"Convicted felon Donald Trump" is perfect. I have heretofore always referred to him as "occupant of the White House." To acknowledge him as President defiles the many great chief executives, no matter that poorly thinking capable Americans did vote for him.
I have made a point for many years to never capitalize his name. (Not that he deserves to be in the same universe as e.e.cummings or bell hooks but I figure it serves to diminish his self importance for me).
The convention is simply there to make Standard English easier to read. Not following Standard English puts you in the same boat with Donald "I don't need no stinking rules" Trump. I try to stay out of that boat. In fact, I'd prefer not to be forced to be in the same Universe with him!
I call him the moron and everybody knows who that means too. This honorific has the advantage of recognizing Rex Tillerson, the moron's first secretary of state. Tillerson rightly called the moron "a fucking moron", words that still live and breathe.
I’ve styled his name lower case since his first illegitimate occupation of the White House. A small thing, but he doesn’t deserve even one capital letter.
He doesn't deserve capital anything, or Capitol anything, for that matter. But he believes members of Congress deserve capital something -- punishment.
He's a lower-case middle-school bully, through and through.
I tend to go with "orange criminal," though for a little variation "orange felon," "orange convict," "pedophile in the Oval Office," or "convicted sexual assaulter" will do. I won't write his name or capitalize his present title.
Everytime I read about criticisms of Mr. Trump, I feel that the author must begin with her/his own confession that voters elected him. He is a legitimate president. More than 30% of voters still support him. So the criticisizing him must begin with an honest confession that voters made a mistake. Then, humbly admist 30 plus percents of them still support him.
Most, if not all of the names you could come up with are likely already in the vocabulary of young readers, though they may not have applied them to Trump yet. You preserve your self respect by not using the terms.
I generally do not even refer to him as President. In my 74 years, there have been many Presidents I didn't like- some I really didn't like- but he is the only one who flaunts his disrespect for the office, the Constitution and- most importantly- the people he is supposed to be serving. It is a gross understatement to say he doesn't behave like a President of the United States. In fact, he is a blight on our country. A deadly cancer.
His name will go down in American history as a synonym for disgrace, avarice, racism, misogyny,mendacity corruption, cruelty, lust and treachery.
He not only doesn't behave like President of the United States; he doesn't behave like a minimally decent human being.
The fact that this actually >>appeals<< to so many Americans (including many of our generation, to our shame) will never cease to astonish, dismay, and infuriate me.
He behaves like the Bad Guy in a children's movie. You would think that people raised on Disney movies would be able to recognize that and react accordingly.
Excellent analogy. Except those fictional bad guys always get their true desserts and, occasionally are remorseful. (Elon Musk, of course is straight out of Marvel - somewhat comical and always evil).
At this point, Trump is a wounded, pathetic villain but no less dangerous.Like any super villain( or any demented, evil dude), if he senses he is really going down, he may try to take the rest of us with him.
Indeed. I refer to him as "demented felon" because that is what he is. And further, I like to remind people who yak about "law and order" that Trump is a convicted felon, fraud, tax cheat and an adjudicated rapist and insurrectionist. He is entirely unworthy of any such honorarium as "Mr. President" or "Sir."
This manifestly unqualified misfit is what happens when a large plurality of the polity are gaslighted and propagandized into joining a cult. If this episode teaches us nothing else, it should be that we need a mechanism within the Constitution to terminate a rogue presidency and call a new general election.
Aaron Parnas noticed that Twitter is now indicating the country of origin on posting, and in checking this out observed that some of the most MAGA-like posts came from overseas -- clearly meant to promote conflict and division, and influence our viewpoint. These had large following. It's a huge story, and no one on national news is even mentioning it.
Actually, many founders anticipated this exact circumstance. They hoped the virtue of Americans, including officials, would prevent this. Not working out so well....
They assumed that the loyalty of each of the Branches to its own prerogatives would check excesses by the other Branches. They didn't take PARTY into account.
