Donald Trump's Cruel Streak For decades, the candidate has willfully inflicted pain and humiliation

Trump told us all his life how cruel he was. Few listened.




Donald Trump's Cruel Streak

For decades, the candidate has willfully inflicted pain and humiliation.


https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/09/donald-trumps-cruel-streak/501554/


Donald Trump Is Senselessly Cruel
Conor Friedersdorf


For decades, the candidate has willfully inflicted pain and humiliation.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/09/donald-trumps-cruel-streak/501554/

Sep 26, 2016



Dominick Reuter / Reuters

Donald J. Trump has a cruel streak. He willfully causes pain and distress to others. And he repeats this public behavior so frequently that it’s fair to call it a character trait. Any single example would be off-putting but forgivable. Being shown many examples across many years should make any decent person recoil in disgust.

Judge for yourself if these examples qualify.

* * *

In national politics, harsh attacks are to be expected. I certainly don’t fault Trump for calling Hillary Clinton dishonest, or wrongheaded, or possessed of bad judgment, even if it’s a jarring departure from the glowing compliments that he used to pay her.

But even in a realm where the harshest critiques are part of the civic process, Trump crossed a line this week when he declared his intention to invite Gennifer Flowers to today’s presidential debate. What kind of man invites a husband’s former mistress to an event to taunt his wife? Trump managed to launch an attack that couldn’t be less relevant to his opponent’s qualifications or more personally cruel. His campaign and his running-mate later said that it was all a big joke. No matter. Whether in earnest or in jest, Trump showed his tendency to humiliate others.

Talk-radio host Hugh Hewitt, who is supporting Donald Trump in this year’s election, was subject to the cruel streak months ago while moderating a GOP debate. “A year ago you told me on my radio show—the audio and transcript are out there on YouTube—that you would release your tax returns,” Hewitt said to Trump. “First of all, very few people listen to your radio show,” Trump replied. “That’s the good news. Let me just tell you—which happens to be true. Check out the ratings.” Trump took pleasure in puffing himself up by being gratuitously cruel.

What quality within him causes him to lash out this way? It was on display again when Trump attacked the wife of his primary opponent Ted Cruz. Here is the tweet he sent:

This is vile behavior.

What kind of person attacks a rival by mocking the appearance of his wife? ......................................

That’s who Trump is: If he’s in front of a crowd with an ally who has a weight problem, he’ll find an excuse to bring it up, to humiliate the ally, for no apparent reason.....................................

What kind of person still acts that way at 70? A bad person.

It is that simple.

Giving a cruel man power and expecting that he won’t use it to inflict cruelty is madness. To vote for Trump, knowing all of this, is to knowingly empower cruelty.

Better to recoil in disgust.

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.