Tom Brady's Comments Show Trump's Schtick Has Lost It's Resonance

Trump's schtick has been that he is the tough guy in the Culture War. He was willing to take on anyone who would fight against us. He asked that we just give him the power, and told us he would vanquish our enemies.

It hasn't exactly worked out like that.

Trump has alienated his base - people like me - who voted for the man who told us he would build a Wall on the border, that it was his first priority, it would be the FIRST thing he did when he got into office.

When people scoffed, mocked and told him he couldn't - he wouldn't - his response was, "THE WALL JUST GOT A LITTLE HIGHER."

At first, I didn't like Trump's schtick. I thought he was a blowhard. But then, the techniques he employed to back up the schtick, the winning strategies, the ineffable ability to control the public conversation, and to sway the will of powerful men, convinced me he was, indeed, a force to be reckoned with.

He was a man who could, and would, build that wall.

But Trump has let us down on DACA and The Wall. Personally, I do not care much about DACA. I think The Wall is the priority. If someone would just build the fucking wall, and stem the endless tide of illegal immigration, I would more than willingly settle the situation with those who are already here.

I already live with them. They are, for the most part, perfectly nice people, and many of them do contribute a hell of a lot to our society.

But nice people doing nice things is not what a society is made up of. Societies are built on the foundation of law, and when the foundation gets weak, because of the endless heavy-treading of those who would stampede across the law, then the foundation needs to be reinforced.

And in this case, that means, following the law and building a wall to keep those who would break the law out.

If Trump would do that, he would have the will of the people behind him. He hasn't done it, nor has he shown any evidence that it is his first priority, and so he has lost the will of the people.

We are in war. We are in no mood to be lied to by our leaders, especially a leader like Trump, behind whom we rallied, in whom we have placed our hope.

Our Hope, and our Will, and the time and effort we spent rallying behind him, defending him, and exhorting on his behalf, in the face of a relentless tide of hatred, THOSE ARE NOT SMALL THINGS.

THEY ARE THE TIME AND ENERGY OF OUR VERY LIVES.

Trump has given us reason to believe he does not intend to hold up his end of the bargain.

Today we see that New England Patriots Quarterback (Team Leader) Tom Brady released a statement condemning Trump's statements on the firing of football players who would take a knee:

Yeah, I certainly disagree with what he said. I thought it was just divisive,” Brady said. “Like I said, I just want to support my teammates. I am never one to say, ‘Oh, that is wrong. That is right.’ I do believe in what I believe in. I believe in bringing people together and respect and love and trust. Those are the values that my parents instilled in me. That is how I try and live every day. I have been blessed to be in locker rooms with guys all over the United States over the course of my career. Some of my great friends are from Florida, Virginia, New York, Montana, Colorado, Texas. The one thing about football is it brings so many guys together — guys you would never have the opportunity to be around. Whether it was in college, and all the way into the pros. We’re all different, we’re all unique. That is what makes us all special.”

Many Trump supporters would be inclined to think, "Oh, here is a another rich, status quo guy, afraid to speak out against the overwhelming media power behind the Black Lives Matter movement which animates the Knee-Taking National Anthem protests.

That is not what is going on here.

Read Brady's words carefully. As Quarterback, he is the team leader. His job, his responsibility in life when he reports to the office, is to lead his team to victory. He is VERY GOOD at his job.

His teammates are divided up along political lines because of Trump's comments. Tom Brady is saying he can not lead a divided team.

Tom Brady, and the Owner of the Patriots, Robert Kraft, have been VOCAL TRUMP SUPPORTERS.

I will leave Kraft out of this discussion, because I do not respect a man who would allow his Franchise, his Brand, to be highjacked to run veritable commercials for Black Lives Matter (which is what I see these National Anthem protests as being).

But Tom Brady is saying, here, he just wants to win. And Trump isn't helping. He is hurting. He is making Tom Brady's life harder. He is making the lives of the Patriots football team harder. He is making it hard for them to do their job.

What kind of leader of a nation does that? What kind of leader is Trump?

Now, think about it? We are in a War. It's a Culture War, but it is a War. It very well could be a prelude to a very real and violent Civil War. Brady was a vocal Trump supporter, even during the campaign, and after it, through all the relentless hate-spewing. But now, Brady is balking.

If Trump were building that fucking wall, do you think Brady would be balking?

I do not think he would.

There are things more important that going to the office and doing our jobs. There are things more important than football. Tom Brady showed us he believed that by simply supporting during the hate avalanche of the last year.

Trump took up the mantle of the Will of the People. Trump promised us he would do the things we wanted. Trump made us all believe he would, and we put enormous effort into his win. We rallied behind him, even as that rallying meant an increase in the hate directed at us on a daily basis.

We are in a War, and we stood up, and our standing up increased the enemy fire aimed directly at us.

And Trump sat down.

Trump has become a barking dog on the sidelines of our nation at this point. Trump is no longer acting as our leader. He has abandoned us on the battle field.

His barking is only serving to call attention to us at this point. He is only increasing the hatred aimed at us, and he is not giving us anything in return.

This is a massive betrayal of the Hope and trust we placed in him. It is a betrayal of our efforts.

The reality of this betrayal is only beginning to set in with Trump supporters. Tom Brady's statement is evidence that those in the mainstream of Trump support are beginning to realize they have been abandoned by their leader.

People are understanding what's happening. It's coming in a slow, building wave, that will become a tidal wave.

Trump is set to reap a terrible blowback. All the energy, that we put behind Trump, will come back against Trump if he breaks his contract with us to build the wall.

I would not want to be Donald Trump when that Tidal Wave comes rushing.