Enraged by the Michael Wolff book which paints him as an Egotistical Vulgarian Ignormus, a person totally unfit to hold the office of Dog Catcher or Recorder of Wills let alone the Presidency of the United States, Donald J Trump lashed out in morning “twitter spread” and defended himself.
A sampling:
“I went from VERY successful businessman to top TV star to President of the United States (on my first try). I think that would qualify as not smart, but genius … and a very stable genius at that!”
““Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart.”
Reading these “tweets” in defense of his “genius” and “mental stability” I thought of former Senator William Scott, Republican of Virginia.
A new, small Washington magazine which had few readers (it was actually a shopping center hand out) ran an article in 1974, which nominated Scott as the “dumbest member of the United States Senate.”
Scott immediately called a news conference to deny that he was the “dumbest member of the United States Senate.”
“I deny that,” he said hotly.
The next morning the Washington Post with a circulation of hundreds of thousands printed a front page story with a picture of Scott and the news that he was denying he was the “dumbest member of the United States Senate.”
How “like, really smart” of him to call that news conference.
He served only a single term in the “United States Senate.”
Have you noticed how the really smart people, who are also self assured and comfortable with who they are let you find out how smart they are by observing their accomplishments, demeanor and values and not by telling you how really great and wonderful they are?
I was watching the television series “The Crown” the other night. The episode featured the time shortly after King George VI died and his young duaugher Elisabeth became Queen. The young Queen’s mother, also named Elizabeth, sought a refuge in Scotland to ease the sorrow of the death of her husband.
The film showed her being introduced to a Scotsman who owned a castle on the seacoast and when they met the Scotsman said “You look familiar; I’ve got it, you’re a famous actress” and satisfied that he had her pegged for many days they dined and walked and had a great time. Until her daughter, needing her mother’s advice, sent for her.
A Court messenger found the two new , good friends walking along the Scotsman’s beach and ran up to them and said “your majesty, your daughter the Queen asks that you return to London immediately.”
The Scotsman, suddenly aware of who his new friend really was, simply looks dumbfounded and embarrassed but with a most fond smile spreading across his face.
I imagine the scene is at least partially the creation of the episode’s writers but it was lovely in making the point that if you are “somebody” you don’t have to announce it. Let others find it out and they will admire you all the more.
Oh, well, in the case of Donald J Trump he has so much, so very, very much to learn that this small matter is trivial. We will survive his ignorance on this score.
Let us hope he learns that a president can not just get up one morning and angry that little “rocket man” has called him a “dotard,” order thermonuclear weapons to destroy a country of twenty six million people.
We might not survive that.