Trump has a method and a brand.
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| CNN: Click |
Cruelty to outsiders and enemies is a feature, not a bug.
Trump projects an image of toughness and domination over outsiders. His presidency is refining and expressing the themes that got him elected.
Trump voiced an ethno-nationalist message: America under attack by outsiders who are worming their way into America, bringing crime and burdens on the insiders, the rightful heirs to America. He described an America being taken advantage of by both friends and enemies. He said that it was happening because America was led by feckless weaklings of both parties, but especially Obama. Trump would change that.
On net, the sounds of children crying for their parents hurts Trump, but it is a mixed situation for him and not all bad for him. He is getting hand-wringing within his base. Some Catholic bishops and evangelicals are uneasy. The most visible critics are women or men with a reputation for having a soft streak: John McCain and Lindsey Graham. Laura Bush is troubled by it. First Lady Melania sympathizes. Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine says this isn't right.
Dissent within Republicans is not good for Trump. Part of Trump's power is that he cannot be removed by law or politics. His impeachment-proof power comes from fear among Republicans that Trump nay-sayers get defeated soundly. Bob Corker, Jeff Flake, Mark Sanford are trophies for Trump. Note that Paul Ryan is among the critics--but he announced he is retiring. Ryan's apostasy helps prove the rule that only has-beens can be critical of Trump. Still, Trump is stronger when no Republican dare criticize him and he is getting some from within the tent.
Even White House itself is conflicted. Some say the cruelty is necessary and good to send a message (Jeff Sessions) while others say it is bad and the fault of Democrats. The lack of message discipline documents that the issue has problems. Kids are sympathetic, especially when they cry for their mommy.
On the other hand. . .
There are some benefits to Trump in this controversy. He is communicating that he will be the tough guy, the disciplinarian. Trump isn't soft.
When Trump changes policy--and he can at any moment and will be praised for it--he will present it as having strongly and firmly proved his point.
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| Greece: 1944 |
The criticism of Trump from Democrats helps Trump by reinforcing his brand for promise-keeping in adversity. My parents returned from a trip to Greece in 1980 and told a story of conversations Greek relatives that shocked them. The Nazi occupation of Greece was noteworthy for its cruelty. The population was starved and terrorized. There was a Nazi edict that for every German soldier killed they would execute 100 Greeks. Greece has monuments to entire villages destroyed, every woman raped and killed, every male hanged. My parents heard stories over meals with these survivors of the occupation and they heard two messages. One was of the unspeakable cruelty and the other was of grudging respect. "If they said they would do it, they would do it." Trump shows he isn't bluffing.
Stopping an invasion. Photos of migrants seeking asylum cause wide angle photos of masses of people crowded together in camps. The unsaid message here is of "hoards" of people. That triggers the fear many Americans have of uncontrolled, mass immigration. One crying child is sympathetic ,but thousands seen together seem like an invasion.
Moreover, the migrants look foreign. They have odd clothes, they are tired and unwashed, most don't speak English well. Seen as a group their individual humanity is obscured, and the viewer perceives foreign hair and clothing styles. In Trump's authoritarianism, the distinction between inside and outside is key. The implied message: he is cruel to them because he is nice to us.
Prediction: Trump will tough this out for a few more days, then change policies and call it a victory, a tremendous victory. He will come out OK. The pundits who say this will be a big mid-term issue for Democrats are mistaken.
5 comments:
Other than at a facile sentimental level, few people really cared about the Dreamers, and few really care about these children being separated from their parents (or whomever is claiming to be their parents). The New York Times podcast, "The Daily", today has addressed "several sides" of the problem. When the NYT frames the issue as phony asylum claims versus adults with dubious claims of parenthood versus Trump cruelty with "zero tolerance", it's hard to see how Trump loses.
According to the NYT podcast, Trump has this issue framed exactly how he wants it, and is confident that this will indeed be an issue in the midterms-- one that will do-in Democrats for promoting literally no solutions to a "lawless border". Other than thin protests and self-serving celebrity outrage over yet another "victim class" being brought into the Democrats big tent that must be accommodated, it's hard to see how Democrats are doing anything to "win" this issue. It is easy to see how Trump is.
Don"t miss the point.
The policy is overreach and possibly intended to pick a fight. What we are witnessing is Trump, the bully, and his minions pushing the limits to see if he can expand his power, and throw a bone to the cult. The resistance, led by the media, and with clergy, public figures and even some politicians following, has chosen this as the battle they will fight to ground, and they just may have found an issue that will force a blink. Trump will "fix" it, but take another swipe at Sessions in the process. It won't be pretty.
Peter? Could you read this article and let me know what you think of it? https://truthout.org/articles/donald-trumps-trade-war-masks-a-darker-agenda-aiding-the-far-right-in-europe/
I'm afraid that the Trump/Pence/Stephen Miller cabal is trying to provoke the left into a violent confrontation. They can then claim that "Pelosi" (their catchall dog whistle for the left) condones violence. This is a brazen attempt to consolidate power just prior to the mid-terms
I heard an interesting comment recently: "Trump kisses up (as to Putin or other dictators he admires) and shits down (as to sub-contractors, immigrants, anyone he perceives as weaker)." That's beginning to make more sense to me the more I think about it.
In education, I often heard the term "an onion" to describe someone with no conscience, no core, just layers and layers. He's that too.
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