A Total Disgrace
AJ Robinson

John Kelly, White House Chief of Staff, left, reacts to an ostensibly impromptu press conference held by USA President, Donald J Trump,
at Trump Towers, in New York City, on 15 August 2017.

My mother wrote, in her memoir, about coming to America. She arrived in New York City in 1946 and was awe-struck by the city skyline. Never had she seen such towering edifices of concrete and steel. America was truly a land of greatness.

Then my mother saw the Statue of Liberty.

She'd seen pictures in her schoolbooks, but none did justice to the Lady. My mom cried. She pledged to become a good American.

My mother made good on her promise; maybe a little too good. My brothers and I are fifty percent Italian, yet none of us bears a name that hints at our heritage. I'm Andrew, not Antonio or even Anthony.

My mother never taught any of us so much as a single word of her native tongue. No, her attitude was that she was an American, now, would speak English and have an American family. One of the proudest days of her life was when she passed the tests and became an American citizen.

As for my dad, he was proud to serve his country in the army and fight the fascists and Nazis. Nothing gave him greater joy than to come home to his parents and new wife; to begin the journey of their lives. He'd never been a fan of Franklin Roosevelt (FDR), sensing he'd let the attack on Pearl Harbor happen to get us into the war.

Yeah, I guess you could say my dad was an early conspiracy theorist. Still, he did agree that the USA should be in Second World War. He just felt that FDR should have done it honestly.

My parents hated Nazis and fascists. They hate all that these groups stood for. That's why today, for the first time in my life, I am ashamed of our President, Donald J Trump.

I, like so many people, saw the events in Charlottesville over the weekend. The hate and violence sickened me. What sickened more was the total abrogation of moral duty by the President.

Trump has been quick to attack and condemn anyone he disagreed with, anyone he thinks oppose him, in any way. That list includes people as diverse as the Pope, late night comedians and the hosts of television news shows. The list of those Trump attacks and condemns seems infinite.

By implication, neo-Nazis seemed okay to the President

Yet, he couldn't quickly condemn American neo-Nazis. Isn't that kind of a no-brainer? What, does putting the word American in front of it make the act hard? Okay, Donny, how about you just condemn Nazis in general, does that work for you?

I saw where the 82nd Airborne condemned the protesters for wearing their logo on their hats and the manufacturer of the Tiki Torches, which white supremacist groups carried, likewise denounced them, in a timely fashion. Several of the morons in those hate-spewing groups wore "Make America Great Again" hats, which Trump popularised during his campaign. Where was his repudiation of them?

Donny took three days to make a statement that seemed as a boilerplate. He sounded as a bored third grader reciting a book report, of a book he hadn't read. The news media has taken to calling that speech as a “hostage statement. Then he insulted and attacked the media.

I hoped Trump might rise to the office of President

Yes, today I am ashamed of our president, and for the first time ever I have to say, “Not my President.” It hurts to say, “Not my President.” I hoped he might rise to the office. He hasn't and now I don't think he ever will.