President Trump and his administration think that Republicans who disagree with them are “human scum.”
At least, that’s what he tweeted this week, writing that “Never Trumper Republicans” are “in certain ways worse and more dangerous for our Country than the Do Nothing Democrats.” He continued, saying, “Watch out for them, they are human scum!”
The Never Trumper Republicans, though on respirators with not many left, are in certain ways worse and more dangerous for our Country than the Do Nothing Democrats. Watch out for them, they are human scum!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 23, 2019
At this point, it’s hardly a surprise to see Trump tweeting rude, crass, ad hominem attacks. But the president’s staff, many of whom should know better, are only doubling down. White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham was asked about Trump’s comments on Fox and Friends yesterday, with host Brian Kilmeade asking, “Does he regret [calling them scum]?”
Here’s how Grisham replied:
You can watch the video for yourself here. No one is distorting the press secretary’s comments.
Frankly, it’s disgusting that high-ranking government officials would call any political opponents “scum,” from whichever party they are. To be clear, Never Trumpers are not above criticism, but that criticism should be substantive, not vile personal attacks and ad hominem. I no longer consider myself a Never Trumper as I did during the 2016 election, more of a Sometimes Trumper — so am I sometimes scum? — and I’ll be the first to admit that some prominent Never Trumpers can be stubborn and unfair to the president even when he does do something right.
But that makes them wrong: It does not make them “human scum.”
The administration’s stance here is eerily similar to Hillary Clinton’s notorious comments deriding Trump supporters as “deplorables.” Conservatives were outraged by the Democratic presidential candidate’s sweeping dismissal of her political foes as bad people and rightfully so. Yet it’s no less immoral and callous for Trump to call his opponents “scum” than it was for Clinton to mock hers as “deplorables.” Any stance that gives Trump a pass while decrying Clinton’s similar antics is pure partisan hackery.
It’s also a political folly. Why on Earth is Trump blasting a subset of Republican voters as “scum” just as the 2020 election heats up? This is the moment when he needs to get everyone onside.
Yes, some Never Trumpers, such as the Washington Post’s “conservative blogger” Jennifer Rubin are certainly beyond convincing and are determined to oppose everything the president does no matter what. But other conservative voices as disparate as Glenn Beck and Ben Shapiro opposed the president at some point in 2016 and have somewhat come around to understanding if not supporting Trump in the years since. You won’t win over more critics over by calling them “scum” or “deplorable.” How well did that work out for Clinton?
Political consequences aside, it’s just downright immoral to view people as “scum” for daring to disagree with you politically. Good people can disagree on complicated matters of policy and politics without either side being evil. It’s a shame the Trump administration can’t see the humanity in their opponents.
Which brings me to an interesting point. Much has been made of Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway’s bizarre meltdown and personal attack on a Washington Examiner reporter who simply did her job and reported on newsworthy tweets from George Conway, her husband, a longtime Republican lawyer who is extremely anti-Trump. But setting that whole debacle aside, someone should ask Kellyanne: “Is your husband human scum?”
She might not like her boss’s answer or that of her colleagues.
