Many staunch Republicans we know held their nose when voting for Donald Trump because they knew what kind of person he was. You didn't have to spend much time reading about him or seeing him in action to know that Donald is the most thin-skinned, vindictive, self-centered, and ill-informed resident of the White House since Nixon, Nixon, no one, and Harding, respectively.

For some of his more hard-core supporters, though, people who tried to downplay his lies and boorish behavior during the campaign and who still feel he has class and is someone to admire, we've compiled some non-vulgar examples of his behavior (we've all been exposed to enough vulgar ones) that would argue otherwise.

Repeated Attempts to Pick a Fight with John McCain

Virtually all Americans (admittedly, our own unscientific estimate) believe that Senator John McCain (R-AZ) is a war hero after having spent five years in a North Vietnamese prison camp, enduring repeated torture at the hands of his captors. But not Donald Trump.

Perhaps to try and turn attention away from his lack of service during the Vietnam War, or perhaps just to attack a respected military man who opposed Mr. Trump's "pro-torture" rhetoric, you may remember the following statements Donald directed at Senator McCain during the 2016 Presidential campaign:

Shocking most Americans by saying that people only think Senator McCain is a hero because he was captured, Mr. Trump continued, "I like people that weren't captured, okay?"
Saying he liked Senator McCain less after the Senator's 2008 loss to Barack Obama, Mr. Trump tried to explain with, "I don't like losers." (Apparently he likes chickens better: Mr. Trump could have challenged Mr. Obama in 2012, but refused to even try, afraid he would lose.)

(Senator McCain cannot raise his arms much higher due to having been tortured)

As if Mr. Trump hadn't stooped low enough in 2016, he now apparently thinks that going after someone with terminal brain cancer also is just fine. Shortly after beginning chemotherapy in mid-2017, Senator McCain cast a no vote on the GOP attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act without putting a viable alternative in place. Losing out on what he had hoped would be a legislative victory, Mr. Trump petulantly lashed out at the Senator.

The country's reaction to those attacks was so bad, Mr. Trump promised the Senator's daughter, Meghan, he would not do it again. Chalk that one up as another lie, though, since he repeated the same attacks in February 2017, at the Conservative Political Action Committee's annual conference, even offering additional snickering comments when the attendees began to boo Senator McCain.

2017 Hurricane Relief Behavior

Not wanting to be tabbed with the uncaring, incompetent label that George Bush Jr. has had to wear since his Hurricane Katrina missteps in 2005, Mr. Trump made sure he showed up in Texas shortly after Hurricane Harvey battered the Houston area in August. Unfortunately, instead of keeping his remarks relevant to the disaster and to the suffering so many residents were facing, Mr. Trump expressed little empathy but did make statements like the following:

When addressing a crowd of about 200 people at a Corpus Christi fire station, his remarks included, "What a crowd, what a turnout."
Speaking of FEMA head Brock Long, he praised Long as "a man who's really become very famous on television in the last couple of days."

As the hurricane was just starting to hit the Texas coast, Mr. Trump's thoughts also were not focused on the potential victims of the storm, but in how the storm might be able to help him:

At a press conference on the following Monday, he indicated that he had felt television coverage of the storm would help him get "far higher" ratings for his Friday night announcement about pardoning convicted former-Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

All of which continues to show the country and the world that Mr. Trump can, and will, make any occasion all about him.

{Update: Following Hurricane Maria's devastation of Puerto Rico in September, Mr. Trump's initial silence, his seeming indifference, and his refusal to authorize a temporary lifting of the Jones Act, threaten to put him in the same camp as Mr. Bush. When Mr. Trump then began picking fights with local Puerto Rican officials, it was a good indication that he himself recognized that his response to the disaster was poor and so resorted to his usual techniques of bullying behavior and trying to shift the focus/blame in order to cover up his own failings.}

Speech at the 2017 Boy Scout Jamboree

Since 1937, U.S. Presidents have accepted invitations from, and spoken to, the Boy Scouts of America at their National Jamboree. It always has been a time when Presidents put politics aside and talk about the country's shared values of good citizenship, trustworthiness, hard work, leadership, fairness, etc.

