Documentarian Michael Moore thinks Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will be elected president in November, but it’s not this claim that should be scrutinized. Moore is actually on target for most of his latest piece. Bottom line, Trump will work hard to win over blue states in the Midwest (which have elected Republican governors), and Hillary is a terrible candidate who alienated too many Sanders supporters. His best quote is this:
“…if you believe Hillary Clinton is going to beat Trump with facts and smarts and logic, then you obviously missed the past year of 56 primaries and caucuses where 16 Republican candidates tried that and every kitchen sink they could throw at Trump and nothing could stop his juggernaut.”
But here is where Moore falls off the rails, as usual, with his over-the-top hyperbole. Here is how Moore characterizes Trump:
“…you and your friends are convinced the American people are not going to elect an idiot for president. You alternate between being appalled at him and laughing at him because of his latest crazy comment or his embarrassingly narcissistic stance on everything because everything is about him.”
According to Moore, Donald Trump, a man who has made billions of dollars and built dozens of successful businesses, is an idiot. Trump has a bachelor’s degree in economics from the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce at the University of Pennsylvania. Moore is a college dropout. Trump may not be a scholar by any means, but he clearly has enough smarts to amass a fortune and brand his way to being a presidential candidate of a major political party. Let’s at least give him credit for that.
Now let’s see how Moore idealizes Hillary Clinton (a woman he once swore he would never vote for):
“And then you listen to Hillary and you behold our very first female president, someone the world respects, someone who is whip-smart and cares about kids…”
Someone who the world respects. Yes, Michael Moore has peered into the minds of 7.4 billion people and can tell you that each and every one of them respects Hillary Clinton. Never mind the 54% of Americans who have an unfavorable opinion of her.
He goes onto proclaim, “the left has won the culture wars.” “A majority of Americans now take the liberal position on just about every polling question posed to them.” Er, except they don’t. According to Gallup, 47% (vs 46%) of Americans describe themselves as pro-life, while only 29% think abortion should be legal under all circumstances. When asked whether there should be a law banning the possession of handguns, except for police and other authorized persons, 72% said there should not be. Also, the percentage of people who believe there should be stricter gun laws has fallen 23% since 1990 (from 78 to 55).
That aside, Moore’s assertion that Democrats should get out of their mental and social bubbles and awaken to the realization that, yes, Donald Trump could be the next president, is spot on. What you choose to do with that realization is up to you. If I were you, I would drop the hysterics and get your own house in order. As Moore points out, elections are won through energized voters showing up on election day. Denial, protesting, and hang-wringing will accomplish nothing.
M.A. Kleen 