Donald Trump went to Dalton, Georgia, on October 16 and explained why he keeps calling Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed Mohammad. His defense, captured in a C-SPAN clip reproduced by the Daily Caller, was a little lesson in presidential authority:
“I’m the president of the United States. I can call you whatever the hell I want.”
Well, that settles the health care debate. The man has naming privileges.
During the same rally at Dalton Municipal Airport, Trump offered a broader tip. If you cannot remember the name of somebody from the Middle East, Reuters reports that he recommended you “just say 'Mohammad'.” He put the odds at roughly 65 percent and claimed, “I’ve never been wrong.” He was discussing Iran and pretending to ask men named Mohammad whether they wanted to be its president. Reuters described the crowd's response as muted.
I particularly enjoyed the arithmetic. A 65 percent success rate, followed immediately by a perfect record. Even the bullshit can't agree with itself.
El-Sayed is Muslim. His full name is Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, so Trump is grabbing a real part of the name and using it instead of the name the candidate uses publicly. The spelling lesson is a distraction. Trump himself described criticism of that choice, then answered it by asserting his power to keep doing it.
El-Sayed had already objected to earlier attacks on October 8. In the response reproduced by the Daily Caller, he said Trump knew his name and was using his faith to distract voters from everyday costs. Eight days later, Trump's answer was that he could do what he wanted.
We just covered John Kennedy's Bin Laden jersey smear at an appearance with Mike Rogers. This time, the president supplied the explanation for his own name game. No visiting senator required.
Argue with El-Sayed's policies. Ask him an unpleasant question about his record. There is plenty a Senate candidate should have to answer for. His Muslim name isn't a substitute for any of it.
Trump's defense was that holding office entitles him to behave this way. The presidency, reduced to permission to be an asshole. At least that particular policy was clearly explained.
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