I have a tremendous respect for the office of the president of the United States.
It is emblematic of the leader of the free world, the very best we have to offer.
I respected it during the terms of George W. Bush, even when I did not agree with some of his policies.
Same goes for Bill Clinton, who certainly has his issues with some of his conduct in the Oval Office.
I am finding it increasingly difficult to have any respect for the man who currently resides in that office.
I am not asking for much from Donald Trump. I know I am not going to agree with him on most things. That's fine. It's happened before; it will happen again.
But I at least hope that he could be presidential.
He consistently fails to be anything remotely close.
On Monday, at a ceremony honoring Navajo war veterans being honored for their efforts as Code Talkers during World War II, he hit a new low.
Actually, it was an old fight, but then that's the thing with Trump. He can't seem to help himself. He doesn't have an "off" switch, or certainly not a "presidential" switch.
At this respectful occasion, Trump simply could not resist sinking into the gutter again. In front of these Native American war heroes and a room full of their supporters, the president could not resist taking a shot at another of his perceived foes, Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Trump once again took to deriding her as "Pocahontas."
The steely silence in the room was pretty much all you needed to know about the reaction.
Look, even I have issues with Sen. Warren and her claim to some Native American ancestry.
This was not the time to expound on that.
Trump just can't help himself. Picking a fight is not a character blemish with this guy, it is what he does. Anything or anyone that questions him, seeks to hold him accountable or is critical is the enemy and must be destroyed at all costs.
His weapons? Constant verbal assaults. It's how he eliminated one Republican contender after another to capture the nomination. "Boring" Jeb. "Little" Marco. "Lying" Ted. "Crooked" Hillary.
But none of that explains why he would resort to what most consider a racial slur at a ceremony to honor Native Americans.
Here's my theory: He doesn't know any better. He didn't realize it was inappropriate. He didn't understand that it would be taken as an insult by many of those in attendance.
His spokesperson later said he certainly did not mean it as any kind of racial slur.
How could he possibly have thought it would be taken?
This is our president.
Presidential? Not exactly.
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