Party (or ideological) loyalty across the branches of govt has undermined all the checks and balances, including, now, even the Supreme Court.
Be that as it may, they didn't write enough checks and balances against factions into the structure of government. Their heritage from the English civil war led them to assume that the balance of power would be on the analogy of King vs Parliament, not one party allied with the executive of the same party vs. the other party in congress.
It creates the Electoral College. It was their 18th century attempt to keep the Presidency in the hands of the landed class. We need to move to the direct election of the President and VP.
Absolutely, if the aim is to honor the voice of the people. If half the people don't bother to vote (because it's been made so difficult), that's useless, as has never been so obvious before. Mandatory voting works fine in Australia, where election day is a Saturday (polls open from dawn to dusk). You present yourself in the nearest polling place, they cross your name off the roll and give you the ballot papers, you go into a little private booth and vote, fold it up small and drop it into a supervised ballot box. Then you go and enjoy a barbecued sausage in the yard, have a laugh and support whichever local charity is manning the barbecue. "Democracy sausages", we call them. And you don't discuss your politics. If you haven't done all that (or voted by post if you knew you'd be away somewhere) you get a please explain, and a fine if your excuse isn't valid.
"vote(v.)
1550s, intransitive, "give one's vote, formally signify the will or choice in a matter of common interest;" 1560s, "enact or establish by vote" (transitive); see vote (n.). Earlier it meant "to vow" to do something (mid-15c.). Related: Voted; voting."
Let's hope all the hundreds of epithets and appositives all of us have been using informally for years are preserved, hidden in a vault underground somewhere if need be, then brought out at some point later to adorn the pages of high school history texts when this sordid chapter is over and done with.
"Manchurian Cantaloupe" remains my all-time favorite, although Mango Putrescence, Orange Putz Face and Apricot Asshole -- even just President Pissy Pants -- all are stellar candidates, as are about 100 others. Please feel free to jog my memory here....
By the way, the perp-photo is perfect. He thought it projected strength and defiance. The world saw Grumpy Cat fobbing himself off as Winston Churchill. Can I has cheeseburger now?...
Manchurian Cataloupe is great!! Whiffs of the Putin puppet master! But I beg to differ about President Pissy Pants, which may be alliterative, but there's much more than piss in his pants. Wasn't there someone on The Apprentice staff who claimed he was in charge of changing his diapers? Even then?
- Suggests we execute members of Congress for reminding military personnel not to follow illegal orders;
- Calls a female reporter “piggy”;
- Contradicts our own intelligence in exonerating the Saudi Crown prince of responsibility for Jamal Khashoggi’s murder and dismemberment (“things happen”);
- Then insults a reporter for asking an “insubordinate” question of that foreign leader (who suppress free speech at home); and
- Threatens judges with impeachment and news reporters with lawsuits and loss of their licenses.
Are just some of the stuff in a random week of this forever cheating felon's current 9 months of destroying the US of A.
I propose to use: "The thing wondering around in what is left of the White House" as title for this obnoxious human being.
He is beyond repulsive! I think he needs to be impeached a third time. I wonder if there's any way to get a discharge petition with enough signatures in the House that would force House Speaker Johnson to introduce articles of impeachment. I don't think Republicans in the Senate are any happier with him. Just a daydream I have!
Three strikes and you're out, and third time is the charm are phrases that come to mind. Maybe impeachments follow the same pattern. A joyful dream it is.
In my writing and my speaking, I do not refer to him by name or title. When all else fails, I use Bully-in-Chief, but lots of other first words also work, e.g. Grifter, Liar, Felon, Misogynist.
Thank you for binging up the total absence of decorum in the present gangster presidency. America’s love affair with “The Godfather” went way too far. He and his are a disgrace to world order. I pine for the day when he and his can enjoy the elevated tone and behavior of a federal prison.
