True story: When my daughter was four, she was playing outside with a friend. A little boy had thrown a rock at a grasshopper and killed it. My daughter became upset, and when confronted as to why he killed the grasshopper, the little boy said “I didn’t do it, the rock did!”

We joke now, and use the story as a metaphor for when our own kids wrongly blame others, to teach them accountability.

Yesterday, I read an article about a Chinese factory that made thousands of MAGA flags for Trump’s 2020 campaign. When confronted by the press after confirming that the factory indeed manufactured the flags, the White House’s response was “I didn’t do it, the Republicans did.”

Or when confronted on Russian meddling in the 2016 election, Trump’s response was “I didn’t do it, Paul Ryan did.” And, when the Taj, Plaza and Crown all declared bankruptcy with multi-billion dollar debts, the cry was “I didn’t do it, the executives did.”

Unlike presidents Kennedy, Reagan, Eisenhower and many before them, President Trump appears to be incapable of owning his mistakes and wrong-doings. It’s a pattern acceptable in toddlers because they have not learned moral accountability, but now that my children are older I hold them to a higher standard that reflects their maturity and education.

Why does this country not hold its president to the same standard?

Kim Filippone

Falmouth

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