BY TONY CHEONG: My 10-year-old niece got her first cell phone.
She texts me incessantly.
Mostly emojis.
I’d prefer she write complete sentences.
Toward that end, I’ve been talking – texting – politics with her.
Donald Trump was in Orange County last week so we started with him. Besides, he and Hillary were the only presidential candidates she knew of at first.
BY TONY CHEONG: My 10-year-old niece got her first cell phone.
She texts me incessantly.
Mostly emojis.
I’d prefer she write complete sentences.
Toward that end, I’ve been talking – texting – politics with her.
Donald Trump was in Orange County last week so we started with him. Besides, he and Hillary were the only presidential candidates she knew of at first.
Now she knows all five. She knows who’s a Republican and who’s a Democrat. Policy? She’s a two-issue kid: she’s all for free college — free anything, really — and completely against all-gender bathrooms.
“Who’s going to pay for your free college?” I texted.
“Berny,” she texted back.
She thinks “Berny” is a nice old man. Clearly, she thinks he's a trillionaire, as well.
Moving on, she likes Hillary because she’s a girl, although she also thinks the former first lady comes off as a smarty pants.
“Do you trust her?” I asked.
“Yeah, cuz she’s a girl. But I trust Miss Lanai more.”
“Who’s Miss Lanai?” I asked.
“My teacher. Can she run for president?”
Oh, back to Trump. Her response was curt: “Yuk.”
What about Kasich?
She texted an emoji of a sleepy cat.
She likes Ted Cruz because she learned that he’s against all-gender bathrooms. She doesn’t fully understand the nuances of the transgender issue; she just doesn’t want to share a bathroom with boys. Also, she really, really likes Heidi Cruz.
“She’s pretty and nice.”
It’s that girl thing again.
Speaking of girl power, maybe Miss Lanai should run in 2024, I suggested.
“I’ll be her champion manager,” my niece texted.
“Campaign manager,” I corrected.
In return, I got an emoji of a pumpkin. That’s her way of making fun of Trump.
“Not nice,” I texted.
Uh oh. More emojis appear on my screen, and I’m sorry: I just don ‘t speak this language of hers…
Do you have a comment, question or news tip for Tony? Email her at tonyontown@yahoo.com
