanning chemicals.
The courtier's theory was shared with the Daily Mail in a report Tuesday as Trump started his first full day of the United Kingdom visit.....
"The president's aides, inspecting his suite in Windsor Castle before his arrival, provided housekeepers with bedding. A courtier muses that it may just be the President not wanting to stain the royal pillows with whatever tanning chemicals he uses to keep his orange hue.
"Below-stairs wags, noting that Melania has a separate suite, joke that if she'd asked for a water bed she could effortlessly drift apart from Donald."
viva la
(4,337 posts)and then walk so erratically that he almost knocked her down
This man has no respect for anyone.
democrank
(11,835 posts)Something like .When youre a star they let you do it.
Buddyzbuddy
(1,685 posts)Figarosmom
(9,080 posts)His king that HE SERVES and let trump wonder around on his own.
Charles made the right decision to keep this visit within the walls of the estate without the public. Let the guy walk on the lawn and have a parade around the driveway, a meal and send him home.
republianmushroom
(21,658 posts)King Charles, he is just an colossal arrogant fuck up.
czarjak
(13,238 posts)republianmushroom
(21,658 posts)Gimpyknee
(903 posts)Sorry to inform all protestors here but Royal Protocol allows for visiting world leaders to take the lead when inspecting the Royal Guard. Took all of less than 30 seconds to find the facts on Google. Newsweek reported it correctly.
underpants
(193,482 posts)But a royal source told Newsweek it is protocol for the visiting head of state to always go first.
Jilly_in_VA
(13,284 posts)unmannerly, piggish, uncouth....need I say more?
Rob H.
(5,729 posts)Imagine being stuck walking behind a lumbering buffoon emitting a miasma of scents like dirty diapers, bronzer, B.O, and meat sweats.
Response to LetMyPeopleVote (Original post)
Name removed Message auto-removed
Bluestocking
(339 posts)They are just two sick dying old men.
niyad
(127,889 posts)Bluestocking
(339 posts)The other is a wannabe King
Gary 50
(470 posts)Maybe he would remember it the next time.
BlueTsunami2018
(4,686 posts)I dont know why anyone would be shocked by this.
As idiotic as the idea of royal people are, observing protocol when youre a guest in another country is the least you can do diplomatically.
Of course Piss is a boorish ogre. Thats what he does.
Gimpyknee
(903 posts)I frankly find it embarrassing that so many here jumped on the bandwagon and ranted about Trump without knowing the policy in regards to heads of states royal visits and inspection of the Royal Guard. DU people should be better than this.
MIButterfly
(1,488 posts)Unbelievable, but not really unbelievable. I would never expect anything better out of him.
😕
dlk
(12,980 posts)A know-nothing, to be sure.
He followed Royal Protocol on that visit as well. Check out Macrons state visit. OMG!!! He walked ahead of King Charles too!
lastlib
(26,868 posts)What a disgusting disrespectful piece of work that basturd is!
Xipe Totec
(44,410 posts)Gimpyknee
(903 posts)Biden walked ahead of King George when he inspected a Color Guard during his royal visit. And brace yourselves, Obama walked ahead of then, Prince Charles III too during a similar inspection. Its an honor afforded by Royal Protocol. Responders here need to get over it.
Callie1979
(967 posts)Gimpyknee
(903 posts)Callie1979
(967 posts)If its factual info the jury doesnt like! I could name a few things but then I'd get one!
Ridiculous but true.
Torchlight
(5,890 posts)FiveFifteen
(57 posts)Buffoon.
YoshidaYui
(44,601 posts)This is what a bully asshole would do.
Jack Valentino
(3,615 posts)including Jesus Christ, if he ever cares to come back here..... !!!
'we fought two wars so that we wouldn't have to listen to the fucking British'
~ from The Pentagon Wars
Yeah, he violated protocol-----
but Trump is about the last person on earth whom I would expect
to be educated on such protocol---
and his sychophants are the last I would expect to have
educated him about such things---
At least he didn't kill anyone in this instance
(and we have a lot bigger things to worry about!)
So Trump was 'clueless'--- yes, very predictable----
And his wife can't sleep in the same bedroom with his shitty stench---
ALSO predictable
pat_k
(12,058 posts)Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem.
For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed.
So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trumps limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief.
Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing not once, ever.
I dont say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman.
But with Trump, its a fact. He doesnt even seem to understand what a joke is his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty.
Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers.
And scarily, he doesnt just talk in crude, witless insults he actually thinks in them. His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness.
There is never any under-layer of irony, complexity, nuance or depth. Its all surface.
Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront.
Well, we dont. We see it as having no inner world, no soul.
And in Britain we traditionally side with David, not Goliath. All our heroes are plucky underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist.
Trump is neither plucky, nor an underdog. He is the exact opposite of that.
Hes not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedy fat-cat.
Hes more a fat white slug. A Jabba the Hutt of privilege.
And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully.
That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a snivelling sidekick instead.
There are unspoken rules to this stuff the Queensberry rules of basic decency and he breaks them all. He punches downwards which a gentleman should, would, could never do and every blow he aims is below the belt. He particularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless and he kicks them when they are down.
So the fact that a significant minority perhaps a third of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people, given that:
Americans are supposed to be nicer than us, and mostly are.
You dont need a particularly keen eye for detail to spot a few flaws in the man.
This last point is what especially confuses and dismays British people, and many other people too; his faults seem pretty bloody hard to miss.
After all, its impossible to read a single tweet, or hear him speak a sentence or two, without staring deep into the abyss. He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of shit. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum.
God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid.
He makes Nixon look trustworthy and George W look smart.
In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws he would make a Trump.
And a remorseful Doctor Frankenstein would clutch out big clumpfuls of hair and scream in anguish:
My God what have I created?
If being a twat was a TV show, Trump would be the boxed set.
The Third Doctor
(445 posts)At first you can argue that it MIGHT be a goof. This was deliberate. In the kings own country too.
LetMyPeopleVote
(171,403 posts)niyad
(127,889 posts)marble falls
(68,901 posts)... born an asshole, living an asshole, he'll die a consummate asshole.