Reader to writer: 'You're an idiot'

Those words, spewed by a disciple of President Donald J. Trump, were like a knife to the heart. The pain was so intense, it caused this writer to binge watch TV Evangelist Jimmy Swaggart while drinking dry martinis – with olives. (Isn’t that why the Mount of Olives adjacent to Jerusalem’s Old City was created? To provide garnish for the nectar of the Gods?)

As Swaggart paced the stage, the soft-cover “Good Book” flopping in his hand, the pain of being called an “idiot” by the adherent of the Holey of Holeys (not the Holy of Holies) – Trump – started to subside.

In retrospect, it wasn’t Swaggart speaking in tongues (jibberish, in baby talk) that provided the salve to this writer’s wounded heart, but rather a booming voice from above that made the walls shake: “ ... And you can grab them by the -----!”

There was also this: “You need to own a beauty pageant so you can stand in the dressing room while the nubile beauties walk around naked.”

Finally, the voice from above offered a piece of advice that made being called an “idiot” by Trump’s supporter a compliment: “Go forth and inherit millions of dollars from your father, file for bankruptcy four times, have enough money to pay off a porn star and run for president. Millions of Americans will forgive you your trespasses because you promise to ‘Make America Great Again.’”

To be sure, Jimmy Swaggart and dry martinis are a potent brew.

The reader responsible for this writer’s headache the day after was responding to the column in which Trump was blamed for the closing of the 53-year-old Lords-town assembly plant.

The column made the point that GM CEO Mary Barra not only ignored Trump’s threat of financial retribution if she closed plants in the U.S., but thumbed her nose at him by expanding an assembly facility in Mexico to build the redesigned, re-engineered Chevrolet Blazer.

Here’s what the Trumpinista wrote, in part:

“Went out to eat last night. Hardly could find a seat anywhere. People have extra money from low gas prices. Evil Trump has made America energy efficient....damn him. BUT...it made cars like the Cruze less desirable…that’s the truth and you’re an idiot.”

To quote Trump regarding job-creation when he came to the Mahoning Valley shortly after taking the oath of office:

“They’re all coming back. They’re all coming back. Don’t move. Don’t sell your house ... Do not sell it. We’re going to get those values up. We’re going to get those jobs coming back, and we’re going to fill up those factories or rip them down and build brand new ones. It’s going to happen.”

The 4,000-plus laid off workers from the Lordstown assembly plant are certainly finding solace today in the president’s words.

But while his supporters continue to make excuses for him, there are readers of this column who refuse to drink what Trump has concocted.

Here’s a sampling:

“Just had to tell you, loved your [column] today re: Trump vs. Barra/GM. I had a few good laughs at your witticisms, ie, il Duce, kick to his ball-bearings, etc. It was necessary to laugh because the situation is tragic, not funny. Like so many others here, I am heartsick that Lordstown has essentially closed and that so many people, some my friends, have lost their livelihood. I had to share your article with my brother who is out of State but with whom I have had many conversations about the situation of Trump and all his crap and about GM, and he agreed that while you nailed it and it added a little humor, it was indeed tragic because one wonders if things might have turned out more positively if Trump had not tried to bully Barra and had been more positively involved from the beginning instead of using his normal dictator mode. Keep em coming.”

The Mahoning Valley has lost a major employer and it happened under Trump’s watch.

The same readers who are berating this writer for blaming the president for the region’s economic woes would have been demanding the impeachment of former Democratic President Barack Obama had GM turned its back on the Valley during his tenure.

Instead, it was Obama who was responsible for the Lordstown plant staying open for more than a decade, and there wasn’t one word of appreciation from peanut gallery.

Idiot? Better than sleazy. Remember, the late Sen. John McCain, a prisoner of war in Vietnam, isn’t a war hero, according to President Bone Spurs.