By NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images.
On Tuesday night, Donald Trump will deliver his previously delayed State of the Union address, the annual event in which the media declares him presidential for sticking to the words on the teleprompter and sounding slightly less unhinged than usual. Based on early reports, Trump will call for bipartisan “unity” hours after attacking Chuck Schumer on Twitter, and probably hours before attacking Stacey Abrams, Bernie Sanders, the New England Patriots, and whoever else he believes has grievously wronged him, in the spirit of a Real Housewife of Orange County several liters of Chardonnay deep. He’ll also use his speech to highlight the cruel, heartbreaking treatment of a young boy that started shortly after he became president. No, this child was not taken from his parents at the border thanks to the administration‘s family-separation policy. Nor is he a refugee, an undocumented immigrant, Latino, Black, Jewish, L.G.B.T.Q., or any other individual victimized on a daily basis thanks to this administration. Instead:
An 11-year-old boy who says he’s been bullied because of his last name—Trump—will be one of President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump’s guests at the State of the Union on Tuesday, the White House announced.
Joshua Trump, a sixth-grade student from Wilmington, Del., who is not related to the president, drew headlines last year after his parents went public to share stories of the abuse they said he had suffered because of his last name. . . . The issue has been ongoing for years, his parents said. They even pulled Joshua out of school for home schooling at one point but decided to enroll him in middle school with the hope that the bullying would decrease. It didn’t.
It goes without saying that any kind of bullying is tragic and something that no one, including Joshua Trump, should ever have to endure. Inviting him to sit in the SOTU audience and highlighting his plight is the height of rich, though, considering: 1) the president would be unlikely to show such sympathy toward any bullied individual who didn’t share his last name; 2) all of the kids Trump’s policies have hurt just as badly, if not worse; and 3) he is literally known for spending valuable “Executive Time” coming up with nicknames to mock his enemies:
On the other hand, it’s not entirely surprising the administration would think this was a good idea, and not just because the cognitive dissonance is strong with this group. Using children as political props has been their thing for some time now. Before Joshua, there was the letter from then-10-year-old Frank, whose request to mow the White House lawn was read aloud by Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and bizarrely used to back Trump’s calls to restrict legal immigration. (Frank ultimately got his wish). Before that, there was Dylan Harbin, a.k.a. “Pickle,” whose letter wondering why people are so mean to Trump also made Sanders’s daily briefing. Anyway, stay tuned for Wednesday, when the White House declares that anyone questioning Trump’s motives in inviting young Joshua is a monster who should take a long look in the mirror.
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This story was originally published by Vanity Fair
via USAHint.com
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