Not so, however, when Donald Trump spoke to the 2017 Jamboree in Glen Jean, West Virginia. Starting out with an unnecessary and somewhat vulgar "who the hell wants to speak about politics when I'm in front of the Boy Scouts? Right?", Mr. Trump proceeded to do just that.

Repeatedly patting himself on the back and bad-mouthing those who oppose him, Mr. Trump made statements such as:

Tonight we put aside all of the policy fights in Washington, D.C. you've been hearing about with the fake news and all of that. (Mr. Trump mentioned "fake news" or "fake polls" at least seven times that we counted.)
And hopefully he's (Cabinet Secretary Tom Price) going to get the votes tomorrow to start our path toward killing this horrible thing known as Obamacare that's really hurting us….He better get (West Virginia) Senator Capito to vote for it. He better get the other senators to vote for it. It's time. You know, after seven years of saying repeal and replace Obamacare we have a chance to now do it. They better do it. Hopefully they'll do it.
By the way, just a question, did President Obama ever come to a Jamboree?…The answer is no. (President Obama actually videotaped a message which was played at the 2010 Jamboree.)
…the election, November 8th -- do we remember that day? Was that a beautiful day? What a day. Do you remember that famous night on television, November 8th, where they said, these dishonest people, where they said, there is no path to victory for Donald Trump.
So -- and we worked hard there (Michigan). You know, my opponent didn't work hard there,,,, But we go to Wisconsin, and we had tremendous crowds.

He also included a long, rambling story about William Levitt, the builder who developed the famous Levittown suburban planned community after World War II. There may have been some values of Mr. Leavitt that Mr. Trump could have related to those of the Boy Scouts, but the almost incoherent nature of both the story and his delivery earned him the moniker of drunk granddad for at least that part of his speech. (The rambling nature of this part of the speech could be considered quite humorous were it not for the fact that it was delivered by the President of the United States.)

Overall, the performance of Mr. Trump's was so poorly received that the Chief Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts of America, Michael Surbaugh, felt it necessary to issue a statement that included the following:

"I want to extend my sincere apologies to those in our Scouting family who were offended by the political rhetoric that was inserted into the jamboree. That was never our intent. The invitation for the sitting U.S. President to visit the National Jamboree is a long-standing tradition that has been extended to the leader of our nation that has had a Jamboree during his term since 1937. It is in no way an endorsement of any person, party or policies. For years, people have called upon us to take a position on political issues, and we have steadfastly remained non-partisan and refused to comment on political matters. We sincerely regret that politics were inserted into the Scouting program."

All-in-all, another performance that showed Mr. Trump still is "not ready for prime time".

Treatment of Subordinates

If you've ever been in a position of authority, you know that your success is dependent on the performance of those working for you. And if you want talented, motivated people working for you, it's fine to set high standards and to challenge them, but do not bully or belittle them, particularly in front of others.

Most people won't take that type of behavior for long and usually it will be the most talented people who leave first. Those who do stay will be the ones with low self-esteem and the suck-ups, most of whom aren't the ones who will make you successful in the long run.

Which brings us to the treatment Mr. Trump has shown to members of his administration:

(General Kelly at Pentagon briefing.com)

Newly appointed White House Chief of Staff John Kelly spent most of his adult life in the US Marine Corps. Being a successful leader in the military requires toughness, not bluster; tenacity, not stubbornness; and the ability to lead people, not bully them. (Just the opposite of what we've seen out of Mr. Trump so far.) So Mr. Kelly's reaction to a reported dressing down he was given recently by Mr. Trump is not surprising. Reportedly, Mr. Kelly remained calm but told colleagues afterward that he had never been spoken to that way in all his years in the military and that he would not condone being treated that way again.

