Trask Avenue

After Sunday morning’s carnage in Orlando Donald Trump took to Twitter. His first two tweets were somewhat in the hazy vicinity of what you might expect from someone running for President of the United States.

“Really bad shooting in Orlando. Police investigating possible terrorism. Many people dead and wounded.” – 5:07 AM – 12 Jun 2016

“Horrific incident in FL. Praying for all the victims & their families. When will this stop? When will we get tough, smart & vigilant?” – 8:45 AM – 12 Jun 2016

But, unsurprisingly, he could not stop there. Less than an hour after that second tweet, he graced us with this.

“Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don’t want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance. We must be smart!” – 9:43 AM – 12 Jun 2016

As you might imagine this passive-aggressive pat on his own back enraged many folks, although it is difficult to think anybody was surprised he turned the spotlight on himself, even during a horrific tragedy. And when the criticisms came at him like a tsunami his devotees, as you also might imagine, were quick to defend him. They pointed out that by focusing on the “congrats” part of the statement his detractors took his words out of context. They were also compelled to mention it wasn’t even his first public response, it was his third.

Here’s the deal: once someone posts a single self-congratulatory tweet in relation to a mass murder it becomes irrelevant if it was this person’s 1st, 20th, or 100th comment on the subject. It doesn’t matter if this bullshit humble brag was part of a larger statement. What does matter is that speaks volumes about Trump (and his judgment) that he thought it appropriate to frame the discussion this way less than 24 hours after the massacre.

For those who support Trump I urge you to never forget the one absolute truth about this man: For the whole of his 40+ years in public life every action he takes, every plan he makes, every decision he makes, and every perspective he adopts share a single overriding objective – to benefit Donald Trump. I understand his supporters are angry – angry about politics as usual, angry about political correctness, angry about America’s perceived diminished standing in the world, angry about the influx of the tired, the poor, and the huddled masses. However, if these people are angry now I shudder to think how furious they will be if Trump gets elected and his actions finally illustrate to them the reality he doesn’t give a shit about anyone or anything that doesn’t personally enrich him.