That joke isn’t funny anymore

The New York Times decided to give Rich Lowry column space to discuss how Donald Trump should make “character” the central issue of the 2024 presidential campaign. That sounds like the premise for an Onion article, but behold:

Presidential races are won and lost on character as much as the issues, and often the issues are proxies for character. Not character in the sense of a candidate’s personal life . . .

In other words not “character” in the sense of “character,” but “character” in the sense of . . . what are we talking about here exactly?

. . . but the attributes that play into the question of whether someone is suited to the presidency — is he or she qualified, trustworthy and strong, and does he or she care about average Americans?

Wait a second, are we talking about Donald Trump here?

Because here’s my highly scientific rating of how Donald Trump ranks in regard to this attributes among the 45 men who have been president of the United States:

Is he qualified for the office?

Donald Trump is by far the least qualified person to hold the office of president of the United States who has been elected to it, by a mile. For example, the only two other presidents not to hold elective office before ascending to the White House were Grant (won the Civil War) and Eisenhower (won World War II). Trump hosted The Apprentice.

Is he trustworthy?

Trump is by far the least trustworthy person ever to be president. Again, there’s a huge gap between him and the runner-up for this honor. I mean compared to Trump even Richard Nixon has got soul.

Is he strong?

Trump is by far the weakest person ever to be president. He is a whining toddler in the form of a large adult. He is a physical coward who hates personal confrontation so much that he always dispatches his minions to do something as simple as firing an underling (ironic!).

Does he care about average Americans?

Trump is dead last among presidents in caring about average Americans, because he’s dead last among presidents in caring for other human beings, whether average or exceptional. He is a narcissistic sociopath, who is no more capable of even pretending to care about anybody else as he is of swimming the English channel.

In other words, Lowry’s column is the most extreme form of gaslighting, and the NYT’s willingness to print it illustrates the extent to which the people who run the paper are either actively hoping that Trump wins, or failing utterly to meet their responsibilities to the historical moment, or some horrifying combination of this grim comment on their own characters.