Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Celerity

(51,944 posts)
26. Nate White is a London copywriter. He answered a Quora question on February 12, 2019 with the reply the OP shows.
Wed Sep 3, 2025, 08:33 PM
Sep 3

Quora bots deleted the question soon thereafter.

Here is White's profile:



Here is the link to the question:






Here is the earliest link I could find to another site that highlights White's answer (it was posted less than a month after White's Quora answer went up):

British Writer Pens The Best Description Of Trump I’ve Read

March 8, 2019 ~ THE HOBBLEDEHOY

https://thehobbledehoy.com/2019/03/08/british-writer-pens-the-best-description-of-trump-ive-read/



Someone on the question-and-answer website Quora asked “Why do some British people not like Donald Trump?” Nate White, an articulate and witty writer from England wrote the following response:

A few things spring to mind.

Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem.
For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace – all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed.
So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trump’s limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief.

Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing – not once, ever.
I don’t say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility – for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman.

But with Trump, it’s a fact. He doesn’t even seem to understand what a joke is – his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty.

Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers.

And scarily, he doesn’t just talk in crude, witless insults – he actually thinks in them. His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness.

There is never any under-layer of irony, complexity, nuance or depth. It’s all surface.

Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront.
Well, we don’t. We see it as having no inner world, no soul.

And in Britain we traditionally side with David, not Goliath. All our heroes are plucky underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist.
Trump is neither plucky, nor an underdog. He is the exact opposite of that.
He’s not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedy fat-cat.

He’s more a fat white slug. A Jabba the Hutt of privilege.

And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully.
That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a snivelling sidekick instead.

There are unspoken rules to this stuff – the Queensberry rules of basic decency – and he breaks them all. He punches downwards – which a gentleman should, would, could never do – and every blow he aims is below the belt. He particularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless – and he kicks them when they are down.

So the fact that a significant minority – perhaps a third – of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think ‘Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy’ is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people, given that:
• Americans are supposed to be nicer than us, and mostly are.
• You don’t need a particularly keen eye for detail to spot a few flaws in the man.

This last point is what especially confuses and dismays British people, and many other people too; his faults seem pretty bloody hard to miss.
After all, it’s impossible to read a single tweet, or hear him speak a sentence or two, without staring deep into the abyss. He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of shit. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum.
God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid.

He makes Nixon look trustworthy and George W look smart.
In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws – he would make a Trump.

And a remorseful Doctor Frankenstein would clutch out big clumpfuls of hair and scream in anguish:
‘My God… what… have… I… created?
If being a twat was a TV show, Trump would be the boxed set.

Recommendations

2 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

This never ages malaise Sep 3 #1
I think Mr. White authored that piece years ago. John1956PA Sep 3 #2
Yes InstantGratification Sep 3 #4
Anybody got a link? calimary Sep 3 #8
There's no direct link to Nate White's original write-up on Quora, Feb. 12, 2019. Quora later took it down. ancianita Sep 3 #13
First time I've seen it that I can remember, if the same person had to write it now Eliot Rosewater Sep 3 #19
Totally agree. ancianita Sep 3 #21
Nate White is a London copywriter. He answered a Quora question on February 12, 2019 with the reply the OP shows. Celerity Sep 3 #26
"Mr. Obama, was generously endowed" JoseBalow Sep 3 #3
Snicker hibbing Sep 3 #18
My problem with Mr. White is he's much too nice, regarding Donald Trump. chouchou Sep 3 #5
"Yes, he seems like my kind of guy" is a source of confusion and great distress to the British. progressoid Sep 3 #6
Yes, it most certainly is. 3catwoman3 Sep 3 #20
This goes back to its first run for prez, and never grows old Hekate Sep 3 #7
It may be old but it's still as new as tiny, newly-sprouting weeds. calimary Sep 3 #9
See Post 26 (White posted it on February 12, 2019) Celerity Sep 3 #28
Excellent analysis of the orange felon Grim Chieftain Sep 3 #10
Well, that sums it up nicely ashredux Sep 3 #11
Goddamn right. Krasnov is an ignoramus. Joinfortmill Sep 3 #12
"He's more of a big white slug, a privileged Jabba the Hutt" Ray Bruns Sep 3 #14
"There have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of evil people too.... FakeNoose Sep 3 #15
Wow. Endlessmike56 Sep 3 #16
Thanks for sharing. If it is actually that old, it is uncanny how accurate and prescient it is blue_jay Sep 3 #17
Great Britain is having nativist problems right now wolfie001 Sep 3 #22
English wit is razor sharp thought crime Sep 3 #23
"Picasso of pettiness," Butterflylady Sep 3 #24
K&R spanone Sep 3 #25
Absolutely perfect of what the orange piece of shit is.....to perfection. a kennedy Sep 3 #27
"He has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility..." it's no wonder that he decided to become an asshole. Ping Tung Sep 3 #29
No more needs to be said. kacekwl Sep 3 #30
K and r KentuckyWoman Sep 3 #31
The guy has around a 3 percent approval rating in MW67 Sep 3 #32
Wish I had an answer Blue Owl Sep 3 #33
This caught my eye... kentuck Sep 3 #34
Spot On Chicagogrl1 Sep 3 #35
So perfectly stated, "a Picasso of pettiness, a Shakespeare of shit." nt ShazamIam Sep 3 #36
May be an optimistic statement: RVN VET71 Sep 3 #37
Beautifully stated! Eliot Rosewater Sep 4 #40
Dump trump Johnnie Mae Sep 4 #38
Best description of Krasnov I've ever read. GoodRaisin Sep 4 #39
An excellent analysis of one who truly B.See Sep 4 #41
100% Mr.Bee Sep 4 #42
Simply marvelous description of TSF's personality characteristics. n/t iluvtennis Sep 4 #43
...boxed set! 🤣lol! Hope22 Sep 4 #44
This one sentence floored me in it's accuracy: DeeDeeNY Sep 4 #45
And WE, as a country elected this freak sdfernando Sep 4 #46
Bookmarked. Iggo Sep 4 #47
Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Everyone must read this e...»Reply #26