Someone, possibly James Vicary, advised The Donald in the skills of subliminal advertising. Someone, perhaps Lucifer, illuminated The Donald to the art of alliteration. Someone, most probably his McCarthy era lawyer, Roy Marcus Cohn, taught The Donald to lie until he won.

Consider the name Trump. We all know what a trump card does in a euchre game … it wins! Consider the sounds of the words tremendous and terrific. If you are The Donald, your ego just has to love those “t” and “r” sounds. Why was Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau the only other politician mentioned by name in “so-called” president Trump’s recent address to Congress?

Two reasons. First, associate yourself closely with the most popular politician in the world and maybe some of that world class veneer will rub off on you; and secondly, his name begins with “Tr”, a consonant blend that is like the music of the heavenly choir to The Donald’s ears.

In reality, however, while Trudeau is truly tremendous and terrific without a script, The Donald is terrible and tragic unless he is using a teleprompter.

It astonished me that much of the mainstream media began to praise the presidential poise of The Donald after he read a speechwriter’s script from a teleprompter. Suddenly the man who spent years groping women, denying President Obama’s birthright, denying accelerating climate change, making huge profits on the housing crisis, discriminating against racial and religious groups different from his hedonistic white male cult, and not paying his income taxes, is pronounced by the mainstream media as “PRESIDENTIAL” after one tightly scripted performance. That’s just terrible and tragic.

We shouldn’t be surprised. Ronald Reagan, elevated to the status of a saint in the Republican Party, was a grade B actor who read the lines put in front of him for eight years. Interesting to note that Reagan’s last movie role was as gangster Jack Browning in the movie “The Killers”. Trump is just beginning his role as one. Be very careful for what you wish, America. When the chickens come home to roost, it might not be so terrific or tremendous anymore.

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Skid Crease, Caledon