Trump’s Needed Act (Part #2)

By Michael C. Wright

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich spoke Friday about his frustration with Tuesday's election of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States.

“I'm still sick to my stomach, and not basically because the Republicans won or anything, but the disgusting tenor, tone and all the comments that have been xenophobic, homophobic, racist, misogynistic,” he said before the Spurs' home game against the Detroit Pistons. “And I live in that country where half the people ignored all that to elect someone. That's the scariest part of [the] whole thing to me.”

“It's got nothing to do with the environment, Obamacare and all the other stuff. We live in a country that ignored all those values that we would hold our kids accountable for.”

Popovich spoke with reporters for nearly six minutes about the election. He said he understands why some, including political leaders, are calling for Americans to support the president-elect. But Popovich said Trump's words cannot be simply overlooked and forgotten.

“Everybody wants him to be successful. It's our country; we don't want it to go down the drain,” Popovich said. “Any reasonable person would come to that conclusion, but it does not take away the fact that he used that fear-mongering and all the comments from day one. The race-baiting with trying to make Barack Obama, our first black president, illegitimate. It leaves me to wonder where I've been living and with whom I'm living.”

Popovich also expressed empathy for minority groups that might be adversely affected by Trump's remarks during his campaign.

“What gets lost in the process are African-Americans, Hispanics, women and the gay population, not to mention the eighth-grade developmental stage exhibited by him when he made fun of the handicapped person,” he said. “I mean, come on. That's what an eighth-grade bully does, and he was elected president of the United States. We would have scolded our kids. We would have had discussions and talked until we were blue in the face trying to get them to understand these things. And he is in charge of our country. That's disgusting.”

Popovich emphasized that his problem with Trump isn't merely a matter of political affiliation.

“Values to me are more important than anybody's skill in business or anything else because it tells who we are, how we want to live and what kind of people we are,” he said. “That's why I have great respect for people like Lindsey Graham, John McCain, John Kasich, who I disagree with on a lot of political things. But they had enough fiber and respect for humanity and tolerance for all groups to say what they said about [Trump].”
                                                                                                                                                 
Stay angry. That's the only way to uphold principles in Trump's America.
Having run a campaign of division, he implores us to put an end to our divisions. No.

By Leon Wieseltier