President Donald Trump is Texas-bound, and this is by no means a campaign trip; nor is it a rally, or public event centering around Trump and his overshadowing ego. No Mr. President, this trip is not about you; it is about the victims of Hurricane Harvey and the resultant massive flooding that has necessitated the evacuation of tens of thousands of people in and around Galveston and Houston. It is about the thousands of Texans, who, by the way, are also Americans, who have been rendered homeless, and in many cases penniless, by this merciless and unrelenting storm.
Please do your job, Donald
Mr. Trump, it is incumbent upon you to provide hope, resources, understanding, and mercy to these disenfranchised Americans whose faith, hope and resilience are being challenged by an entity that has, even more, power than you do, Sir: Mother Nature; No Donald, not Mother Jones, Mother Nature. (Don't worry about Mother Jones until you return to the White House). For many of these hard-working, tax paying Americans who in many cases hold two or even three jobs apiece, you, and the message that you deliver are the only hope that they have that they will be able to uplift themselves from the ravages of this storm and rebuild their lives.
Yes, Mr. President, despite your preoccupation with yourself and with House Speaker Paul Ryan's abandonment of you after your pardon of former racist Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, you must focus on someone else for a change.
There are families without homes, children whose schools are flooded and closed, people devoid of hope, and emergency shelters in need of food, water, and medical supplies.
Tweet étiquette
This commentator also would advise you, Mr. Trump, to observe your Twitter etiquette at this time and at least until the people of Texas and Louisiana no longer are in danger from Harvey and from the onslaught of flooding that Harvey causes.
This is not a time to tweet about yourself, your upcoming re-election campaign or about your current standing in the political hierarchy. The problems of Washington, including the seven advisors of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council who resigned because of your inappropriate comments after the tragedies in Charlottesville, will still be there when you return to the White House.
To put it bluntly, Sir, people could care less about your 2016 election victory over Hillary Clinton or your upcoming re-election campaign in 2020. People are not thinking about you, Trump Tower, designer, fashion dresses or vacations in Florida or trips to Camp David. If you insist on continuing to use Twitter even in times such as this, be sure that your tweets are about the hurricane and flooding victims in Texas and Louisiana and don't post any more tweets like this:
I will also be going to a wonderful state, Missouri, that I won by a lot in '16. Dem C.M. is opposed to big tax cuts. Republican will win S!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 27, 2017
Lead and inspire
All in all, Donald, this observer's advice to you is to provide the leadership and inspiration that is necessary in times such as this.
Throughout our country's short but great history, including the Industrial Revolution, American ingenuity, innovation, creativity, and persistence have resulted in great inventions and breakthroughs in technology. But none of these things would have been possible had it not been for the political leaders, including Presidents, who inspired the inventors to keep creating and never give up.
That is the leadership that you must provide now, Mr. President. This is not about you. It is about the People of Galveston, Houston, and Louisiana. It is about people coming together to rebuild and recreate what they had before the hurricane and flood. Ultimately, Mr. Donald, it is about the American People, about the winning attitude that is shared by all Americans, and the endless persistence, dedication, and faith for a better future that characterize us as a People.
