Editor’s note: This commentary is by Bob Stannard, a former lobbyist, who is still an author and musician. This piece first appeared in the Bennington Banner.
[T]he following are the words of Mitt Romney:
“But you say, ‘Wait wait wait,’ isn’t he a huge business success? Doesn’t he know what he’s talking about? No, he isn’t. And know he doesn’t. His bankruptcies have crushed small businesses and the men and women who worked for them. He inherited his business, he didn’t create it. And what ever happened to Trump Airlines? How about Trump University? And then there’s Trump Magazine and Trump Vodka and Trump Steaks and Trump Mortgage. A business genius he is not.
“This is an individual who mocked a disabled reporter, who attributed a reporter’s questions to her menstrual cycle, who mocked a brilliant rival who happened to be a woman due to her appearance, who bragged about his marital affairs, and who laces his public speeches with vulgarity.
“Dishonesty is Trump’s hallmark: He claimed that he had spoken clearly and boldly against going into Iraq. Wrong. He spoke in favor of invading Iraq. He said he saw thousands of Muslims in New Jersey celebrating 9/11. Wrong. He saw no such thing. He imagined it. He’s not of the temperament of the kind of stable, thoughtful person we need as leader. His imagination must not be married to real power.
“Here’s what I know. Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud. His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University. He’s playing the members of the American public for suckers: He gets a free ride to the White House and all we get is a lousy hat.”
The following are words of Ted Cruz:
“I’m going to tell you what I really think of Donald Trump. This man is a pathological liar. He doesn’t know the difference between truth and lies. He lies practically every word that comes out of his mouth. And in a pattern that I think is straight out of a psychology textbook, his response is to accuse everybody else of lying.
How could you possibly say these things about another human being and then go to work for that man?
“Donald Trump is a serial philanderer and he boasts about it. This is not a secret, he’s proud of being a serial philander. I want everyone to think about your teenage kids. The president of the United States talks about how great it is to commit adultery. How proud he is, describes his battle with venereal disease as his own personal Vietnam. That’s a quote from the Howard Stern show. Do you want to spend the next five years with your kids bragging about infidelity?
“Let’s be clear: this is nuts. This is not a reasonable position. This is just kooky. And while I’m at it, I guess I should go ahead and admit that my dad killed JFK, he is secretly Elvis and Jimmy Hoffa is buried in his backyard.”
It’s not often that I would see myself in agreement with Mitt Romney and/or Ted Cruz, but their respective quotes above are words with which I would agree. They were both correct in their description of then-candidate Donald Trump. Their words were much harsher than the average campaign rhetoric.
So what happened to these two men? How could you possibly say these things about another human being and then go to work for that man? Mitt Romney is now vying for secretary of state and Ted Cruz has expressed interest in serving as attorney general. The AG slot has been given to Jeff Sessions, a man who was denied a federal judgeship for his racist tendencies.
That Cruz did not get the job is irrelevant. How can a man who rightfully declared Trump a “serial philanderer” denigrate himself to work for him? Have these two gentlemen no shame; no sense of decency or dignity? Frankly the question could be posed to anyone who’s considering working for Trump, perhaps with the exception of Steve Bannon who said, “Birth control makes women unattractive and crazy.”
Mr. Bannon fits in with Mr. Trump just fine and dandy.