I call him trump, with no capitalization when writing because he deserves none. Also, I hate looking at his face and wish the media would stop attaching photos/videos of him to every article that includes his name. This includes Jen's columns. Please, just stop.
"Convicted felon Donald Trump" is perfect. I have heretofore always referred to him as "occupant of the White House." To acknowledge him as President defiles the many great chief executives, no matter that poorly thinking capable Americans did vote for him.
I call him simply “the felon”, and everyone knows who I mean.
Need to capitalize the F in Felon, to make sure everyone knows we're talking specifically about The Felon, rather than felons in general.
I have made a point for many years to never capitalize his name. (Not that he deserves to be in the same universe as e.e.cummings or bell hooks but I figure it serves to diminish his self importance for me).
I do the same and maga with a small m.
A capital T, not for Trump, but for Traitor!
When in his presence, he needs to be addressed as Mr. Felon.
I never have capitalized it, I’ve never been questioned on it either. I don’t think he deserves capitalization.
The convention is simply there to make Standard English easier to read. Not following Standard English puts you in the same boat with Donald "I don't need no stinking rules" Trump. I try to stay out of that boat. In fact, I'd prefer not to be forced to be in the same Universe with him!
I refer to him as tRump, because that’s what he is…
I have a sticker on my walker that says Felon. The F is in red, the other letters in blue. That way, it can stand for either The Felon, or F Elon.
That's great Ellie!
I call him the moron and everybody knows who that means too. This honorific has the advantage of recognizing Rex Tillerson, the moron's first secretary of state. Tillerson rightly called the moron "a fucking moron", words that still live and breathe.
I like to call him “the felon in chief.”
same
The pedo felon is more deserving.
I call him Agent Orange. He is lethal. He kills randomly. And I can't find it in me to use his name. He deserves no recognition of honor.
One Substacker calls him Tangerine Palpatine.
Mango Mussolini?
How perfect, and funny!
His $trumpshit?
My thought was similar: Scheisskopf in honor of his German heritage!
Or Arschloch. That works too.
I was thinking "His Lowness" (versus His Highness), but I MUCH prefer your suggestion!
I’ve styled his name lower case since his first illegitimate occupation of the White House. A small thing, but he doesn’t deserve even one capital letter.
He doesn't deserve capital anything, or Capitol anything, for that matter. But he believes members of Congress deserve capital something -- punishment.
He's a lower-case middle-school bully, through and through.
I just refer to him as Drumpf, his family's name.
I tend to go with "orange criminal," though for a little variation "orange felon," "orange convict," "pedophile in the Oval Office," or "convicted sexual assaulter" will do. I won't write his name or capitalize his present title.
Everytime I read about criticisms of Mr. Trump, I feel that the author must begin with her/his own confession that voters elected him. He is a legitimate president. More than 30% of voters still support him. So the criticisizing him must begin with an honest confession that voters made a mistake. Then, humbly admist 30 plus percents of them still support him.
I would list all of the names I've called him the last ten years, but there might be young readers present.
If we all listed all the names, titles, etc. we have used to describe Trump, we would probably break the server.
Most, if not all of the names you could come up with are likely already in the vocabulary of young readers, though they may not have applied them to Trump yet. You preserve your self respect by not using the terms.
I generally do not even refer to him as President. In my 74 years, there have been many Presidents I didn't like- some I really didn't like- but he is the only one who flaunts his disrespect for the office, the Constitution and- most importantly- the people he is supposed to be serving. It is a gross understatement to say he doesn't behave like a President of the United States. In fact, he is a blight on our country. A deadly cancer.
His name will go down in American history as a synonym for disgrace, avarice, racism, misogyny,mendacity corruption, cruelty, lust and treachery.
Quite a legacy.
At 77, and you couldn't have said it better. Thank you.
Our older generation knows better and has a solid sense of history. He’s our age but is such an embarrassment to us all.
Thank you for the understatement of the decade, at least!
