SCOTT LUDWIG: Trump takes hypocrisy to new heights

For Washington, D.C., Aug. 11, 2025 will forever be known as Liberation Day. According to one man, at least. Unfortunately, it happens to be the one man in this country whose opinion matters most.

On that fateful day, Donald Trump held a press conference to announce that the D.C. police were now under federal control, and the National Guard would be deployed to address a non-existent “crime emergency” – despite statistics that indicate crime is actually on the decline in the nation’s capital.

Announced in a rambling presentation – including Q & A – lasting more than two hours, Trump said this:

“As the (Washington, D.C.) police are standing up there in uniform, they’re (a reference to criminals, I assume) screaming at them an inch away from their face and I said ‘You tell them, you spit and I hit,’ and they can hit real (sic) hard. It’s a disgusting thing. I’ve watched that for years, for three, four years I’ve watched them. The police are standing and they’re told, ‘Don’t do anything under any …’ And you can see they want to get at it. And they’re standing there and people are spitting in their face and they’re not allowed to do anything. But now they are allowed to do whatever the hell they want.”

This is the same man who sat idly by watching on television in the safety of the White House while an angry mob stormed the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, violently attacking the very same men in blue he was referring to in his comments.

In what universe does being spit on trump being physically assaulted within an inch of your life? If what Trump said isn’t the height of hypocrisy, I’m not sure what is.

(On a different note which I won’t dare begin to address, giving police carte blanche in dealing with criminals — or at least criminals from the officers’ points of view — opens up a very large can of worms indeed.)

Throughout the entire presentation, Trump was surrounded by his cabinet of clowns. I presume they were there to address the questions he couldn’t answer, come to his defense when necessary, or point a finger at if he needed a scapegoat.

Afterwards, the floor was opened up for several softball questions from what sounded like a hand-picked ensemble of preferred journalists. One question that stood out was Trump being asked about marijuana, which has become one of the many diversions employed by his administration ever since the Jeffrey Epstein files have been in the headlines.

Other diversions include: construction of Alligator Alcatraz, changing the formula for Coca-Cola, reduced funding for PBS/NPR/USAID, suing various universities, declassification of assassination files for JFK/MLK, artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, gerrymandering in Texas, plans for a $200 million White House ballroom, firing anyone releasing statistics that make him look bad, an Alaskan summit with Putin, and opening an investigation into the Obama administration regarding Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. I apologize for any I left out.

As for the question about marijuana, this was part of Trump’s response: “I’ve heard great things having to do with medical, and I’ve had (sic) bad things to do with just about everything else. But medical, for pain and various things. I’ve heard some pretty good things. But for other things I’ve heard some pretty bad things.” Remind you of anything? Does “some very fine people on both sides” sound familiar?

I’ve said often that I would pay good money to see MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and Donald Trump debate. I would even offer good money to see:

— Trump match wits in math with a fifth-grader.

— Trump match wits in geography with a sixth-grader.

— Trump match wits in history with a seventh-grader.

— Trump match wits in literature with anyone who has ever read a book.

Whichever way you lean with your opinion of Trump, admit it: You’d pay to see them, too. If you’re like me, I don’t have to explain why. If you’re not like me, then perhaps to see if the man you voted for is truly the stable genius with a big brain he professes to be.

By the way, as for that mathematical problem on the side of those red MAGA hats, 45-47: The answer is -2. Any fifth-grader could have told you that.

Scott Ludwig is an Albany Herald columnist and independent writer/author who lives in Senoia. All of his books can be found on Amazon.