Explaining Trump and his response to the Charlottesville event.
Trump seemed fresh and new. He did not sound like a politician. He did not try to defuse political opponents. He didn't attempt to engage and include the other points of view.
He made a virtue out of taking care of number one. America First, no apology.
He said the world was a competition with winners and losers. Politicians and countries should seek advantage and embrace advocating their own interests. "I represent Pittsburgh, not Paris." Cooperation is weakness. Graciousness and courtesy are just forms of "political correctness."
Trump's early response to the Charlottesville events was exactly in character for Trump. People who are expecting graciousness and inclusion of his opposition misunderstand what works for Trump. He did not name and condemn white supremacy marchers even in the face of criticism from the media, Democrats, and Republicans. He condemned all violence, making equivalent in being in error everyone at the scene, the marchers on both sides, the driver of the car and the people he crashed into.
Even Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and other Republicans were shocked. They should not have been. Trump did not rise to the occasion of expressing gracious orvempathetic understanding of the need to represent on the country's behalf our shock at murder in the advancement of open racism. That isn't Trump, and Trump is being Trump.
Trump is the captain of a team. He doesn't represent the points of view of everyone. He has friends and foes. He represents the people loyal to him. David Duke, former head of the KKK, understood the Trump brand perfectly when he tweeted yesterday a recommendation Trump "take a good look in the mirror & remember it was White Americans who put you in the presidency, not radical leftists."
I perceive Donald Trump to be probably less racist than many Americans and certainly less so than many of his supporters. Observe that Duke was not appealing to Trump's racism, but to his affiliation with his team. Stay loyal. Not stay racist.
Pressure is building up on Trump as I write this. The White House, but not Trump personally, is filling in the void: of course he condemns the KKK and murder. At some point I expect him to say what must say--that he does not agree with the KKK and Nazi marchers. But he sent a message, that white supremacist marchers were morally equivalent to the counter demonstrators. He blamed "all sides."
The Charlottesville dead and injured played for the other team. Trump doesn't represent them. In their own case Democrats were, to their peril, reluctant to condemn violence by their teammates-- blacks angry with police shootings of unarmed black men. Black lives matter, but that need not have meant Democrats fail to condemn rioting and looting. Their failure helped fuel the white resentment that got Trump elected.
Trump is no different. His teammates don't want to admit guilt and Trump does not want to appear disloyal, Nazis and KKK members say things that some Trump's supporters think but dare not say. They are on the edge of the Trump team. Trump chose to condemn the violence and murder carefully: everyone was a fault. That care meant that Nazis and the Kkk were within the pale, not beyond it.
Trump is loyal and steadfast as an advocate for his team. White people got him elected.
2 comments:
You wouldn't want to upset your base.
When there were 16 Republicans running, all those White hate groups supported Trump over all the others. They recognized one of their own. Now we see why.
What he fails to see is that he's President of ALL the people in the United States, not just those who agree with him.
I wonder how History will treat him. Worst than Nixon, worst than W? He'll be down there somewhere.
His response to this tragedy will reveal Trump's true nature to many who supported him in good faith. Hopefully more than less.
Nothing he says after the first response will be seen as true, and will in any case be insufficient. Again, we are left with the cult. What will happen if the cult leader is deposed? Will this be the tipping point that pushes public opinion down to a place where the GOP will start to pile on? Once it starts I don't think he'll get a second chance.
In the short term it's pretty safe to predict an attempt to peel off Bannon and Miller, as the situation demands a sacrifice. Perhaps they were there just for this moment all along...
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