~a column by Colleen O’Brien
I just finished a book called The Life and Words of John F. Kennedy, published by Scholastic in 1964, a year after JFK’s assassination. It holds dozens of quotes that reflect a person of hope and inspiration; the man knew how to use our native tongue.
I also just finished a review of a book called Yuge, by Garry Trudeau of “Doonesbury” fame and the first cartoonist to win a Pulitzer. Over the last 30 years, out of Donald J Trump’s mouth came hundreds of cartoons for Mr. Trudeau who said of his muse, “…the most natural ‘toon talent since Daffy Duck. I didn’t have to change a thing. It’s all the Donald’s words.” Trump’s words then and recently reflect a person of cynicism, bigotry and lies; the man’s adept at using a fourth-grade-level vocabulary.
JFK: “We are politicians in the sense that we believe political action through one of the political parties is the best means of achieving service for our country. These matters do not end on Election Day. All this is a means to an end, not an end in itself, and the end is service to our country.” Jefferson-Jackson Day speech, Middletown, Ohio, 1960
Trump: “I’ve spent my whole life working with people of modest means!” When asked in what capacity, Trump responded, “Evicting them! I’ve seen how these people live!” Direct quote written into a “Doonesbury” cartoon from a Newsweek interview, September 28, 1987
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JFK, honoring an American poet laureate: “Robert Frost . . . saw poetry as the means of saving power from itself. When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man concerned, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.” Amherst, Massachusetts, October 26, 1963
Trump: “I think if this country gets any kinder or gentler, it’s literally going to cease to exist.” Playboy, 1990
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JFK: “Our national conservation effort must include the complete spectrum of resources: air, water and land; fuels, energy and minerals; soils, forest and forage; fish and wildlife. Together they make up the world of nature which surrounds us — a vital part of the American heritage.” Message to Congress, Washington, D.C., March 1, 1962
Trump: “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.” Trump Twitter, 2012
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In 1961, President Kennedy issued an executive order charging a commission with the responsibility for developing recommendations for overcoming sex discrimination. His preamble said: “Prejudices and outmoded customs act as barriers to the full realization of women’s basic rights, which should be respected and fostered as part of our nation’s commitment to human dignity, freedom and democracy.”
Trump: “There has to be some form of punishment” [for women who seek abortions]. MSNBC forum, 2016
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JFK: “Nor is it accidental that many of our outstanding Presidents, men such as Jefferson or Wilson or Truman, have had a deep sense of history.” Parade Magazine Sept. 23, 1962
Trump: “The beauty of me is that I’m very rich.” ABC “Good Morning, America” interview, March 17, 2011
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JFK: “Democracy is a difficult kind of government. It requires the highest qualities of self-discipline, restraint, a willingness to make commitments and sacrifices for the general interest, and also it requires knowledge. Dublin, Ireland, June 28, 1963
Trump: When asked if as President, he would start a war with China, “Who knows?” New York Times interview, March 25, 2016
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JFK: “The pursuit of knowledge rests everything on the . . . idea of a world based on diversity, self-determination, freedom.” University of California, Berkeley, March 23, 1962
Trump: “We won with poorly educated. I love the poorly educated.” On his performance with apparently poorly educated voters who helped him win the Nevada caucus, February 23, 2016
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JFK: “There isn’t any doubt that the center of the action in the American constitutional system is the President of the United States. . . . [who] speaks for the nation.” TV/radio interview, Washington, D.C., December 17, 1962
Trump: “Don’t tell me it doesn’t work — torture works…. Waterboarding is fine, but it’s not nearly tough enough, okay?” Political rally in Bluffton, South Carolina, February 17, 2016
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JFK: “So let us begin anew, remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness….” Inaugural address, Washington, D.C., January 20, 1961
Trump: “There may be somebody with tomatoes in the audience. If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously. Okay? Just knock the hell — I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees.” Political rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Feb. 1, 2016
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JFK: “It is in times such as these that many men, weak in courage and frail in nerve, develop the tendency to turn suspiciously on their neighbors and leaders.” Washington, D.C., June 22, 1962
Trump: “It is better to live one day as a lion than 100 years as a sheep.” A tweet quoting fascist Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, February 28, 2016