Sorta like Benedict Arnold.
at least arnold left and went to England...perhaps trump will leave and go to hell,russia, or, saudi arabia
He not only doesn't behave like President of the United States; he doesn't behave like a minimally decent human being.
The fact that this actually >>appeals<< to so many Americans (including many of our generation, to our shame) will never cease to astonish, dismay, and infuriate me.
He behaves like the Bad Guy in a children's movie. You would think that people raised on Disney movies would be able to recognize that and react accordingly.
Excellent analogy. Except those fictional bad guys always get their true desserts and, occasionally are remorseful. (Elon Musk, of course is straight out of Marvel - somewhat comical and always evil).
At this point, Trump is a wounded, pathetic villain but no less dangerous.Like any super villain( or any demented, evil dude), if he senses he is really going down, he may try to take the rest of us with him.
Indeed. I refer to him as "demented felon" because that is what he is. And further, I like to remind people who yak about "law and order" that Trump is a convicted felon, fraud, tax cheat and an adjudicated rapist and insurrectionist. He is entirely unworthy of any such honorarium as "Mr. President" or "Sir."
Their idea of "law and order" is "nothing happening that disrupts OUR ("my") sense of comfort and control. It has nothing to do with the rule of law.
Same with "freedom" and "liberty." "I get to do as I please, and you are required not to upset, offend, or challenge me."
We have to learn what words mean for them if we are going to resist 'em.
Yes, and in a nutshell: "Draconian laws for thee, impunity for me."
This manifestly unqualified misfit is what happens when a large plurality of the polity are gaslighted and propagandized into joining a cult. If this episode teaches us nothing else, it should be that we need a mechanism within the Constitution to terminate a rogue presidency and call a new general election.
And have rules about what media get to call themselves news. Looking at you Fox and all your advertisers… 😡
Aaron Parnas noticed that Twitter is now indicating the country of origin on posting, and in checking this out observed that some of the most MAGA-like posts came from overseas -- clearly meant to promote conflict and division, and influence our viewpoint. These had large following. It's a huge story, and no one on national news is even mentioning it.
Indeed. The framers could never have envisaged what's happened. And does the present Constitution cover the Electoral College?
Actually, many founders anticipated this exact circumstance. They hoped the virtue of Americans, including officials, would prevent this. Not working out so well....
They assumed that the loyalty of each of the Branches to its own prerogatives would check excesses by the other Branches. They didn't take PARTY into account.
Party (or ideological) loyalty across the branches of govt has undermined all the checks and balances, including, now, even the Supreme Court.
I took their distrust of 'factions' to cover parties....
Be that as it may, they didn't write enough checks and balances against factions into the structure of government. Their heritage from the English civil war led them to assume that the balance of power would be on the analogy of King vs Parliament, not one party allied with the executive of the same party vs. the other party in congress.
Seems that attempting checks and balances that thorough may be as futile as trying to legislate morality.
It creates the Electoral College. It was their 18th century attempt to keep the Presidency in the hands of the landed class. We need to move to the direct election of the President and VP.
And mandatory voting?
Absolutely, if the aim is to honor the voice of the people. If half the people don't bother to vote (because it's been made so difficult), that's useless, as has never been so obvious before. Mandatory voting works fine in Australia, where election day is a Saturday (polls open from dawn to dusk). You present yourself in the nearest polling place, they cross your name off the roll and give you the ballot papers, you go into a little private booth and vote, fold it up small and drop it into a supervised ballot box. Then you go and enjoy a barbecued sausage in the yard, have a laugh and support whichever local charity is manning the barbecue. "Democracy sausages", we call them. And you don't discuss your politics. If you haven't done all that (or voted by post if you knew you'd be away somewhere) you get a please explain, and a fine if your excuse isn't valid.
"vote(v.)
1550s, intransitive, "give one's vote, formally signify the will or choice in a matter of common interest;" 1560s, "enact or establish by vote" (transitive); see vote (n.). Earlier it meant "to vow" to do something (mid-15c.). Related: Voted; voting."
