What GREAT means to Trump

Trump would make America WHAT again?

What does “great” mean to Trump?  He said, “…I think I did a great job and a great service not only for the country, but even for the president, in getting him to produce his birth certificate.”  Is that the same greatness he envisions for this country?

In the transcript of the first 2016 presidential debate the term, “great” in some form was used 28 times by the participants.  Compare and contrast how each used that description:

• ·         Trump said he built his company, “…that’s worth many, many billions of dollars with some of the greatest assets in the world.”
• ·         Clinton mentions that 8 years ago we had the worst financial crisis since the “Great Recession” in the 1930’s because the former administration created the “Perfect Storm” and that Trump rooted for the financial crisis.
• ·         Trump said, “I’m a great believer in all forms of energy…”
• ·         Trump said, “I’m getting rid of the carried interest provision…it’s really not a great thing for the wealthy.  It’s a great thing for the middle class. It’s a great thing for companies to expand.”
• ·         Trump said, “…we have the worst revival of an economy since the Great Depression.  And believe me, we’re in a bubble…”
• ·         Trump said, “…I have a great company. I have tremendous income.  And the reason I say that is not in a braggadocios way.  It’s because it’s about time that his country had somebody running it that has an idea about money.”
• ·         Trump said, “…it’s one thing to have $20 trillion in debt…and everything’s in great shape…[but our] airports are like a third world country.”
• ·         Clinton said, “There are a lot of great businesspeople that have never taken bankruptcy…”
• ·         Trump said, “…it’s all words, it’s all soundbites.  I built an unbelievable company. Some of the greatest assets anywhere in the world…”
• ·         Clinton [when asked if she believed that police are implicitly biased against black people] said, “…unfortunately, too many of us in our great country jump to conclusions about each other.”
• ·         Trump [after mentioning areas in Detroit and Philadelphia] said, “…I’ve been all over.  And I’ve met some of the greatest people I’ll ever meet in these communities.  And they are very, very upset…”
• ·         Trump said, “…I think I did a great job and a great service not only for the country, but even for the president, in getting him to produce his birth certificate.”
• ·         Clinton said, “Barack Obama is a man of great dignity…it bothered and annoyed him that this was being touted and used against him.”
• ·         Trump said, “In Palm Beach, Florida, tough community, a brilliant community, a wealthy community, probably one of the wealthiest community there is in the world, I opened a club, and really got great credit for it.  No discrimination against African-Americans, against Muslims, against anybody.  And it’s a tremendously successful club.  And I’m so glad I did it.  And I have been given great credit for what I did.  And I’m very, very proud of it.  And that’s the way I feel.  That’s the true way I feel.”
• ·         Clinton [regarding government sponsored hacking] said, “We need to make it very clear – whether it’s Russia, China, Iran or anybody else – the United States has much greater capacity…”
• ·         Trump [responding to question about defending against domestic lone wolf terrorism] said, “The secretary said very strongly about working with – we’ve been working with them for many years, and we have the greatest mess anyone’s ever seen.”
• ·         Trump said, “I read on the front page of the Wall Street Journal that NATO is opening up a major terror division.  And I think that’s great…believe me – I’m sure I’m not going to get credit for it – but that was largely because of what I was saying and my criticism of NATO.”
• ·         After the audience laughed when Clinton said, “…a man who can be provoked by a tweet should not have his fingers anywhere near the nuclear codes…” Trump said, “The single greatest problem the world has is nuclear armament, nuclear weapons, not global warming like you think and your – your president thinks [sic – presumably as opposed Trump’s president]. Nuclear is the single greatest threat.”
• ·         After Trump digressed into how NATO nations should pay their fair share and Holt admonishes him to “move on”, Trump says, “As far as nuclear is concerned, I agree.  It is the single greatest threat that this country has.”
• ·         Saying that Secretary Kerry should have added “other things to the deal [with Iran]”, Trump called it, “One of the great giveaways of all time.”
• ·         Trump said, of Clinton, “All of the things she’s talking about could have been taken care of during the last 10 years, let’s say, while she had great power.  But they weren’t taken care of.”
• ·         Trump said, “I want to make America great again… I want to make America great again…”

What other things has Trump called “great” in the past?  Did any of those things fail? 

After the debate Trump, his running mate and their aides said that Trump did a great job in the debate.  Did they see something different than what the rest of the world saw or perhaps does “great” mean something different to Trump than it does to the rest of the world?