I have posted on this blog at least 50 posts very critical of President Donald Trump. I did not mince my words. Against that backdrop you should look at this post in which I will make mincemeat of what’s leaked from the new “tell-all” accusations of his “unfitness for office.”
I will deconstruct the book, one accusation after the other:
DUMB. The man is a genius. He sees things quickly and in simple terms because he’s so smart. So he’s never developed any patience. When you’re rich and smart, you don’t need to. He’s not an intellectual, enjoying word games or theories. He’s a man of practicalities.
ILLITERATE. He didn’t even spent the time to learn to read with any speed. Goes too slow for him. Gimme a few sound bites instead.
DIFFICULT to work with. Difficult doesn’t start to describe it. He wants things be done well, his way. He can be very nice when he doesn’t forget. He’s not a monster, most of the time, but he is very busy.
CRAZY. Even if he’d be mentally abnormal, that doesn’t mean: unfit for office, as says a new book. But this aside from: there is no sign that Trump is mentally ill.
NARCISSIST. How arrogant of psychiatrists who judge him from a distance and “know” that this is a dangerous self-lover. He’s running a four-year reelection campaign. Hillary Clinton lost the race because of laziness. That won’t happen to him. So, he doesn’t have an ego problem: he’s advertising and bragging.
DELUSIONAL. He brags about accomplishments that are not his. It’s called advertising. Most politicians don’t win on humbleness.
REPETITIVE. Smart people talk to themselves to get their stories straight. When you’re also rich, you can talk to others, instead.
RECOGNITION. He fails to recognize old friends. He’d like to sleep with friends’ wives. Which of the two is it? He only doesn’t make out men?
STUBBORN. Why should he listen to others with proven mistake records? Everyone who assumed he’d lose included.
LACKS RESTRAINT. That’s a very subjective view. What if he doesn’t want to exercise self-control?
SLURRED SPEECH. Clearly, his dentures got unglued, not his brain.
LOW CLASS. That’s what wins him the working class vote. And he’s very comfortable playing a working class guy who made it.
LIAR. He’s a business man who wants good results. Being honest or not are tools for him. In political circles almost everyone lies and pretends almost all the time. Be he gets singled out for it.
INCOHERENT. He says things that cannot be reconciled. Doesn’t mean he doesn’t know that. He can play good cop / bad cop on his own.
TAKES IT PERSONALLY. He attacks people who attack him. He dislikes criticism and attacks back. That’s not necessarily dysfunction. It could be style, rather than unfitness. He nor his base like him to look a wimp.
He sleep only a few hours a day. He eats simple meals. He does not drink alcohol, coffee or other junk. He’s remarkably fit for a 70-year old.
He’ll win again because the rest of the pack is simply too lazy and stupid.
So, is Michael Wolff’s book plainly a work of fiction? I wouldn’t call it like that. The author is subjective, but takes his interpretations for the only possible analyses, and then says: This is the truth. And he exaggerates; it can’t be that everyone around the president believes he’s unfit, when we see the group escorting and matching him at his latest press conference. (Yes, they’re lying through their teeth — that’s politics. But they’re not merely pretending that the US president is fit for office.)
The one who must be dishonest is back-stabber Steve Bannon. One who is dishonest enough to back-stab his old friend, his words should not be believed. Lies in the book must be from people quoted (chiefly Bannon.)
His voter base’s loyalty is strengthened by all the criticism.
MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is generated by the new bore on the block, AI. *
As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. Or not at all because he doesn't claim G^d talks to him. He gives him good ideas—that's all. MM doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. *
This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Of the 15 (!) books he has in mind, the next two are about homosexuality in Judaism and new rabbinics. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2600 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog that also may contain updates to Times of Israel posts, to which one may subscribe, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. *
He's getting ready to publicize books on: "Free Will, "Judaism and Homosexuality, "His parents in the Holocaust, "Judaism, "A New Torah Translation and "A New Hebrew Grammar, "Co-Counseling, "Vegan Facts, "Immortality, and more. *
Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He agrees that in a post-truth world, that's irrelevant, but then this is for the record. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. *
Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. *
Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. This short list doesn't mean to disrespect others who taught him a lot or a little. One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. *
He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. When he can, he loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. *
He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. *
He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. *
His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. His posts are spell, grammar, and style polished by AI, but all written by himself. *
To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. *
His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1
