President Trump, issues — not insults

I've got a name for name-calling: childishness. I'm convinced, however, that more grown folks engage in it than children, especially in politics.

"Pencil Neck Adam Schiff." "Mini Mike Bloomberg." "Fauxcahontas Elizabeth Warren." "Racist Fill in the Blank" with a Republican name. The list goes on. I'll admit, there's a lot of "child" in me, so sometimes, I do chuckle when I hear these nicknames. But there's a world of difference between something privately tickling a funny bone and someone running to the public with it.

President Donald Trump is the presiding master of name-calling. He's a New York fighter, as they say. As a native New Yorker myself, I can attest to the fighting spirit that comes with the territory. I understand the counterpunch. If you can't take it, you'd better not dish it out to someone from the Empire State and especially to someone from the Big Apple. I do like that about the president -- that he doesn't just allow his record or his motives to be maligned without addressing it. I like a little fire in a belly. We need that in a president. We need someone unafraid to push back against those whose sole purpose is to dis, dismiss and derail. So I'm not advocating for a wuss for president. We've had that before. You can make of that what you will.

Be bold, speak up, give folks the what-for when that's what's needed. But name-calling? More than childish, it says that your positions are not able to stand on their own merit. When your stance is strong, name-calling is unnecessary. It averts attention from that stance and draws attention to your insult, instead. Take former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, for example. President Donald Trump has resorted to referring to him as Mini Mike. OK, we get it. Some list him as 5' 7." Some spot him another inch. Both are considered short for a dude. So Trump hits him where it probably hurts. That's what he does: "You come after me, I'll come after you." But where physical characteristics are concerned, it's uncalled for and accomplishes nothing. The issues, people. The issues. Bloomberg wants to dictate your intake and grab your guns. If he had his way, you couldn't drink a big ol' Coke, and law-abiding citizens couldn't carry a gun. From the belly to the belt, he's committed to control. We could spend all day taking him apart about those two issues alone -- ideologies he's made a choice to espouse. So why the need to point out his height -- something about which he has no choice?

"Little Pencil Neck," Trump calls Rep. Adam Schiff, stating, "He's got the smallest, thinnest neck I've ever seen." OK, fine. But how does that advance the political ball -- the nation's interests? Schiff's witch hunt tendencies give us plenty to talk about -- little neck or no neck at all.

Granted, the Fauxcahontas label is not a physical jab. Sen. Elizabeth Warren's assertions about a Native American heritage she's had to apologize for fabricating is relevant, it is funny and it keeps in the fore the credible question, the answer to which is, "She is not." Nonetheless, place the focus on her problematic positions. Go after her on free tuition -- which, of course, ain't "free" -- or tax reform or abortion or take your pick.

The "Mini Mike" remarks remind me of the left's repeated "racism" charge. It's a conversation-stopper. To win the argument, you just point and yell, "Racist!" You do it because it's the ultimate insult and because you've got nothing else in the arsenal. Trump, however, has ample ammo because much of the left's policies are conspicuously flawed. Let the issue be the takeaway, rather than letting something like height take away from the issue.

I'm all about being a warrior, but war where it matters, war so it leaves Americans focused more on statute than stature and war in a way that lifts the nation higher, not sinks us lower.

Adrienne Ross is owner of Adrienne Ross Communications and a former Southeast Missourian editorial board member.