By Jesse Sannicandro
Since President Trump has been elected, I’ve been hearing people insult his appearance.
Constantly.
The insult I hear most frequently is in regards to his complexion. The other two big ones that I hear are about his hairstyle and the size of his hands. Sure, he lays on the spray tan a little thick, maybe he could use a hairstylist and frankly, I don’t know how big a person’s hands should be. But as far as I’m concerned, these types of insults amount to little more than ad-hominem attacks.
I feel that if someone is going to criticize Trump, they should focus, instead, on the content of his character.
Trump has done plenty of terrible things. His introduction to the political sphere was latching onto the “birther” movement, a racist idea that questioned the legitimacy of Barack Obama’s presidency. Trump kickstarted his campaign by declaring in his presidential announcement that Mexicans are bringing crime and drugs into the country, adding, in this xenophobic speech, that they are rapists. During his campaign, he said, in a thinly veiled sexist remark, that Hillary Clinton doesn’t “have a presidential look.”
Ever since Trump has taken office, things have just gotten worse. The president went back on his promise to “drain the swamp” by stacking his cabinet with millionaires who have private interests. His immigration ban on Muslim-majority countries is a further example of his xenophobic and Islamophobic views. He seems to be unable to control his negative impulses and regularly resorts to personally attacking people, such as Meryl Streep, on Twitter.
An extremely troubling development in this administration is the attacks on the press. Trump dismisses many media outlets that disagree with him as fake news, a term that I’m not sure he entirely understands. He seems to be attempting to build his own reality into which he will lead his followers.
Trump isn’t the only member of his administration who has been mocked for outward appearances. Kellyanne Conway, the current counselor to the president and Trump’s former campaign manager, has been made fun of for her hair, makeup and outfits. She also defended Sean Spicer’s blatant lies as “alternative facts.”
Steve Bannon, White House chief strategist in Trump’s administration, has been insulted for his skin. He also seems to have been one of the key architects behind the Islamophobic immigration ban.
President Cheeto. Tiny Hands. Human Corncob. These names are nothing more than cheap shots at President Donald Trump’s physical appearance. In terms of adding to an argument, these statements do not have any positive effects.
Indeed, they weaken it.
There is plenty that is vile about Trump. As Dorothy Parker once said, beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone.