Trump used a scandal to divert attention from a scandal. But there was craft in this. He picked a more useful scandal.
I am viewing Sunday morning television. Trump pulled off the switch. Now it is about Trump the Defender, protecting against foreign aid redistribution.
For a few days the story was about problems with the federal response to Puerto Rico. Now the story is a much better one for Trump: lazy, disorganized Puerto Ricans are yet another version of the old story of "hard working whites and lazy welfare-sucking black and brown people in poverty." Trump is mired in controversy, but now the controversy serves Trump.
Trump kept tweeting earlier today. Here are the new ones, starting with "politically motivated ingrates":
The Sunday shows of the mainstream news, i.e. CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC, and left leaning MSNBC are full of shock and outrage. Fox asks whether this is a problem for Trump--him criticizing Puerto Rico for lacking productive focus while he takes a long golf weekend, then they answer the question by observing that the Trump Republican base actually likes Trump's in-your-face manner.
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| Backing into the Trump meme: supplicant |
Trump has changed the story into essential elements that preserve Trump's credibility with the Republican majority: Trump is under attack by the mainstream news people, which is to be expected because he is at work defending normal American taxpayers from poor and troubled brown and black supplicants and financial leaches.
The criticism Trump gets from establishment sources (which Trump calls the Fake News) that reference presidential norms are irrelevant--and indeed the actually help Trump with his base. The criticism documents that Trump is breaking the mold, saying what a great many people believe is true but could not be said with political correctness, that whites have been "carrying" brown and black people on their backs and they are tired of being taken advantage of by ungrateful leaches.
Readers of The Atlantic understand this article by James Fallows linked to here to be harsh criticism of Trump. Those aren't Trump voters. But for a great many Americans, it is exactly what they wanted and expected from Trump when they voted for him. They think he is telling it like it is, reflecting a combination of the moral value of self reliance combined with white racial anxiety. He is protecting us against open ended payments in "foreign aid" to an island that seems foreign and far away..
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| Click here: Fallows article. |
His base is happy someone finally "gets it." It is a fight against redistribution to people outside the in-group.
3 comments:
Pundits wondered what would happen if Trump was faced with a major disaster. Now we know and we are not surprised. Puerto Rico is not a state, and this makes them ripe political fodder. I doubt if Trump would have gone after the mayor of Houston in the same way. As such he once again reveals his personal misogyny, bigotry and opportunism. Anytime he can feed a plausible lie to his cult he does not hesitate.
From what we can see it appears that the islanders and government were unprepared for the storm. Perhaps they did not understand the danger. Acceptance of climate change may have made this less of a catastrophe. It is telling that the nation is so ambivalent about the slow response, which should have been demonstrably bigger, if only for political expedience. In interviews the FEMA director is defensive, when he should be conciliatory. This is Trumpian. He is on board, he wants to keep his job.
I wonder if Southern Oregon is prepared for an 8.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami.
And as if on cue, the Dreamers, a group of one million illegal immigrants, are trying to dictate their terms not just to Trump but to Democrats. According to the New York Times, these non-voters are threatening Pelosi and Schumer that they're “going to do whatever it takes to push both parties to what we are demanding.” See, "On Dreamers’ Deal, Democrats Face a Surprising Foe: The Dreamers", NYT October 2, 2017,
https://t.co/K5SaZ7dmft. Their activist spokespeople "reject any compromise that would tighten border security". As NYT commentator Frank Bruni sums it up in the title to a separate piece, "Democrats, Please Get Ready to Lose", in 2018 followed by "demoralization that...dooms the party in 2020". NYT, October 2, 2017,
https://t.co/SmRKtIHfOT.
From 1968 to 1992, we had 24 years of GOP rule, except Carter's one term, and a right wing Supreme Court. It was caused in part by raging Democrats who hated Reagan and his supporters. This reign of conservatism did not end until centrist Bill Clinton told us to "get a grip". When it comes to Puerto Rico, Dreamers, the NFL, and other rage issues, Bill Clinton's prescription should be applied now. In the meantime, Trump will keep winning.
The Red Cross is asking for blood donors and cash for Puerto Rico. Volunteers too _if trained_ so consider this a request that will redeem the hideous political mess being manufactured out of a natural catastrophe
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