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Would everyone please shut up for 48 hours?

We could all use a break from the invective, the accusations and, of course, the Latin

Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, center, could probably use a break from Latin, and so could all of us, Rothenberg writes. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)
Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, center, could probably use a break from Latin, and so could all of us, Rothenberg writes. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)

OPINION — It’s language I try not to use, but would everyone please shut up for a while?

How about two days? That’s not too much to ask, is it?

The accusations and finger-pointing are getting out of hand. And tiring. And depressing. And divisive.

Maybe the cable TV folks could do something to change the tone of our national discussion by showing only animal videos for a couple of days. Or maybe cooking shows.

How about temporarily canceling CNN and MSNBC panels about how crazy Donald Trump is and what a puppet of Vladimir Putin he is? (Not that both things couldn’t be true.)

Maybe both networks could report some news — about something other than the Trump administration. BBC says there’s news about Brexit. And I’m betting something is happening in South America and India that is worth my attention.

As for Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Lou Dobbs and Laura Ingraham, maybe they could tape their mouths shut for 48 hours. That would both improve the content of their programs and make them look less foolish defending Trump’s ridiculous statements and ill-advised foreign policy decisions.

Oh, and Adam Schiff, could you please take a couple of days off and go to a beach in the Caribbean, promising not to utter a word in English during your trip?

I’d appreciate it if Hillary Clinton and Tulsi Gabbard could stop some of the unbecoming bickering for a couple of days. Hillary, what the hell were you thinking? And of course, Tulsi couldn’t resist ratcheting up the rhetoric by firing back at Clinton.

The result was a wholly unnecessary fight that served nobody’s interest — except the opponents of democracy and civility. Now, who could that be?

Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said there was a quid pro quo regarding Ukraine before he said that there was no quid pro quo.

By the way, do we all need to start learning Latin to understand cable television shows? Will the next CNN interview go something like this?

Erin Burnett: Welcome, Mr. Mulvaney. Quid pro quo?

Mulvaney: Yes, quo. No quo. Quid pro quo.

Burnett: Carpe diem.

Mulvaney: Et tu, Brute?

Burnett: In vino veritas.

Mulvaney: Nil desperandum.

Burnett: Caveat emptor. And thank you, Mr. Mulvaney.

I’m pretty certain I can’t get 48 hours, but could we please have one full day when any time a reporter mentions the Kurds, he or she also has to mention “whey”? At least that might make me laugh.

I know, the slaughter of the Syrian Kurds is nothing to laugh or joke about. It’s terrible. How dare I make light of something so horrible.

Excuse me, but could you lighten up for 24 hours? Instead of being offended by everything, talk about baseball, the beautiful fall weather, pumpkin pie or even HBO’s “Succession,” a really smart (and often funny) television show featuring a lead character who is a billionaire megalomaniac and narcissist with a corrupt family that runs a major media company.

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I’d really like it if Trump could stop telling untruths for 48 hours — even if that means he has to do something to make sure he doesn’t move his lips for two whole days.

I know it’s unreasonable to ask the president to clean up his language and try to tell the truth for TWO WHOLE DAYS!!!!!

That would be quite a challenge for anyone with such an extreme personality disorder, especially a narcissist who thinks everything in the universe revolves around him.

But try, Donald, please.

Maybe you could play board games with your children. Or revitalize the State Department. Or get some therapy.

I’d appreciate it if I could get a day or two without Rudy Giuliani. Just because, well, if you’ve seen Rudy recently, you know why.

I could almost wax poetic about HUD Secretary Ben Carson, who knows so little about his own department and is so busy keeping his head down that he has gone mute.

Thank you, Ben, wherever you are and whatever you are doing (probably picking out more new furniture for your office).

A little more than a year ago, during the final week of September 2018, I wrote a column titled “I’m just tired of it all.” And I was.

Trump’s presidency was draining and debilitating, full of mean-spirited accusations, name-calling and controversy. 

But here’s the problem: Things have only gotten worse since then. I’m more “tired of it all” a year later — tired of the daily controversies and the president’s outlandish tweets.

I didn’t think that was even possible.

Each morning I get out of bed knowing that the new day will only be worse than the day before. More chaos. More lies. More chatter in the media. More cable news panels with people saying the same things they said the day before.

More lunacy from the president of the United States who — whether at campaign rallies, press conferences or Q&A’s with the media as he’s leaving the White House — seems unable to put two coherent sentences together. More wins for Russia and Putin.

But no matter Trump’s shortcomings (and they are many), my request for a national timeout isn’t partisan. Both sides could use one, as could the country. And a bourbon. Or two. Just give me a couple of days to recover.

Then you can all return to the chatter, chaos, mind-numbing arguments, “what about” retorts and sometimes vulgar, belittling and demeaning attacks and counterattacks.

Please.

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