Ethics & Religion
July 28, 2016
Column #1,822
An Indictment of Donald Trump
By Mike McManus

The night before Hillary Clinton formally accepted the Democratic nomination to be President, several speakers offered powerful indictments of her opponent, Donald Trump.

Rear Admiral John Hutson charged, "Donald Trump calls himself the 'law and order' candidate...This morning he personally invited Russians to hack into us. That's not 'law and order.' That is criminal intent.

"Donald Trump would abandon our allies and let more countries get nuclear weapons. It is embarrassing enough that he is the face of a political party. More than 120 Republican national security leaders warned that Donald Trump would make us less safe."

In fact, Hutson noted that "Donald Trump is a recruiting poster for terrorists. ISIS used Trump in a commercial!"

Leon Panetta, who has been Secretary of Defense and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and has worked with nine Presidents of both parties, asserted, "In this election there is only one candidate who has the temperament and judgment to be Commander in Chief. That is Hillary Clinton."

"Only today Donald Trump again took Russia's side when he asked the Russians to interfere in American politics! Think about that. Donald Trump, who wants to be the President of the United States is asking one of our adversaries to hack into the intelligence of the United States to defeat a candidate in an election! It is inconceivable!" The crowd booed.

Panetta charged, "In an unstable world, we cannot afford unstable leadership."

Vice President Joe Biden made a similar assessment: "This is a complicated and uncertain world we live in. The threats are too great. The times are too uncertain to elect Donald Trump as President of the United States. No major party nominee in the history of this nation has ever known less or has been less prepared to deal with our national security. We cannot elect a man who exploits our fears of ISIS and other terrorists, who has no plan whatsoever to make us safer."

Biden added, "A man who embraces the tactics of our enemies - torture, religious intolerance. That's not who we are. It betrays our values. It alienates those who we need in the fight against ISIS. Donald Trump, with all of his rhetoric, would make us less safe. We cannot elect a man who belittles our closest allies while embracing dictators like Vladimir Putin.

"A man who seeks to sow division for his own gain. A man who confuses bluster with strength. We simply cannot let that happen as Americans. Period," the Vice President asserted.

Michael Bloomberg, a New York businessman who became a billionaire as founder of the Bloomberg financial news and information empire, but noted he did not start it with his father's check of a million dollars, as did Trump. And Bloomberg was elected mayor of New York three times as a Republican. He charged, "I am a New Yorker who knows a con when I see one."

"Throughout his career, Trump has left behind a well-documented record of bankruptcies, thousands of lawsuits, angry stockholders and contractors who feel cheated and disillusioned customers who feel ripped off," Bloomberg said. "Trump says he wants to run the nation like he's running his business? God help us."

His scathing speech seemed designed to chafe Trump's rawest nerves, mocking his business prowess, his ego and intellect. "Truth be told, the richest thing about Donald Trump is his hypocrisy. Trump claims great wealth, but won't disclose his real net worth and refuses to release his tax returns."

The financial industry tycoon ridiculed Trump's statements on immigration, national security, foreign trade and his use of overseas labor, hired at low wages. He said he spoke as a political independent, and asked the "42% of Americans who are not Democrat or Republican," to join him in backing Hillary Clinton because unlike Trump she "is a sane competent person."

Finally, President Obama offered a stinging rebuke of Trump as fear-mongering, unqualified for the job, saying, "We don't look to be ruled." He mocked Trump's call to "make America great again," by asserting that "America is already great. America is already strong. And I promise you that our greatness does not depend on Donald Trump."

"He calls himself a business guy, which is true, but I know plenty of businessmen and women who achieved success without leaving a trail of lawsuits, unpaid workers and people feeling like they got cheated."

More important, Obama asserted, "I can say with confidence there has never been a man or woman more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as President of the United States."
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Copyright (c) 2016 Michel J. McManus, a syndicated columnist and past president of Marriage Savers. For previous columns go to www.ethicsandreligion.org. Hit Search for any topic.