Opinion | The Most Unfit Man To Occupy the White House – Ever

by Barth Keck, Contributing Columnist

Greek philosopher Aristotle was a master orator who understood the power of words. To that end, he developed what became known as the “Aristotelian triangle” in which he identified three specific ways a speaker can appeal to an audience: logos, ethos, and pathos.

As a writer, I lean heavily on logos, which employs reason to make an argument. A message is thus organized in a logical fashion and supported with rational evidence. I also try to build my own credibility – or ethos – by ensuring that my evidence originates from reliable sources. Some may argue with my reasoning and evidence, which comes with the territory when writing opinion pieces, but my aim is to make reasonable and credible claims in my op-eds.

The one appeal that I usually shy away from is pathos – the appeal to emotions – because I feel it can often sidetrack a claim and neglect the original point. Witness the typical “debates” on social media filled with rancor and rage. I prefer to stay on point and address facts rather than feelings.

But this op-ed is different. The best way to approach the issue I’m about to address is with pathos – instant, honest, and naked emotion. In fact, I fear the typical “level-headed” and “reasonable” manner journalists and politicians have typically taken when analyzing the behavior of Donald Trump ignores what is now, to me, an obvious fact: The man is a cruel and selfish boor unfit to lead any country in the world, let alone the United States of America.

I don’t write those words lightly. They sound partisan, divisive, and yes, emotional. But so be it. All of the man’s antics, insults, and lies since he first ran for office in 2016 – a mountain of evidence that qualifies as logos, actually – undeniably demonstrate that Donald Trump is indeed a cruel and selfish boor unfit to lead any country in the world.

The event that sparked this emotional response from me was Trump’s insult-laced attack on CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins during a White House press conference last week. While asking the president for his reaction to the recent release of additional Epstein files and the survivors involved, Trump said this to Collins:

“You are so bad. You are the worst reporter. No wonder CNN has no ratings because of people like you. You know she’s a young woman. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile. I’ve known you for 10 years. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smile on your face. You know why you’re not smiling. Because you know you’re not telling the truth. And you’re a very dishonest organization. And they should be ashamed of you.”

It certainly wasn’t the first time he berated a reporter. Trump, in fact, prefers to insult women journalists, whom he has called “nasty,” “piggy,” “terrible,” “ugly” and “incapable.” The man, essentially, has normalized misogynistic rhetoric. How else to explain this dismissive explanation from White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson?

“President Trump has never been politically correct, never holds back, and in large part, the American people re-elected him for his transparency. This has nothing to do with gender – it has everything to do with the fact that the President’s and the public’s trust in the media is at all-time lows.”

Sorry, I’m not buying it. Unfortunately, too many other people continue to believe such shameless rationalizations – or at least they’re giving the man a pass because of the office he holds. Or they’re afraid of receiving the same retribution he has imposed on the many others who dared to question him. Or they want to ride his political coattails.

Gutless. That’s the best way to describe Americans who refuse to hold the president of America to account for his unseemly and vulgar behavior. Why did the journalists present not support Collins at that moment, even if it was to ask a similar follow-up question? As for the politicians surrounding Trump in the Oval Office, the best they could do was squirm as they held on tightly to the red “America Is Back” hats their dear leader had just given them.

The entire scene would be comical – fit for a Saturday Night Live skit – were it not so enraging and, ultimately, sad. What has happened to America? Where has our sense of personal pride and decency gone? I don’t care if you’re a Republican, Democrat, Independent, Libertarian, whatever – this type of behavior from an American president should be unacceptable, at a minimum.

To be sure, America is riddled with problems much deeper than the crassness of its president. I get that. I’ve written about many of those issues in a much less emotional tone. Logos and ethos dominated those op-eds. But my emotions have gotten the best of me this time. Pathos is my natural response to a president who continually spews hateful, self-indulgent rhetoric. Why it doesn’t affect so many others in a similar fashion befuddles me.

Just as I was completing the first draft of this op-ed, Trump was at it again. On social media, he posted a clearly racist AI-generated clip of former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama as apes. The White House initially “dismissed criticism that the video was racist, and said it is from a meme depicting Trump and the Obamas as characters from The Lion King.” After considerable backlash, the post was taken down – 12 hours after it first appeared. The White House conveniently blamed a staffer who “erroneously” made the post.

For his part, Trump declined to apologize, saying the post focused on voter fraud and “nobody knew that [the offensive clip of Barack and Michelle Obama] was at the end of the post.” 

Uh huh. Sure. Whatever. Just another day in Trump’s disreputable and hate-filled America.