I had a day off today and decided to do some sightseeing. I live in Miami and figured I stroll around the Wynnwood area. Wynnwood is a little arts district north of downtown . One of its major draws is that every single wall is covered in beautiful murals, art, and graffiti. I figured I’d hit up one of the local breweries and then take in the sights.
Three politically themed murals caught my eye. In a city as diverse, tolerant, and cosmopolitan as Miami, it’s no secret that Trump is despised here. That contempt has found its way into the work of our local artists. Let me share three murals with you, and point out the different — but accurate — portrait of Trump that each paints.
This mural reflects the fact that Trump is fundamentally full of shit. He is worse than a liar — he is a bullshitter. He doesn’t care about the truth or the lack of truth in what he says. He only cares about its impact on the listener, as he whips his followers into a frenzy.
The fact that the economy has recovered under Obama’s leadership; the fact that Obamacare has afforded healthcare to millions; the fact that crime has been falling for years; these cold, objective facts have no place in Trump-world. He exists in a terrifying alternative reality where everything is a “disaster” and only him, the anointed strongman, can save us. Our founders warned us about men like him.
I also appreciate how this mural underscores that Trump and the GOP are inseparable. Joined at the hip, if you will. Craven establishment figures like Ryan or McCain might want to clutch their pearls and pretend that Trump is some anomalous interloper who has hijacked their party. Bullshit. Trump is the logical culmination of decades of playing footsy with white etho-nationalism. To paraphrase Mitt Romney, you built this.
This one has a simple message, but there is often truth in simplicity. Trump is a joke. He is a B-list reality star who has failed at every serious endeavor he has undertaken in life. From airlines to magazines, everything he touches turns to shit. Hell, he even lost millions at the casino business. The casino business. A gig where people give you money, and you give them less money back. That’s the business model. And he failed at it. Yes, this is the man who should be helming our economy.
He’s a bad joke. The perfect fit for a political party that long ago stopped caring about sober governance.
And here it is — this is the mural that stopped me in my tracks. Chilling in its accuracy. Yes, Trump is a joker, but he’s dangerous. He’s dangerous in every sense of the word. On an interpersonal level, we’re dealing with a man who brags about sexually assaulting women. On a national level, it is impossible to overstate how catastrophic his presidency would be. Major recession, the rollback of civil rights and liberties...that’s only the start. Those are just the givens. This man melts down at the slightest provocation or criticism. Are we really going to give him the nuclear codes?
He must be stopped. He will be stopped. Let’s stand with Hillary in November, and show Trump that the joke’s on him.
Bonus picture: “What the hell do you have to lose?”
Everything.