Soon after Aretha Franklin’s passing was announced yesterday, the tributes poured in from Aretha’s friends, colleagues and simply people who knew her and loved her. Some of those tributes were from Barack and Michelle Obama, who released statements on social media, like this:
Aretha helped define the American experience. In her voice, we could feel our history, all of it and in every shade—our power and our pain, our darkness and our light, our quest for redemption and our hard-won respect. May the Queen of Soul rest in eternal peace. pic.twitter.com/bfASqKlLc5
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 16, 2018
Beautiful, simple, honorable. The Obamas knew the Queen of Soul – she performed at President Obama’s first inauguration, she performed at the Kennedy Center Honors, and I’m sure she performed at the Obama White House too. Notice that at no point did Obama imply that those performances meant that Aretha “worked” for him. Well, guess which village idiot made that mistake? That’s right, America’s Village Idiot.
“I want to begin today by expressing my condolences to the family of a person I knew well. She worked for me on numerous occasions,” Donald Trump said to a press pool on Thursday. “She was terrific — Aretha Franklin — on her passing. She brought joy to millions of lives and her extraordinary legacy will thrive and inspire many generations to come. She was given a great gift from God — her voice, and she used it well. People loved Aretha. She was a special woman. So just want to pass on my warmest best wishes and sympathies to her family.”
Many people have noted that Aretha performed at some concerts, years ago, which used Trump properties as a venue. That’s not “Aretha working for Trump.” That’s her tour renting an available property or venue to perform. In the ‘80s. Trump made the Queen of Soul sound like she worked as his maid. He just immediately defaults to treating people of color as beneath him, as the serfs who “work for him.” He does this because he’s a racist. He’s a white supremacist. He’s a Nazi. He can’t help but remind us over and over.
Here's the video of Trump saying that Aretha Franklin "worked for me on numerous occasions. She was terrific." Doesn't seem like the W.H. has clairified yet what he meant. (via Yahoo) pic.twitter.com/LErBeAQ7bw
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 16, 2018
Some other, better tributes:
Mourning the loss today of @ArethaFranklin who shared her spirit and talent with the world. She deserves not only our RESPECT but also our lasting gratitude for opening our eyes, ears and hearts. Rest in eternal peace, my friend.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 16, 2018
Watching Aretha Franklin perform at the White House, and on so many other occasions, made time stand still. @BarackObama and I are holding Aretha’s family in our hearts right now. She will forever be our Queen of Soul. pic.twitter.com/NhHsbKijpl
— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) August 16, 2018
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Also, “warmest best wishes” are words of congratulations, not sympathy. Fucking dumbass.
Yeah, that stood out to me too. He can’t even offer condolences without sounding like an idiot. Jesus take the wheel.
I cried, in rage and frustration, I guess, at hearing what Trump said. My eyes just filled up with tears reading about it again. I know he shows this lack of compassion time and time again but somehow this seems extra crass and disgusting. Especially when contrasted with the Obamas’ statements and all the other tributes that reflect, you know, basic humanity.
I’m with you, Esmom, to see his comments was so upsetting. Even though it’s not surprising that (as with everything else Trump does) he turned the tragedy of this loss to the world into a story about himself, making her sound like his former employee, it really hurt to read his crass and empty words.
He has no empathy for people. That’s the sign of a psychopath. People are only have value to him by what they give to him.
He’s so ill I can’t even act stunned at this point. Trump couldn’t get something right by accident. I have no idea how he’s such a white supremacist when he’s not even a human color.
All his disingenuous crap sounds the same: Someones terrific! Someones bad! Something’s dopey! Sad! Mad! Glad!
He’s a fycking pre-k book with no morals or moral of the story. Enjoy, ‘murica!!
Every SINGLE voter who was greedy or stupid enough (cough,Putin) to get this shit into the white house should be prank called at 3 a.m. for the rest of their lives. If I had the phone numbers, I would order 30 boxes of pizza to their house every night during wheel of fortune and fox “news”.
Ps. Putin, you get what you paid for. You might have gotten this one on sale but you just wait until 2020. It’s going to The Other Extreme, watch.
“Warmest best wishes”?? F*cking moron.
