I think most people would agree that there's always been some level of hypocrisy among politicians. Not all, of course. Maybe not even most, but over the years too many seem to have adhered to the concept of ‘do as I say, not as I do.’
Unfortunately, the levels of hypocrisy in government seems to have elevated to new heights over the past two years during the campaign of and now the administration of our current president.
Right from the start, he would be among the first and certainly the loudest of critics of sitting and past politicians. Some of his jabs might have had some merit, except many things he criticized others for were things he had said or done himself.
Many were really petty things like criticizing Marco Rubio when, mid-speech, he stopped to take a swig of water – exactly what the president did last week in the middle of a speech about a trade deal with China. Another example was his criticism of some of his opponents reading their speeches from a teleprompter, which is kind of interesting since he has to be the worst at reading a prepared script off a teleprompter – coming off as wooden and emotionless.
He was a loud critic of the government’s response to natural disasters like Katrina in New Orleans and, more recently, Sandy in the New York area. Yet when he was called on to be the healer-in-chief after Hurricane Maria devastated the U.S. citizens who live in Puerto Rico, he was silent for a week. When he did speak out, he was critical and even picked a petty fight with San Juan’s mayor. When he finally went to the island, he made a mockery of the situation by throwing paper towels to people like he was handing out prizes at a game show. Bush’s telling his FEMA director “Great job, Brownie” now looks so much more “presidential” than the guy now in office who promised us he could and would act presidential once elected.
But those are trivial and unimportant examples of the president’s hypocrisy. Much more significant are the hypocrisies we now see – the biggest one currently being charges of sexual misconduct by powerful men not only in politics, but in business, entertainment and even the media, from FOX on one end of the spectrum to The New York Times, with charges coming to light about reporter Glenn Thrush.
The predator-in-chief, who has boasted on tape to groping women and grabbing them by their genitals “because he can,” refused to weigh in on the charges by, at last count, nineteen women against the Republican candidate for Alabama Senator. But as soon as one charge came up against Democrat Al Franken, who has been an outspoken critic of the president’s policies, he weighed in on Twitter.
The hypocrisy he displayed in his response to the white supremist rally in Charlottesville and the various mass shootings we’ve seen over the past few months in Las Vegas, Texas and northern California is a real concern. There has been no real attempt at leadership and healing necessary to unite us as a nation.
The hypocrisies of the president continue to mount, along with constant lies. Last week, I saw a report that in his ten months in office so far, the president has told an average of more than five lies every day. Most Americans, let alone people throughout the world including world leaders, are getting tired of the lies and hypocrisies. The president’s approval rating continues to drop to unprecedented new lows, and many of us now simply take any statements he makes – whether on Twitter or in a news interview – with more than a few grains of salt.
For a man who prided himself as a great leader and as a great communicator and a great deal-maker, we are sadly seeing exactly how hypocritical those boasts have been.