GROB: You can love it or leave it, if your name is Trump

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

“If you’re not happy here, then you can leave. As far as I’m concerned, if you hate our country, if you’re not happy here, you can leave, and that’s what I say all the time. That’s what I said in a tweet, which I guess some people think is controversial. A lot of people love it by the way. A lot of people love it, but if you’re not happy in the U.S., if you’re complaining all the time, very simply, you can leave. You can leave right now. Come back if you want. Don’t come back. It’s okay too, but if you’re not happy, you can leave.”

Those are the exact words of President Donald Trump, a person who possibly complains more than any other elected American in history. It’s incessant and perpetual. Every speech, every tweet, every offhand comment is little more than a list of knee-jerk complaints about America.

“If you’re not happy, you can leave.”

And you know, he’s right. You can leave. If you’re a multi-millionaire, or perhaps a billionaire, who’s had everything handed to you your entire life and has never been held accountable for anything you’ve ever done, it’s easy to get out of anything. Just leave.

If you’re not getting good grades in your rich-kid private prep school, you can leave. You can find another rich-kid private prep school. And another, after you leave the second one. It’s easy to leave, when Daddy’s rich. There are plenty of other schools. Maybe the teachers at the new school will be more forgiving after you physically attack one of them.

If you’re not happy with getting drafted into the military, if you don’t love our country enough to serve when you are called, you can pretend you have an injury, like maybe a bone spur. You can even get the Trump family doctor to back you up, if the price is right. If you’re rich, you can get out of it, over and over and over again. One of the poor kids can die in your place. Because a lot of people love America.

Or when one of those other kids who loves America gets captured, and tortured, you can say you’re not impressed. You can say he’s not a hero, because heroes don’t get captured. You’ve never been a fan, anyway. You don’t like people who get captured. When you’re a Trump, you can say anything.

If you aren’t happy with your marriage, you can leave. And leave again. And again. You can even cheat on your wife with a porno actress. You have that option, when you’re rich and unaccountable.

If your business is failing because you’re a terrible businessman, you can hide behind bankruptcy laws and get out of there. Over and over and over again, you can leave. You can also refuse to pay your employees or the contractors you hired. Why should they expect to get money for their services? Why are they complaining? They love America, don’t they? Shouldn’t that be enough?

If your taxes are too high, you can cheat on them. Or you put all your capital in a foreign bank, and never show anyone your returns. You can exaggerate your wealth to the insurance guy, and undervalue your wealth to the tax man. If you get caught, you can hire lawyers to fight the country you say you love, and delay your penalty. When your lawyers run out of arguments, you can just leave the country.

When you get caught lying, over and over and over again, to the American people, you can always blame the reporters. You can always scream “fake news.” You can even call those reporting your lies the “enemy of the people.” When some maniac believes you, and kills one of them, no one will blame you. You can do that, when you’re Donald Trump.

When you’re President of the United States, and you’re mixed up with criminals who are accused of molesting, abusing and trafficking children, you can always make racist comments on Twitter to get everyone riled up and distract attention away from your own disgusting actions and incompetencies. When you’re rich and unaccountable, it’s better to be associated with alleged racists than with alleged rapists.

When foreign adversaries attack our elections, and you welcome them because they’re working in your favor, and you obstruct justice to try to cover it up, you can always hire a crony who will protect you, and lie for you as U.S. attorney general. You can do this, when you’re Donald Trump, because Donald Trump is not held accountable for anything.

All his life, when things haven’t been going well for Donald Trump, he’s just left, and moved on. If he doesn’t love it, if he’s not happy with it, he can leave.

You know who can’t leave, though? The children, ripped away from their parents, who are dying in Trump’s cages. They can’t just leave.

People who can’t afford health care, who need treatment, or surgery, or affordable medicine. They can’t leave.

Soldiers on food stamps, and veterans with mental health issues — they aren’t going anywhere. Neither are black men in prison for misdemeanors, or black mothers who watch their unarmed sons get choked to death for inexplicable reasons.

Farmers who can’t get a fair price for their crops can’t leave. Cops who fear for their lives every day can’t leave.

Teachers who need a second job to make ends meet can’t leave, either. Neither can children getting shot at in schools.

People breathing dirty air, or drinking poison water simply can’t just leave.

They aren’t happy in America. America has let them down. They have no choice but to stay, though, and work to try to make it better. That’s what adults do. That’s what people who are accountable do. That’s what people who love their country do.

When you’re Donald Trump, there’s always an escape hatch. When you’re Donald Trump, you can always leave. That’s what he says, “all the time.” He’s clearly not happy in America, he complains about it all the time, day after day. It’s incessant and perpetual.

I have a few complaints of my own, but I love America, and I’m not going anywhere. This is my home. Don’t you dare tell me I should leave. I’m going to stay and try to fix the things that are wrong with it.

While I’m doing that, I’ll also wait politely for Mr. Trump to follow his own advice.

Please leave, Mr. Trump.

Come back if you want, or don’t come back. Either way, you’re not helping, sir. You’re making it much worse.

Please, let the adults handle this. Just leave.