By Kate McLeod

It’s true. The cost of four ounces of cream cheese in New York City was $10 the last time I checked. Do we blame Biden, the supply chain/pandemic or corporate greed? 

Among the calculated 33 lies told by wannabe King Donny, the inflation for food, housing and fuel is apparent. The exit from Afghanistan should have been planned and it did result in chaos. Now, may I continue?

A very rich man who didn’t pay workers wants to destroy the Constitution, wants complete immunity as president. Take a moment here and think about this person in a powerful position in the world with no guardrails.

Example: when the Democrats put a bill forward to protect the border –- one of his favorite screeds because frankly, he does not have a platform –- he got on the phone to the sycophants in Congress and told them to veto it, which, being the sycophants they are, did his bidding.

I felt outrage when he accused my side of executing babies and favoring abortion in the ninth month. What kind of monster would come up with that? He said, and I quote, “execute the baby.” That is what he said.

And does he not understand rape and incest? I think he knows what rape is, but the deeper problem here is that this person has no capacity for empathy. If you are going to lead a country as diverse as America, you have to feel something for someone other than yourself. He can’t.

I have another question for Donald Trump: could you explain what IVF is?

Trump stood up in front of the country and said he had not read Project 2025. OK, we know he doesn’t read. So does Melania read to him at night? And do the tenants of Project 2025 give him so much comfort that it puts him to sleep? Out with DEI. Out with gender difference, critical race theory.

What about his support of a national sales tax? Protect the billionaires; burden low- and middle-income families.

Harris landed on her feet last night. The commentators began their analysis with the fact that Harris baited him at every turn and at every turn he took the bait. But when she was answering questions, I never felt her strategy. I felt like she was honestly trying to answer our questions about how the government is running the country, how working class and middle-income families are going to survive and what role we play in keeping the world a safer place.

Inflation: Trump lied. Fact: the year-over-year inflation rate has fallen since its 2022 peak under Biden. It was at 2.9% in July, and fell again, to 2.5%, in August. I’ll check the cost of cream cheese today.

Do you want to talk about immigrants eating cats and dogs? Do you? This is what you get if you are going to vote for a disturbed, self-involved person. Also, crime is down and immigrants, fearful of being deported, are not the ones committing most crimes. 

Fave Donald phrase: “in the history of our country”. Could Doris Kearns Goodwin and Jon Meacham and Donald Trump have a fireside chat on national television to see what he truly knows about the history of our country? 

To my nephew the gun owner: Both Harris and Walz are gun owners. They’re not about to “take your guns away”. What needs to happen, is getting guns out of the hands of mentally disturbed individuals so that children in grade school aren’t gunned down. Are you OK with not having any more school shootings? You’re OK with that, right?

Other topics: NATO, Ukraine, concepts of a plan (Is that like infrastructure week?), 60 attempts to kill the Affordable Care Act (thank you john McCain), why don’t I invite the Taliban to Camp David, Victor Orbán, like Putin, is a bestie.

It is so clear that he can’t manage the fact that he lost the election – folks, it’s been 3 1/2 years, that he can’t listen to any criticism about his over-the-top mouthing of insanities at his rallies.

I don’t know a diagnosis. Is it narcissism? You cannot be diagnosed by a psychiatrist unless you are evaluated in-person. But what I do know is that I don’t want this fragile democracy turned into an autocracy where the only people that count are white Christians. 

I live in New York City. I come from Massachusetts, but I have known for a long time that this is where I belong. Know why? Every day, I walk out on the street and I look around and up at the sky and feel a thrill.

“I live here,” I say to myself. And in the three-block walk to the subway, I see several different colors of skin, maybe hear four different languages. I live near celebrities and don’t really care. I get on the MTA and in ten minutes I can be 80 blocks south and on my way to a play or a meeting. I can cross town in three stops and get to my doctor’s appointment. I can enjoy countless cuisines. And I can walk to Zabar’s where sometimes I get to talk to Saul Zabar. What’s not to like about diversity? Are you kidding me?

McLeod is a playwright and a frequent contributor to the left column of  The Hustings.