“Everyone does it”
I don’t generally hang out with lowlife punks, but that sort of interaction is inevitable when you are young. I recall that they had a very cyclical view of the world. They didn’t exactly deny that they lied, cheated and stole, rather they claimed that everyone did it, and only naive chumps failed to see through the phony hypocrisy of so-called “good people”. As I’ve gotten older, I often see people accusing others of having the exact flaw that they have. (Presumably I have the same blind spot.)
If I point to some flaw in President Trump, people will say, “Don’t be naive, all politicians do it.” Of course the same people will insist that Trump is a refreshing change of pace, not at all like other politicians.
A recent piece in The Economist has proven remarkably prescient, after just a week. Here’s the title:
Donald Trump is a pro wrestler masquerading as commander-in-chief
Here’s an excerpt:
The president also employs the wwe’s new stagecraft. Mixing family, business and politics infuriates sticklers for the law, but makes his fans think he is somehow more real—or “authentic”—than his rivals. He is also a master of shifting between degrees of make-believe. “I’m not supposed to say this,” he interjects into his speeches, “but what the hell?” And then there are his constantly distracting micro-dramas, breathlessly echoed by a commentariat every bit as emotionally invested in the drama as the press gallery at WrestleMania, which often erupted into spontaneous gasps or applause. How much of Mr Trump’s behaviour is concocted is debatable; private Trump is also pretty pantomime. But that uncertainly merely adds, wwe style, to the reality-tumbling effect.
Electoral royale
Mr Trump’s ham performance has been endangered by its own success—represented by two years of unified Republican government. A wweperformer without an adversary would be a pitiful spectacle. It is therefore testament to the president’s genius that he was able to fill the void, not with policies, obviously, but rather a parade of new enemies: immigrant children, black football players, the late John McCain. Yet with the Democrats soon to choose a new champion, his performance may be about to get easier.
AFAIK, people like professional wrestling because they like heroes inflicting pain on bad guys. Many voters like that too. The Dems seem hopelessly outmatched right now, and if I were a betting man I’d put money on Trump winning again in 2020.
What makes the Economist piece so prescient is two news stories within just the past week. In one story, Trump threatened to place illegal aliens in “sanctuary cities”. In another, he is having his negotiators pressure the Chinese to remove tariffs on products exported from (Republican) farm states, and replaced with tariffs on products exported by blue states.
Of course commenters will tell me that I’m naive, and that all presidents do this. It’s “refreshing” to have a president finally admit that he is trying to impose suffering on the parts of America that didn’t vote for him.
But if we all lie, cheat, and steal, then why should I care whether you think I’m naive? After all, you don’t really believe what you are writing, you’re just placing those comments to get attention, to be a troll. Belief in truth is for suckers, so I can safely ignore your comments.
The good news is that just as professional wrestling is fake fighting, Trump is a fake right-wing authoritarian nationalist. Just imagine if he were a real fighter, another Muhammad Ali.
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15. April 2019 at 15:44
‘The good news is that just as professional wrestling is fake fighting, Trump is a fake right-wing authoritarian nationalist’
That’s the good news ? I don’t wan’t the bad news, then.
15. April 2019 at 15:54
“if I were a betting man I’d put money on Trump winning again in 2020.”
I’d bet against.
“Of course commenters will tell me that I’m naive, and that all presidents do this.”
This has literally been the case since the Tariff of Abominations.
“If I point to some flaw in President Trump, people will say, “Don’t be naive, all politicians do it.” Of course the same people will insist that Trump is a refreshing change of pace, not at all like other politicians.”
Both are true. Trump is a refreshing change of pace in his rhetoric and a boring establishment politician in his policy.
“The good news is that just as professional wrestling is fake fighting, Trump is a fake right-wing authoritarian nationalist.”
True.
“Just imagine if he were a real fighter, another Muhammad Ali.”
Oh; I can. It’d be awesome.
15. April 2019 at 15:54
We’ll see how authentic Corbyn is BTW.
