‘Trumpertantrum’

By Andy Torbett

It’s not mine. I can’t claim it but the title is certainly befitting of the current state of the Republican Presidential primary. How can one candidate’s behavior, which is more befitting of a toddling tyrant whose diapers are oozing dangerously beyond capacity, influence the integrity of otherwise dignified, accomplished individuals?

It seems when the “Trump-slinging” started other candidates have decided to denigrate themselves and join the “Trumpertantrums.” At the center of this latest Trump sideshow is an accusation from Ben Carson that Ted Cruz employed dirty tricks when a staffer from Cruz’s campaign passed on information from CNN that Carson would be terminating his campaign after Iowa. Ted Cruz and his staffer have both since apologized for the indiscretion of trusting CNN as a valid news source, but Donald Trump, ever the opportunist, is demanding the results of Iowa’s caucus be nullified … and we all know the best way to win an election is to keep firing the results until you get the one you want.

The fact that Trump has appointed himself the new champion of the dignity of Ben Carson is laughable, at best, when just mere hours ago he was trampling Carson’s name through the mud with the usual Trumponian vigor.

While it truly pains me to say this as I have been a supporter, Doctor Carson is not the innocent victim in this that he is portrayed to be either. A quick look at the timeline of events leading to this so-called “election fraud,” pens a telling narrative. The Sunday before the Iowa Caucus, the campaign manager for Ben Carson announces that he is switching to Ted Cruz. Carson then announces on Monday he will not be going to N.H., but home to Florida to get “a fresh set of clothes.” Later that same day, the entire staff of Carson’s Super Pac folds tent and moves into the Cruz camp. CNN, the same day, speculates on air, citing all of the above along with the info that Carson had no more campaign stops scheduled in his calendar, concludes that Carson is dropping out after Iowa.

Then Marco Rubio’s, yes he did, and Ted Cruz’s campaigns made the mistake of trusting CNN as a valid news source (my sarcasm inserted) and reposted the “news” hoping to capture some of Carson’s followers. In other words, they acted like they were campaigning to win.

Ted Cruz won. That is really the sole reason for Trump’s sudden piety. He lost, he’s sore, he’s pouting, and he wants a mulligan. Had the Carson “misinformation” worked in Trump’s favor, be assured he would be standing arms folded smug in the face of the accusations saying, “Yep, I did it. I won. You lost. Now, Bye Bye,” with no apologies forthcoming.

The “Trumpilations” of the Donald’s behavior should come as no surprise to anyone, but the influence his “Trumpertantrums” have had on other candidates is disheartening. Ben Carson has resorted to questioning the validity of Cruz’s faith, which if the brilliant neurosurgeon would just take a breath, he would remember that for a Christian to judge another man’s heart is scripturally forbidden. Marco Rubio, after a surprising performance in Iowa, has allowed himself to behave like a juvenile eagerly running to sling his share of “Trump” on the Cruz bandwagon as it passes him by.

Can we please, just forego the “Trumpertantrums” and, instead, focus on the competition and debate of the issues of a Presidential primary?

Andy Torbett of Atkinson writes a regular column entitled The Maine Conservative Voice. He can reached at meconservativevoice@gmail.com.