To force the lazy and stupid to vote?
It works in Australia.
Better late than never, I guess...
I like “Mr. Piggy”. It has, as Karoline Leavitt pointed out, a certain frankness and candor.
It is, however, an insult to the animals that have the same name. They are far more intelligent, and aren't felons.
Or "FFOTUS" for First Felon of the US.
Exactly what I was going to say!
Let's hope all the hundreds of epithets and appositives all of us have been using informally for years are preserved, hidden in a vault underground somewhere if need be, then brought out at some point later to adorn the pages of high school history texts when this sordid chapter is over and done with.
"Manchurian Cantaloupe" remains my all-time favorite, although Mango Putrescence, Orange Putz Face and Apricot Asshole -- even just President Pissy Pants -- all are stellar candidates, as are about 100 others. Please feel free to jog my memory here....
By the way, the perp-photo is perfect. He thought it projected strength and defiance. The world saw Grumpy Cat fobbing himself off as Winston Churchill. Can I has cheeseburger now?...
Manchurian Cataloupe is great!! Whiffs of the Putin puppet master! But I beg to differ about President Pissy Pants, which may be alliterative, but there's much more than piss in his pants. Wasn't there someone on The Apprentice staff who claimed he was in charge of changing his diapers? Even then?
Trumpty Dumpty? If you catch my drift...
I do indeed! Well done!!!
I use 🍊👶👑 aka Orange Baby King
Oh I love it! Thank you.
Mr Trump. That’s shouldn’t be too hard for even the heads down Democrats.
Also, super thank you for bringing up the Rep Al Green story again. Fight not flight is a lesson Democrats have to learn and relearn.
100% Rep. Green was the only one who called him to his face what all the rest were thinking.
Imagine this.
The examples you gave:
- Suggests we execute members of Congress for reminding military personnel not to follow illegal orders;
- Calls a female reporter “piggy”;
- Contradicts our own intelligence in exonerating the Saudi Crown prince of responsibility for Jamal Khashoggi’s murder and dismemberment (“things happen”);
- Then insults a reporter for asking an “insubordinate” question of that foreign leader (who suppress free speech at home); and
- Threatens judges with impeachment and news reporters with lawsuits and loss of their licenses.
Are just some of the stuff in a random week of this forever cheating felon's current 9 months of destroying the US of A.
I propose to use: "The thing wondering around in what is left of the White House" as title for this obnoxious human being.
He is beyond repulsive! I think he needs to be impeached a third time. I wonder if there's any way to get a discharge petition with enough signatures in the House that would force House Speaker Johnson to introduce articles of impeachment. I don't think Republicans in the Senate are any happier with him. Just a daydream I have!
Three strikes and you're out, and third time is the charm are phrases that come to mind. Maybe impeachments follow the same pattern. A joyful dream it is.
Wondering around or wandering around? Either works.
Sub-human, maybe?
I would shorten things to "Felon Trump." Where is the lie? He is Felon Trump past the day he dies.
I keep cheering for the Big Macs, fries, and diet Cokes to work their magic more quickly.
In my writing and my speaking, I do not refer to him by name or title. When all else fails, I use Bully-in-Chief, but lots of other first words also work, e.g. Grifter, Liar, Felon, Misogynist.
Thank you for binging up the total absence of decorum in the present gangster presidency. America’s love affair with “The Godfather” went way too far. He and his are a disgrace to world order. I pine for the day when he and his can enjoy the elevated tone and behavior of a federal prison.
He is NOT a sir. t alone will do (lower case).
Trump is a slur on the 'Sir'.
I call him trump, with no capitalization when writing because he deserves none. Also, I hate looking at his face and wish the media would stop attaching photos/videos of him to every article that includes his name. This includes Jen's columns. Please, just stop.
I don't mind that she included P01135809's mug shot...
Agreed. Media should instead just put exact transcript of what he said to show the nonsensical commentary he exhibits every day.