Is America Better Than This?

Donald J. Trump is the President of the United States, the head of the Republican Party and, just as importantly, a congenital liar.

His supporters know he lies as much as his detractors do. He can’t speak for longer than 15 seconds without some false statement being uttered. After two years with the same dismal approval ratings, his political opponents are mystified that his support is undiminished. And what does it say about America in 2019?

Not even his most loyal supporters would say that Donald Trump’s speeches are awe inspiring. In the more that two years of his presidency, there is not a memorable line that isn’t a punch line in a bad joke or a rallying cry for his base.

There is nothing meaningful and inspiring as can be found in Lincoln’s second inaugural address toward the end of the Civil War looking to heal the wounds of North and South. The presidency no longer has the poetry of Reagan’s “City on a Hill” alliteration. Or the comfort brought to the American people by Reagan’s words on the Challenger disaster such as “slipped the surly bonds of earth” to “touch the face of God.” Compare them to Trump’s most memorable lines of “No Collusion” and “witch-hunt.” When Trump speaks at his rallies, he is closer to sounding like borscht-belt comedian Shecky Green than FDR speaking to the nation during his Fireside Chats.

Trump told us that he was a dealmaker but unlike the “New Deal” or “Fair Deal,” Trump will be remembered for no deal. President Trump sold the myth of being for…