Donald Trump runs smack into a wall

Donald Trump tweeted the following on Saturday night: โWacky Nut Job Ann Coulter, who still hasnโt figured out that, despite all odds and an entire Democrat Party of Far Left Radicals against me (not to mention certain Republicans who are sadly unwilling to fight), I am winning on the Border. Major sections of Wall are being built and renovated, with MUCH MORE to follow shortly. Tens of thousands of illegals are being apprehended (captured) at the Border and NOT allowed into our Country. With another President, millions would be pouring in. I am stopping an invasion as the Wall gets built.โ
Yes, Ann Coulter is in fact a โwacky nut job.โ Everything else extant in Trumpโs tweet is a lie. Trump is not โwinning on the border.โ It is not the case that โmajor sections of the wall are being built.โ No sections of the wall are being built or have been built. Not a single brick, not a single metal slat, not a single post has been laid, erected or lifted on Donald Trumpโs wall. Nothing.
โTens of thousandsโ of โillegalsโ have not been apprehended, or โcapturedโ as Trump so kindly translates for his less educated in his base, which is virtually all of them. There is nothing in reality to support such a ridiculous statistic. Nor is it true that โwith another President millions would be pouring in.โ
Let’s examine for a moment the word Trump uses to describe the โtens of thousandsโ who are, in point of fact, not being apprehended at the border. The term โillegalsโ is a dehumanizing term invented to stigmatize and tarnish. When refugees are fleeing oppressive situations and presenting themselves at the American border in a lawful and orderly manner, it’s easier to turn your back on them, deny them sanctuary and separate them from and cage their children if you refer to them as โillegals.โ
Remember, refugees are human beings, just like you and me, who, as John F Kennedy put it, โinhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal.โ Trump wants you to join him in hating them instead. This article is brought to you courtesy of yet another short tweet by Donald Trump, only 92 words long, but nevertheless a masterwork of lies, divisiveness, and bigotry replete with hatred. A tweet written by a man of whom some brainwashed Americans still swooningly refer to as โpresident.โ

Robert Harrington is an American expat living in Britain. He is a portrait painter.