The story is: The emperor has no clothes
The story is: The emperor has no clothes
by Bob Topper
1102 words
In my lifetime, presidents from both parties have given inspirational speeches – Kennedy in 1963 at the Berlin Wall saying to the German people, “Ich bin ein Berliner” (I am a Berliner) and Reagan in? 1987, at the same place, saying, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” But Trump’s speech before the UN on the 23rd of September was an embarrassment.
I watched the full length and the follow-up commentary by ABC news analysts. The commentators pretended that Trump’s behavior was normal. Why the charade?
In 1837 Hans Christian Anderson wrote The Emperor Has No Clothes, a story about a gullible king who spends lavishly on fine clothes. He is convinced by a couple of grifters that they will make a magnificent suit for him that will be visible to him, his court, and intelligent people, but invisible to stupid folks. The impostors produce an imaginary garment, which the king proudly wears as he struts about town. The people, not wanting to appear stupid and fearful of angering the emperor, go along with the king’s delusion. Unaware of the charade, a child says, “the emperor has no clothes,” but the pretense goes on.
Trump’s speech is difficult to watch because he was delusional. He said that he ended seven wars, saved the US economy from the disastrous policies of the Biden administration, and described himself as “always right.” And he went on to lecture the UN saying that because of their immigration policies and climate change initiatives, “your countries are going to hell.”
This was not a normal speech given by a normal man, yet the UN representatives and news analysts went along with the emperor’s pretense. Why?
The silence of the UN representatives can be excused. Despite their bewilderment, they are visitors to our shores and obligated to show respect for the office of the President. The news analysts are another matter. For years they have known that the poor man’s mental faculties have been declining. Like UN members, they may have wanted to show respect for the office, but a journalist’s first obligation is to report the truth objectively. Our free, self-governing, society depends on reliable, accurate information. News organizations are obligated to report irrational behavior; not to pretend they didn’t see what was clearly obvious.
Trump did not end seven wars, or even the war in Ukraine, which he promised, if elected, to do on day one. And from Biden, he inherited the world’s strongest economy. It remains so, but his unpredictable trade policies show weak job growth and higher inflation. And one might jest that he or she is always right, but only a fool seriously believes it.
The analysts went along with the pretense because they were afraid, afraid of retaliation by Trump and his administration. The Washington Post rolled over when its editorial board broke tradition and refused to endorse a presidential candidate, and CBS’s 60 Minutes folded in a frivolous lawsuit. The list goes on with CBS cancelling Stephen Colbert; Disney suspending Jimmy Kimmel; Hegseth, requiring journalists to sign a pledge not to report unauthorized information; Trump revoking White House press credentials and branding critical reporting he doesn’t like as “fake news.“
News organizations must stand their ground. These issues are far too important. It is wrong to pretend otherwise.
In his speech Trump identified two crucial issues, immigration, and climate change. But his solutions exacerbate both problems. Open borders are not the policy of any nation, yet he called open borders a “failed experiment,” and he said climate science was created by “stupid people,” and “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.”
His answer to immigration was simplistic: build walls, police borders, and deport. And for climate change, simply deny that it exists.
The Republican party, with the support of the oil and gas industry have worked overtime to discredit global warming. But the mechanism by which carbon dioxide absorbs and emits infrared radiation has been understood for over 200 years, and the data showing the correlation between the increase in temperature and the rise of carbon dioxide concentration together with increased burning of fossil fuels is overwhelming. That may be beyond the grasp of Donald Trump, but not brighter minds. Objective journalists and newscasters know that. Allowing an unstable president to deny that the problem exists is a disservice to humanity.
And to deal with immigration, one should first appreciate the causes of the problem. Trump gave us his near-sighted opinion in 2016 when he said, “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.”
It is not that simple.
The people who come to our southern border have endured great hardship. They come to escape violence, oppression, poverty, and persecution in their home countries. And they are attracted by America’s freedom, security, opportunity, and quality of life. That so many people risk their lives to come here is a testament to America’s guiding principles – freedom, equality, and democracy, which are the foundation of our great society. That immigration has overwhelmed the security of our southern border is cause for concern, but it should also inspire pride.
And certainly some immigrants may be undesirable, but studies by the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, and others, have shown that crime rates for immigrants are far lower than that of American citizens. Moreover, immigration has been and is essential to America’s success. The Economist recently noted that “Closed borders will make the country smaller, poorer and less innovative”
We should have neither open nor closed borders, but an immigration policy that welcomes productive and law-abiding people and that is consistent with our values and laws. Over the past 20 years there have been two bipartisan attempts to revise our immigration policy. In 2013 the “gang of eight” senators, including Marco Rubio (R-FL) wrote such legislation, and in 2024 there was a second effort led by James Langford (R-OK). Both were approved by Democrats but voted down by Republicans.
The Stephen Miller approach, closing boarders, denying due process, and using masked ICE agents to apprehend, jail and deport people to prisons in El Salvador mimics methods of authoritarian, fascist regimes. It is not the American way.
To stop the madness, news organizations must speak out and report the truth. So should everyone else. When someone denies climate science or endorses one of Stephen Miller’s diabolical schemes, don’t pretend the emperor has his clothes.
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Bob Topper, syndicated by PeaceVoice, is a retired engineer.
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