Re: The she worked for me statement, of course Trump defaults to thinking about how people relate to him. Typical narcissist.
In his eyes, everyone works for him. It’s sick.
As I understand it she performed in *one* of his venues *once*. He makes it sound like he employed her as a maid. I really, really, really HATE HIM.
So very close, can he even name her kids? Does he even know she had kids? Orange Voldy Dotard has to make everything about himself, even the death of an icon. Dotard, Aretha’s hat was a greater star than you will ever be.
Partially out of context: it really cracks me to see people calling Orange Voldemort “dotard ” knowing who has used this word first.
If she had a hot daughter he’d know her name… like Melanie.
Aretha got pregnant at age 12 and again at 14…so her kids would be around 64 and 62…Trump likes them younger than that.
Ugh. Why does he make me feel hate and rage? I do not like those feelings.
Same, paranormalgirl…I’m always depressed about it and angry. No – furious.
Instead of hot flashes I get rage flashes…from 0 to 60 in 10 seconds.
I cried when i read Obama’s letter… Then i made people on insta cry with a comment.
He is such a peace of shit! I hope the ghost of Aretha comes and bitch slaps this orange nazi!
Then screams R.E.S.P.E.C.T. at him
😂😂
LOL !
Trump couldn’t spell respect with Aretha spelling it out for him.
Sickened. Just sickened.
Also, he was reading from a piece of paper someone else wrote for him and he still couldn’t get it right and had to improvise. I suspect he got nervous trying to read and just veered off. Like a child, but without any soul. Like if one of the kids from Children of the Corn tried to read something and couldn’t…
Ughhhhhhh
Honest to God, I’d NEVER wish ill on any human being. Key words: Human. Being.
I wish for a slow and.. nevermind
I’ve got you..
…slow and….reflective retirement in a supermax facility with very big walls and cages…and overflowing with fellow bad hombres and 2 tv channels— CNN and C-SPAN.
Maybe not quite where you were going but…
LOL!!!
Love it!
…with a dripping faucet and a thin, yet rocky, mattress. All food served room temperature, no matter if it was intended to be hot or cold.
Why pay any attention to President Nazi S***head? This orange jackass would say anything remotely apathetic and arrogant to make himself look good and he “cares” for anyone. Idiot in Chief should be worried about his minions going against him when their backs are against the wall when Robert Mueller comes from them. I will say this and if any Trump Sheep (supporters) who wants to backlash me, let them come. PRESIDENT IDIOT IS GOING TO BE IMPEACHED.
R.I.P Aretha Franklin… you will be missed but you will be taken care of by God’s hands. God Bless your soul…. Queen of Soul.
It’s truly amazing how every comment he makes refers back to himself in some (what he would consider to be) complimentary way. It’s also truly amazing he has no insight regarding his propensity to do this and what this tendency truly says about him as a flagrant narcissist with a pile of insecurities as tall as Mt Everest. Sad. Very unsmart low IQ.
Stephanie G – yes!
Love unsmart low IQ 🤣….his ULI is the highest in the world…nobody has higher ULI than him. Nobody. Believe him people. He has the winningest ULI so much so we are begging him to stop.
@Alix and @Rapunzel – I was wondering if anyone else thought that phrase was weird. Who does that? Is Trump incapable of just simply saying something such as “My sympathies go out to Aretha’s family”. Also, Melania has been MIA on making a statement on Aretha’s dearh.
@Swack: He’s socially and emotionally tone-deaf. So to answer your question, yes, he is incapable of a simple expression of sympathy. (He’s never felt any.)
THIS is what happens when we have a government and a society that protects the most corrupt…he is a PERFECT reflection of why America has NEVER been great…
And I don’t know what offends me the most about this inhuman..if it’s his cowardly, treasonous, grifting, ways…
Or to quote the iconic Roger Waters…who was throwing so much shade at someone that if I were that person, I would have hired someone to have a SERIOUS talk with him…
That he’s an “Upwardly Mobile Vulgarian”….
His words were completely offensive, reducing this brilliant icon to an “employee.” I loathe him.
Oh, the shade the Queen would’ve thrown his way!
“Lies, lies, and more lies…”
He is so repugnant.
Worked for me…. WORKED FOR ME.
