This was written during Trump's previous period as POTUS, and I think it sums up, eloquently, just what it is that Brits ( and presumably other nationalities) dislike about him. It is worth a read.
Nate White
“Why do some British people not like Donald Trump?” Nate White, an articulate and witty writer from England wrote the following response:
A few things spring to mind. Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem. For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace – all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed. So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trump’s limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief.
Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing – not once, ever. I don’t say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility – for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman. But with Trump, it’s a fact. He doesn’t even seem to understand what a joke is – his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty.
Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers. And scarily, he doesn’t just talk in crude, witless insults – he actually thinks in them. His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness.
There is never any under-layer of irony, complexity, nuance or depth. It’s all surface. Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront. Well, we don’t. We see it as having no inner world, no soul. And in Britain we traditionally side with David, not Goliath. All our heroes are plucky underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist. Trump is neither plucky, nor an underdog. He is the exact opposite of that. He’s not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedy fat-cat. He’s more a fat white slug. A Jabba the Hutt of privilege.
And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully. That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a snivelling sidekick instead. There are unspoken rules to this stuff – the Queensberry rules of basic decency – and he breaks them all. He punches downwards – which a gentleman should, would, could never do – and every blow he aims is below the belt. He particularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless – and he kicks them when they are down.
So the fact that a significant minority – perhaps a third – of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think ‘Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy’ is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people, given that:
• Americans are supposed to be nicer than us, and mostly are.
• You don’t need a particularly keen eye for detail to spot a few flaws in the man.
This last point is what especially confuses and dismays British people, and many other people too; his faults seem pretty bloody hard to miss. After all, it’s impossible to read a single tweet, or hear him speak a sentence or two, without staring deep into the abyss. He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of shit. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum. God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid. He makes Nixon look trustworthy and George W look smart. In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws – he would make a Trump.
And a remorseful Doctor Frankenstein would clutch out big clumpfuls of hair and scream in anguish: ‘My God… what… have… I… created?' If being a twat was a TV show, Trump would be the boxed set.
#Donald Trump
ronib
In case you didn’t know, Starmer’s deeply unpopular and shows no signs of being ousted.
Trump is in power and he will stay put.
I think to compare Starmer (or any Brit PM) is insulting yet hilarious.
fancythat
When I say Country, in 2nd paragraph, I was meaning the USA.
Mmmm which part of his fine country does he care about??
In the short time he’s been in power he’s been responsible for so many negative things, including several thousand people being sacked from their jobs for no reason at all and many more will follow.
The sanctions he has imposed on other countries trade will simply be repaid in kind and his sucking up to Russia, Israel and Korea’s leaders is sure to backfire.
ronib
Whatever the personal shortcomings of the new President, Trump was elected so their country, their choice. I hope it works out for them.
But it already isn’t ronib, countless people are losing their jobs, and the loss of said jobs are already affecting the health and safety of ordinary people. Most notably with so many air traffic controllers being laid off, already there have been more air traffic incidents than in the past few years, and that is in just a month.
He is gifting Musk access to people’s personal data, a judge has since over ruled this but I imagine Trump will find a way to get rid of said judge and then Musk can do as he pleases.
And the cost of living has gone up due to tariffs causing grudge wars with countries affected.
Whitewavemark2
Everyone is different I suppose. Unless I have always missed Trump being funny, I find him entirely unpleasant at all times.
Me too! I’ve found nothing he’s said or done remotely humorous.
I agree 100% with this (long) quote and thank you HPQ for posting.
My most chilling memory of him was when he parodied a disabled reporter.
In case you didn’t know, Starmer’s deeply unpopular and shows no signs of being ousted.
Trump is in power and he will stay put.
It will Ronib, once they get rid of him. His approval rating is now the lowest since records began.
Janet 43, you got there first.
Funny? Oh, do you mean that time he mimicked and mocked that Interviewer/Reporter with cerebral palsy?
Whatever the personal shortcomings of the new President, Trump was elected so their country, their choice. I hope it works out for them.
