I want to talk about President Trump. But, I first have to tell you about the parish I was pastoring in Las Vegas. Yes, that Las Vegas. Each year our parish sponsored a summerfest. Musicians came from casinos to accompany the crowd with upbeat music as the hot dogs sizzled on the grills. One feature of the fest was the cow chip throwing contest. How far can you throw a dried-up disc of cow manure? Also, I recall a game where there were 12 squares inside a wire enclosure. You placed a bet on one of the squares, then, a live chicken was dropped into the pen and people could stick around around or continue visiting the fair while the manager of the event waited to certify the first square in which the chicken pooped. (This was not the classiest of church festivals.)
Amateur and professional entertainers put on various shows throughout the event. There were strolling trios playing Dixieland, a stage where comedians vied for the attention of the crowd, we even had a professional belly-dancer, swarthy, with flowing black hair who danced to exotic music. But, what I want to tell you about is one of the clowns who showed up.
She was of slight build with white grease paint on her sad face and a bright red ball on her nose. She had a baggy white suit trimmed with red satin and a flowing hat, the regular clown stuff. She looked strange but not funny. A clown is supposed to act funny. This one slunk around in the crowds, mewing quietly and her act was to mumble gibberish. She’d saunter up to a toddler, bend down , put her face in front of the little one and begin murmuring, almost whining. I guess she thought that was funny.
She wasn’t. Kids began to wail when she approached. They were terrified of her. She wasn’t funny.
I think Donald trump is a buffoon. A clown with huge, bleached hair and a baggy suit who purses his lips and rants about whatever is his latest hurt. If he were not president of the United States we could simply tolerate him as we do Uncle Charley at Thanksgiving dinner when he starts acting up. But, Trump the Clown, is dangerously scary. He creates division and fear and incites violence.
Our country may be a kind of carnival of characters, some slinging buffalo chips, some hanging around to see where the chicken will leave its poop. Many are watching the belly-dancer gyrate to a mid-eastern tune, others laughing at jokes, not a few, just listening to the music. I enjoy carnivals, too.
But, I am not laughing at our presidential clown because he is not funny. Come to think of it, I don’t want a president who is a clown at all. His devoted followers dismiss his rants because they believe he will make this country great again. The rest of us are already sick of him. He even looks like good-old Uncle Charley. We should fire him.