Month: May 2017

Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Rodrigo Dueterte
And also Vladimir Putin and, too, Recep Erdogan
Xi Jinping and Kim Jong-un: all are in common in two ways
They’re dictatorial rulers and Don Trump’s among their fans

It matters not they’re murderers maintaining, thus, their rule
Suppressing free expression and manipulating laws
Our President looks up to them; they’re macho; they’re not fools
In politics and business he and they have common cause

Except for North Korea where war tension’s riding high
Today Trump said he’d meet with Kim, an honor it would be
I’d normally be critical, approval this implies
But in this case I think it’s smart as far as I can see

Kim, like Trump, eats flattery; it satisfies his need
To be perceived important, to be taken seriously
It also lowers tensions and it opens up a likely lead
For real negotiations. I’ll be watching curiously

5/1/17

 

My thumbnail sketch of yesterday was negative I’d say
Be that as may, I’ll concentrate on positive today
Not just grass roots re energized, but things where Trump has changed
Away from Trump back on the stump where oft he seemed deranged

The former Trump was super smart; he knew more than all experts
But now he’ll seek and take advice; decisions take more effort
He’s changed positions o’er these days on weighty policies
On Russian sanctions, Cuba, and our Israel Embassy

Iran Agreement, NAFTA, and one-China policy
The E-I Bank, and China playing games with currency
He’s wavering about the Paris Climate Change Accord
I think he’ll let it stand or face a risk he can’t afford

The office of the President has changed unalterably
Taboos once violated don’t return to normalcy
What once were measured words have gained in spontaneity
And nepotism’s riding high involving Family

‘Though Trump maintains the secrecy of all his business deals
Substantive info on his calls abroad he won’t reveal
He’s very open on his thoughts. He tweets them every day
He knows to dominate the news each day by what he says

I quoted David Brooks, before, on Trump’s abilities
They’ve grown from catastrophic to inadequate you see
There’s clearly been some progress, we do hope there’s more to come
And that is my nail sketching on my thumb’s opposing thumb

4/30/17

 

Over the past hundred days Trump’s been revealing who’s Trump
Not the circus barker, nor classic con man, Trump on the stump

Not the Art-Of-The-Deal man of businesses past, ‘though not really past
But Trump, the now President, where life’s not so easy, where issues are vast

Health care’s complex; trade is complex; Congress, a veritable can of worms
He thought he could do this President thing his way, on his familiar terms

Brooks of the New York Times: “Trump’s competency has gone from catastrophic
To merely inadequate.” That’s progress, I guess, albeit somewhat anemic

We’ve learned that Trump: will reverse from his prior position, harbors no deep convictions;
Has little patience for details; hardly reads what he is signing; rides roughshod over restrictions

Trump gets his info from Vanity Fair, and whoever spoke to him last
He measures successes by his rating stats and steals the news cycle with tweets that he casts

He’s still anti climate-change, pro plant pollution, he’s for arctic drilling, but not women’s health
His budget cuts Arts, and it also strips bare both State and the EPA much of their wealth

The Washington swamp under Trump has grown deeper, and ethics been wavered away
This, then, is my brief sketch President Trump as viewed after one hundred days

4/29/17