MayBee70
Whatever else I dislike about Trump, the thing that sticks in my mind was him implying that a woman reporter was on her period when she questioned him one day. I’ll never forget that or get over the disgust I felt.
It was bad but it wasn’t as disgusting as the time he mocked a reporter with cerebral palsy.
When I say Country, in 2nd paragraph, I was meaning the USA.
I agree with most of what is in the op.
But..I think what he does have[or to me and perhaps some others] is that he may care about the Country.
I couldnt say he cares about every individual[pretty sure he doesnt].
I feel personally, in say the last 10 years, I would struggle to say any Uk Leader cared about the Uk. Not really.
Thanks HPQ. Have to say that 4 years outside of the White House hasn’t made him any better, in fact has probably made him worse seeing as he saw losing the election 4 years ago as a massive con job, in fact he never accepted defeat, but instead let loose his goons on Capitol Hill.
He is everything I dislike in a person though to be honest what is there like?
Still he has dug so far beneath the barrel of odious people to work with that he must have hit the Jurassic seam. Either these cronies find something likeable about him or just want to be important. I suspect the latter.
“Worse than just being a liar or a narcissist, in addition he is paranoid, delusional and grandiose thinking and he proved that to the country the first day he was President. If Donald Trump really believes he had the largest crowd size in history, that’s delusional,” he added.
Chairing the event, Dr Bandy Lee, assistant clinical professor in the Yale Department of Psychiatry, said: “As some prominent psychiatrists have noted, [Trump’s mental health] is the elephant in the room. I think the public is really starting to catch on and widely talk about this now.”
James Gilligan, a psychiatrist and professor at New York University, told the conference he had worked some of the “most dangerous people in society”, including murderers and rapists — but that he was convinced by the “dangerousness” of Mr Trump.
“I’ve worked with some of the most dangerous people our society produces, directing mental health programmes in prisons,” he said.
“I’ve worked with murderers and rapists. I can recognise dangerousness from a mile away. You don’t have to be an expert on dangerousness or spend fifty years studying it like I have in order to know how dangerous this man is.”
you forgot many 's' at the end of 'problem'.
Experts in psychiatry all agree that he shows very clear signs of mental illness, and this in symbiosis with other leaders who have the same pathologies, like Trump, Musk, Putin, Netanyahu. Narcissist psychopaths of the highest order.
I agree with the character assessment of Donald Trump. He is all of those things but the worst is being a bully.
Trump reminds me of my great uncle. He was so horrible to and about everyone, all the time. He got away with things by being so peculiar and so unsettling that nobody ever really knew how to take him. Just 'off' enough and without boundaries enough for you to feel uncomfortable, but not so much so that you could point it out without a cry of, 'Ohhhh, but you took that wrong - why are you so sensitive?'
On occasion he could be very funny - but nobody laughed because everyone loathed him and/or knew they could be the butt of his next 'joke'. All his jokes were tainted with just a touch of racism, misogyny or cruelty to someone in the room.
If you ever picked him up on anything he was totally affronted and cried persecution.
Not a wet eye in the house at his funeral.
" And scarily, he doesn’t just talk in crude, witless insults – he actually thinks in them"
Too long. Not a summing up, more an exposition.
I liked ‘Rarely has nastiness been so stupid or stupidity so nasty.’
I find it so hard to understand how anyone in America can feel safe with Trump making buddies out of Putin and China. It’s very scary and I fear for the world our children and grandchildren are in. this is the worst scenario you could dream of. How could he say what he did about Ukraine and be of sound mind. He is pushing and baiting Europe as far away as he can. How long before someone presses the red button?
I’d say that’s spot on. Horrid man. And dangerous too.
Everyone is different I suppose. Unless I have always missed Trump being funny, I find him entirely unpleasant at all times.
And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully. That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a snivelling sidekick instead.
I read it and this quote struck me as particularly accurate. Evidence? His sycophantic sucking up to Putin.
So I think one of the reasons trump wins (only one of the reasons) is that he is funny. You dont need to tell me all the terrible unfunny things he has said, but yes at times he is funny. It is useful to know the 'skills' of your enemy.
Yes, I agree with all that.
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