Trump's Afterthought.

I gather Trump’s first tweet following the Tacoma derailment amounted to a blatant attempt to make political capital out of the tragedy (and rather foolishly, too, given that I assume the cause is yet to be established and therefore the question of infrastructure spending of unknown relevance.) Only later, apparently as an afterthought, did he make a second tweet in which he said his ‘thoughts and prayers’ were with the victims. I expect some advisor told him it would be good for his image…

But that phrase: ‘thoughts and prayers.’ It’s the standard phrase used by people who can’t think of anything original to say, and as such is effectively meaningless and carries a condemnatory message about the user. And it has to be asked whether Trump is the sort of person to have thoughts for victims anyway. It doesn’t seem likely, does it, given his track record thus far? And does he ever pray? Well, who knows?

So once again he paints himself as a sordid little man totally bereft of any finer virtues, while the world watches his every move and reads his every tweet. Oh to be an embarrassed American in the Time of Trump.