Barrtalk: America is still beautiful, but Trump is grotesque

Regardless of our political leanings, we all know that Trump is a narcissist of the highest order, perhaps like we have never seen among leaders before, at least here in the West.

As comic commentator Jimmy Kimmel says, Trump loves two things above all others: sitting, and talking about himself [presumably not in that order].

But I don’t think we quite realise the depth of Trump’s absolute infatuation with himself, from the safe remove of this country.

Here’s just one example. Someone I know recently returned from the United States, where they had been visiting with friends.

Anyway, one of the ‘outdoorsy’ American friends had to renew her annual pass to visit National Parks. The permit costs a nominal sum and gives its holder the benefit of discounted rates in terms of admittance into parks and recreational lands across the country for the year ahead.

That’s all good. But the woman was horrified when she picked up the new card and discovered that it’s now emblazoned with a huge photo of Trump, looking suitably menacing alongside George Washington, below a headline: ‘America the Beautiful’.

Beautiful? Give me a break.

Trump, of course, would see himself as easily on the same level, if not greater, than George Washington, an unimpeachable founding father and the first ever US president.

The annual card typically came decorated with wildlife photos of Yellowstone or Yosemite or some other beautiful park scene, but now it has been defiled by the narcissist-in-chief, who won’t rest until he’s up on Mount Rushmore or on the $100 bill.

It’s worth remembering too that Trump heartlessly cut the jobs from under thousands of federal employees, including those in the National Parks Service, with the aid of his equally pathetic henchman Musk last year.

Even more galling was Trump’s wholly unforgivable and disgusting defence of the cold-blooded slaying of an innocent young mother in Minneapolis in recent weeks.

How could anyone keep that hateful mug in their wallet? I’d rather pay the extra fees.

America – and its national parks, and most of its people are still beautiful – but Trump’s America is grotesque.

Driving in the snow and ice

You have to feel for those who drive for a living around this time of year, scraping ice off the windscreen before setting off on often dicey roads at all hours of the day. It’s not for the faint of heart.

There I was, heart in mouth the whole way, driving from Moville to Buncrana during the first snow flurries and freezing rain of the new year earlier this month.

You dared not relax for a single minute, with a line of cars doing thirty miles per hour in both directions during the morning white-out across many parts of Inishowen.

My journey lasted only forty minutes or so – and there wasn’t that much snow in the end, truth be told – but imagine living on your nerves behind the wheel all day or all week.

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Imagine having to drive a lorry-load of stock from Inishowen to Dublin or beyond in sub-zero temperatures. My nerves would never stick it.

Delivery drivers, lorry drivers, postmen and taxi drivers, et al really earn their money in the deep midwinter – and with it our enduring respect too [especially the guy who brought me my new Paul McCartney and Wings box set the other week].

Roll on warmer climes and longer evenings, though. I’m fed up with the darkness and cold already.

Phew! The worst day of the year is behind us

And finally, if you’re reading this [which you are, obviously], then breathe yourself a big sigh of relief.

Why? No, not because you’ve reached the end of another Barrtalk column, but rather because you’ve just survived the most depressing day of the year, which apparently was yesterday, January 19, 2026, otherwise known as ‘Blue Monday’.

We’ve made it! The only way is up after this! Isn’t it nice to get the worst day out of the way already?

If you’re not familiar with the term, Blue Monday is generally considered to be the bleakest day of the year, all things considered.

The depressingness of the day is traced to a number of factors, including debt levels, temperatures, days until the next bank holiday, the number of days since pay day, average hours of daylight, and other factors, including the post-Christmas blues.

And to make matters worse, our cars are typically frozen over and you dare not go for a walk in the dark, on potentially icy footpaths, which could result in a New Year's trip to A&E.

Getting out from under the duvet circa 7am in the freezing cold these mornings is most definitely depressing. But fear not, in just a few more weeks’ time we’ll be seeing the evenings ‘stretch’ out to almost 6pm. Small mercies.

Anyway, on the bright side, now that we’re over the worst of it, things can only get better! Or, as George Harrison reminds us: “Here Comes The Sun (Doo-d-doo-doo) . . . ”, not to mention the equally as good by the same artist: “All Things Must Pass”.

I’ll leave you with a lovely quote from Albert Camus that very much applies to this time of year too: “In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.”

Beautiful.