15. April 2019 at 18:34
I can understand the expectation that Democrats will find a way to blow an election, since they’re politcally hapless, but I think you’re underestimating just how hard Trump winning re-election will be.
First, he’s less popular now than when he won in 2016. His poll numbers average lower and demographics continue to move against him yearly in a drip-drip fashion. He hasn’t expanded beyond his original base of support, so he’ll have to count on even higher turnout among those likely to support him than he got in 2016. That’s usually not easy.
Also, it’s hard to imagine how he wins without Florida, which he barely won in 2016. He’s not only lost a bit of the support he had in the state, but almost 200,000 people from Puerto Rico have moved there since the devastation of the hurricane. And though his support among Puerto Ricans is higher than it should be, they still lean Democrat.
Let’s also consider the tax reform act, which led to a Twitter storm of Trump supporters claiming he raised their taxes. It seems a fair number of his supporters saw their taxes increase due to the loss of some deductions. He can’t afford to lose any support.
Let’s then also consider some of those in states like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania who’ve been hurt by his trade skirmishes. As I recall, he won those three must-win states by a combined less than 80,000 votes. I think he’s jeopardized his chances to sweep those states again.
He will try to overcome these problems by working out a trade deal with China and will probably continue to up the demagoguery and hope that’s enough to get his base out to vote. I think it will take considerably more Democratic incompetence and disunity than usual to allow Trump to win again.
15. April 2019 at 19:45
Re: Hapless Dems – Reminds me of the Onion headline:
“CAMPAIGN ’80: Carter: ‘Let’s Talk Better Mileage.’ Reagan: ‘Kill the Bastards.’ Which Message Will Resonate With Voters?”
15. April 2019 at 20:46
“AFAIK, people like professional wrestling because they like heroes inflicting pain on bad guys.”
It might be worth noting that in recent times the bad guys get more cheers and the good guys get booed. Sign of the times.
16. April 2019 at 04:45
Being called naive touched a nerve I see? Well this is spot on. I liken Trump to WWE CEO Vince McMahon. Billionaires. Tried politics with varying degrees of success. Ran businesses with low degrees of scruples. I do find Trump’s honesty refreshing. Remember when the Bush administration redirected Homeland security money from New York to Indiana because it would get money into the pockets of Bush voters? But Bush was not honest about it or anything else. Trump is more Bush than Bush in terms of politics but he is blunt about it. He says what every Bush voter was thinking.
Professional wrestling: fake fights real injuries.
16. April 2019 at 05:51
I’ll add one more reason why it will be harder for Trump to win in 2020. After the scandals of 2016, social media might not be as friendly to pro-Trump propaganda.
16. April 2019 at 10:06
Benny,
That’s gold, you understood Trump and Wrestling.
After all these years, Scott (and the left) has still not found a conclusive narrative. Either Trump is only show and doesn’t achieve anything relevant at all, so why are they so angry? Shouldn’t they be really happy?
Or he causes real damage, which explains why they are so upset. So which is it?
I assume all the TDS posts indicate it’s more of the latter.
16. April 2019 at 10:33
Will, Interesting.
Benny, You are right that it’s naive to believe anything people say, so I now believe that you are lying and that you secretly agree with me. Your comments are just a way of attracting attention, much like any politician. Trolling.
16. April 2019 at 10:36
Christian, Still don’t get it? Trump degrades politics, turning us into more of a banana republic. The juries out on whether he’ll succeed in the long run, but he’s pushing us in the wrong direction. His actual policies have little effect so far, but if we do become a banana republic the policies will gradually degrade over time.
How hard is that to understand? Apparent very hard for some people.
17. April 2019 at 09:52
Yes it is indeed naive to take people at face value. Especially when actions speak louder than words. I mean did you really expect Republicans to pursue balanced budgets, tight money, and austerity once a Republican got in the oval office? And did you really think conservatives acted on “principles”? What are you, 12?
17. April 2019 at 10:20
I’ve always hated “pro” wrestling.