The Judgment Free Trump Zone

A Gold Star father, Khizr Khan delivered what is considered to be the most effective and moving speech at the Democratic convention. With his grieving wife standing silently but resolutely at his side this Muslim gentlemen, Mr. Khan described the sacrifice his patriotic son Captain Humayun Khan made for this country. Mr. Khizr Khan went on to say that if Donald Trump had his way the Khan family would not be in America and Captain Khan would not have been in Iraq to give up his life to save the lives of his men. Mr. Khan said that Mr. Trump should “read the Constitution” and should go to “Arlington National Cemetery” to see the racial, ethnic, and religious diversity of the brave people who have sacrificed everything for this country. You, Mr. Trump “have sacrificed nothing,” Mr. Khan said.

I bring this up because today on the Joy Reid show Trump surrogate Steve Cortes was stupid enough to say that Trump had every right to defend himself against the attack Mr. Khan launched at him. All I can say is that while Mr. Trump has the right to do it, he obviously lacks the good judgment, decency, and common (and/or political) sense not to do it.

Mr. Trump simply could not resist responding to Mr. Khan's criticisms and further disparaging the Muslim faith and Mrs. Khan while doing so. "If you look at his wife,” Trump said. “she was standing there. She had nothing to say. She probably, maybe she wasn't allowed to have anything to say. You tell me." Mr. Trump's not so subtle implication being that the Muslim faith severely suppresses women and that Mrs. Ghuzala Khan is like a potted plant. Trump also insisted that he has made plenty of sacrifices for this country. When George Stephanopoulos asked Trump to name some of those sacrifices Trump said he “worked very, very hard,” created “tens of thousands of jobs,” and “built great structures.”

In the Trumposphere, sitting somewhere above the earth like the Van Allen belt, whatever Trump does is greater than what anyone else does or can do; so it is only natural for Trump to think that his hard work was a greater sacrifice than a soldier can make by giving up his life for his country, and certainly greater than the sacrifice made by parents who suffer from the heart wrenching loss of a son or daughter who died for this country. As for Steve Cortes, let me say that I do not think he can help himself because the Trumposphere in which Mr. Cortes has chosen to live is a judgment free, fact free zone, separate and apart from any human rationality or the real world.

Here is a precious right for Mr. Steve Cortes. You have the right to hale Trump and (regardless of what the sanctimonious Mike Pence will tell you) we have the right to give Trump the finger. Which one people choose to do will depend on whether they want a country ruled by “we the people” or “he the people.” My advice to we the people is to give Mr. Trump the finger figuratively in the voting booth by casting your ballet for Hillary Clinton!