Mr. Trump also has lashed out at his Attorney General, Jeff Sessions. The investigations into links between the Trump campaign and Russia, and with Mr. Trump's personal and business relationships with the Russians, seem to set Mr. Trump off whenever they come up. The fact that Mr. Sessions recused himself from these investigations led Mr. Trump to say in a July interview with the New York Times that he would not have nominated Mr. Sessions had he known Mr. Sessions would recuse himself.

(Sessions image from thehill.com)

Mr. Trump followed up this troubling statement with two tweets in the following days: one calling Mr. Sessions "beleaguered" and a second one saying that Mr. Sessions had "taken a VERY weak position" on pursuing a possible legal case against Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server, even though Mr. Trump had indicated immediately after the election that he did not want to pursue such a case (and for which there still is no evidence of illegal conduct.)

This behavior of Mr. Trump towards members of his administration makes for a difficult decision on the part of patriotic Executive Branch employees. Do you stay or do you leave? Typically, if you are a talented individual, you wouldn't put up with this type of behavior in someone you report to. But given Mr. Trump's lack of interest in the detail of public policy issues and his proclivity to shoot from the hip, do you stay for the good of the country in order to a) make sure Mr. Trump hears the facts and keep him from running roughshod over the Constitution and b) make sure Mr. Trump doesn't bring more questionably competent yes-men into his administration, like Kellyanne Conway, Ben Carson, Betsy DeVos, etc.

Treatment of His Wife (Part 1)

One of the traditions in the Presidential transfer of power is that the outgoing President and First Lady greet the incoming First Couple at the White House prior to traveling to the Capitol for the new President's swearing in ceremony. The following two-minute video {Sorry - this version of the video no longer is available. We'll put up another copy shortly.} shows the last three examples of this tradition, the first in 2000, the second in 2008, and the third in 2016. In a segment one wag entitled, "Hey, Where's Melania?", note the courtesy, or lack thereof (on the part of Mr. Trump), with which each of the wives is treated.

Although it isn't included in this clip, after the greeting you just saw, Mr. Trump marches into the White House leaving the Obamas to usher in the seemingly forgotten Mrs. Trump.

Treatment of Respected GOP Leaders

We believe the following clip occurred when President Obama and President-elect Trump arrived at the Capitol for the Trump inauguration. Bob Dole, the former GOP Senate Majority Leader, candidate for Vice President in 1976 on the Gerald Ford ticket, and 1996 GOP Presidential candidate, along with his wife, former GOP Senator and Cabinet Member Elizabeth Dole, were waiting outside the Capitol doors.

Senator Dole, a WW2 veteran, is now wheelchair-bound and has been without the use of his right arm since the war. Unlike many Republican leaders who refused to endorse Mr. Trump during the campaign, Senator Dole argued strongly in favor of Mr. Trump. You wouldn't know it by the cursory manner in which the Senators Dole were treated by Mr. Trump or the warm greetings given them by President Obama.

Treatment of His Wife (Part 2)

This next video, which also features Melania Trump, actually comes across as rather scary to many people. Melania appears to be enjoying the inaugural swearing-in ceremony until Donald turns and makes a brief comment to her. Many have characterized her look after this comment as heart-breaking and it has made some anti-Trump Citizens not only feel sorry for her, but also express concern for her emotional well-being.

Treatment of the Supreme Court Justices

For our next example we do not have a video to illustrate Mr. Trump's behavior, but we do have the story of another, more recent, incoming administration tradition that Mr. Trump flouted.

Beginning with the Reagan election in 1980, the President-elect has received and has accepted an invitation from the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to visit the Court in the weeks prior to the inauguration. Mr. Trump, however, never could find the time to accept Chief Justice Roberts' invitation and to travel to the Court. Citing his busy schedule, Mr. Trump did state that he was available for a meeting if Mr. Roberts would come to Blair House, where the incoming President stays prior to the inauguration.

Many question whether Mr. Trump really was that busy and suggest that forcing the Chief Justice to come to him was a deliberate tactic, one that has been used frequently in world history by insecure leaders to intimidate others so those others would "know their place" when dealing with the leader. You make your own call, but we suspect the Chief Justice will have a long memory on this one.

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