Pop quiz: Who said the following quote? “Leaders, true leaders, take responsibility for the success of the team and understand that they must also take responsibility for the failure.” Was it (a) Elon Musk, (b) Steve Jobs, (c) Mark Cuban or (d) Donald Trump? Given how topical the last choice was, those of you unfamiliar with the quote probably guessed correctly.
The Donald is perhaps one of the most quotable people in the last few months. Granted, anything he says means nothing because something he has said in the past (or would probably say within five minutes) immediately disqualifies it. Yes, it seems the man constantly contradicts himself. But we’ve managed to find some instances in which he’s remained consistent in his views. On the topics of women, minority relations and immigration, Trump has consistently reminded us that he is, in fact, the bigoted, sexist, xenophobic and arrogant schmuck he makes himself out to be.
This particular quote started circulating after The Donald (according to a variety of nationwide polls) undeniably lost the debate against Hillary Clinton. This should be unsurprising, seeing as his most impressive defensive maneuver was shouting the word “wrong” over the most politically qualified woman in the nation. But even this quote, the one so proudly displayed by the most loyal of “DonBots,” is one of many lies in his arsenal. Sure, the first part is right. When a Trump-thing succeeds, he takes all the credit. But when a Trump-thing fails, it’s the property manager’s fault, it’s the press’s fault, it’s his ex-wife’s fault, etc. The reality is, to those who really believe he’s a “successful businessman,” he’s nothing but a fraud.
Trump’s defense against Clinton’s attacks regarding his tax returns caused our opinion editor’s sincerely unbiased PolitiFact app to lose its s---. His phone battery legitimately went down 17 percent because Trump’s defense was so full of lies. Granted, our editor has an Android phone, so his battery loses 17 percent whenever he sends a text, but still. The reality is Trump is not nearly as wealthy as he claims to be. He’s a try-hard. The most embarrassing thing to his campaign would be the realization he’s actually as rich as what he truly is: a typical B-list Hollywood celebrity. And he’s said some embarrassing stuff.
Clinton accused him of stiffing countless workers out of millions of dollars. Carpenters, construction workers and electricians have all felt the wrath of Trump’s greed. Even a piano salesman was stiffed $100,000 by the guy. Trump is, without a doubt, a con man. He finds small businesses, has them perform their jobs and then doesn’t pay them knowing they don’t have the financial resources to fight back. Then he says, “Take me to court, or take this settlement.” Trump has the resources to go to the piano makers themselves, but he intentionally went to the little guy knowing he’d save big. When Clinton accused him of being involved in a lawsuit in which minority workers were discriminated against by one of his companies, his reply wasn’t that such discrimination happened, it’s that he settled it out of court. When you’re running for president, that’s the wrong answer.
The fact this man won the Republican candidacy is a disgrace. The Republican leadership unanimously despised this man. The heroes Republicans revere have all turned their backs on the party that gave them so much. You can support Trump, but you cannot truly be a Republican simultaneously. Trump does not embody conservative values. Or liberal ones. Or values in general. He’s a tycoon straight out of a Mark Twain novel. Given, Twain would probably have written that first quote (with the intention of having him later disprove it) as a piece of dialogue for such a shameless character.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks with community members at the Polish National Alliance, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016, in Chicago.