Not only is it just the wrong thing to say, it’s likely not even true.
Has he ever done one thing correctly yet? I’m being serious. He has to leave his gigantic ego cloud hanging on everything he utters.
This article from The Atlantic says it all. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/08/aretha-franklin-trump/567760/
Thank you for posting that link. It’s a perfect description of Emperor Baby Fists.
Thanks for link, excellent albeit rage-making read because it gets right to the stinking, racist rot at the dark heart of him.
Yes, to everything in that article…
He should have other people write stuff like this for him. He’s not articulate at all. I miss Obama’s wonderful speaking skills. I loved listening to him speak. And his composure was just unreal, even in the faces of those Republicans who blocked him just to block him. Miss the REAL classy POTUS.
“family of a person I knew well” Does anyone find that rather impersonal for someone he is supposed to have known well? The whole statement sounds like a bulletin the CEO of a corporation puts out when they are informed an employee has died.
Just seems odd
He isn’t even able to get f*cking condolences for a black woman right – he just HAS to reduce it to “she worked for me” before he can manage to get in something that could be interpreted as being remembrance.
She didn’t work for you, you disgusting assh*le.
His comments were crass and as usual a lie.
But did you see Grifter Barbie’s Twitter? A flowery, adolescent, cloying mini-screed that screamed I’m great too because I know who she is. Compare Chelsea Clinton’s simple, elegant comment with Aretha Franklin’s photo.
Thank u Kaiser for coining “America’s Village Idiot”. I lol’d so damn hard and have decided to introduce it into my daily vocab (and always give u credit when I use it – of course!).
Dearest Ms. Franklin, may u rest in peace. A powerful, smart, soulful songstress and force of a woman.
Also, happy birthday Madonna. If u’re 60, then am I really 42…???!!!
Rest assured Kaiser, your headlines get a lot of credit in my life. Some of them are so damn funny and some are painfully accurate.
So tone deaf, yet his ardent supporters will likely view any criticism of this as picking on their hero. “He meant well!”
Unbelievable that someone can live seven decades and be incapable of expressing sympathy. “Warmest best wishes”???
Why does every comment have to be about him? He’s the definition of a true narcissist.
Exactly. I don’t even think his comments were racist but just the way a narcissist speaks about others. Because she was a very public and beloved figure he has to attach himself to her by pretending he knew her well but as a narcissist he has to make sure everyone knows he’s still “above” her so that’s where the “she worked for me”-sentence comes in.
Incompetent fool! As usual his Bigly brain is malfunctioning. The three legged hamster on the wheel in his head is screaming “me, me and more me”. Trump is the village idiot of all time.
I’m sure Aretha is thankful that he won’t be joining her in heaven. Thank you to the Queen of Soul for all the great songs you brought to my life.
I was relieved to read that the Queen of Soul not only bashed Trump in private, she refused to sing at his inauguration.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/aretha-franklin-frequently-bashed-trump-in-private-blew-off-inauguration-invite-5?ref=home
I cant believe how he speaks – this half-wit can barely string a sentence together – is he illiterate?
“Made is sound like she worked as his maid” LOL.
If only it had been him and not her.
Like the dirtiest of street fighters, Trump knows how to punch below the belt, and punch hard. No matter how much I try and keep his viciousness at bay, this really hurt to hear him say. He is such a stain on humanity.
I wish people would stop calling him Dotard as it excuses and normalises his behaviour – his behaviour is not normal, he has always been like this, he just now has the freedom to fly his flag uncensored for the whole world to see.
Just read that Fox News showed a picture of Patti LaBelle for their tribute to Aretha.
This loser needs to take her name outta his mouth.
To echo StoryMummy’s earlier comment, I hope Aretha’s ghost chases Trump to the gates of Hell.
Good Lord, this man is a complete and utter f*ckwit who needs to f*ck right off.
Aretha did not “work” for him. She was an entertainer who, thankfully, shared her incredible God-given talent with the world. She was a strong, independent woman who taught young women like me that respect is an important part of relationships.
Rest peacefully, Ms. Franklin ❤
Worked for him? Even when attempting to express fake condolences he sounds like an egotistical asshole. I’d rather he had not said anything at all.