Well, this is disappointing. I was convinced Donald Trump was going to be our first real long-term care president — a tireless and compassionate advocate for the profession and those we serve. Guess not. It just proves you never really know people.
Lost in all the furor over the Taylor Swift/Katy Perry feud were Trump’s recent remarks about Senator John McCain, one of America’s most cantankerous relics. “He’s not a war hero,” said The Donald, that irrepressible rascal. “He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”
This incendiary comment might seem like the harmless and endlessly entertaining rantings of an egomaniacal crazy person, but with Trump it’s just the tip of the toupee.
As renowned journalist Jon Stewart has already reported, Trump also prefers people who don’t get cancer. So it stands to reason he wouldn’t have much more sympathy for the elderly than he does for child nutrition. He probably agrees with Ben Carson, that age is a choice. *
His legendary level of insensitivity is all the more surprising now that I just stumbled across the Trump Pavilion for Nursing and Rehabilitation. It was apparently named after his own dear mother, does ironically include a hair salon and is self-professed to be one of the finest such establishments in Queens. Though I can’t tell from the pictures, I hope/assume there’s a wall around the private pay suites to keep Medicaid residents from sneaking in.
Even though I can’t support his presidency, I can envision a new Apprentice-replacing reality show set in the Pavilion. From time to time, Trump would show up unannounced with the New York survey team, jab his finger in the shell-shocked administrator’s face and say, “You’re F-tagged.” Obviously, the role of cranky resident would be played by John McCain.
* I have no idea if this is actually fair or true, but in the spirit of the Trump candidacy, I defend my right to make ridiculous and unsubstantiated assertions whenever I choose.
Things I Think is written by Gary Tetz, a national Silver Medalist and regional Gold Medal winner in the 2014 Association of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) awards program. He has amused, informed and sometimes befuddled long-term care readers worldwide since his debut with the former SNALF.com at the end of a previous century. He is a multimedia consultant for Consonus Healthcare Services in Portland, OR.
