Teleprompter Trump

He was sincere and meant every word.  "Yeah, right."

There is Rally-Trump and Twitter-Trump.  And there is "Teleprompter-Trump."

The phrase "yeah, right" is well known for meaning two opposite things, depending on how it is said. It is either an affirmation or, when said with a derisive or sarcastic tone, the exact opposite. It is so clear and obvious an example that it is used in classrooms to make the point of tone defining the message.

Trump is equally obvious. Part of Trump's political appeal was his apparent authenticity, shown in his willingness in campaign speeches to say unguarded plain speech. No artificial politeness. No euphemisms. No phony shows of respect. 

Trump's tweets reinforce his rally personae. He accuses. He mocks. He doesn't pull punches.

Crime-illegal-infest

In his campaign announcement he laid out a theme that demolished his GOP opposition. He said Mexicans who came to America were criminals, rapists, drug dealers, and that Mexico doesn't "send its best." And then, he added, with a reluctant tone, "And some, I assume, are good people."  

It was shocking, memorable political communication in its blunt honesty and disrespect for immigrants from Mexico. The additional "I assume" was clear as a grudging admission that it was a generalization, no doubt with exceptions like all generalizations, but the exceptions did not neglect his main thought. It wasn't a balance of good and bad. It was a generalization of bad, mostly bad. 

"ridiculous, crime infested & breeding"

And then, when pressed on the issue, Trump did not back down and ameliorate.Throughout the campaign, even under pressure, he stuck to the idea that Latin American immigrants were generally dangerous and bad for America, and Muslims were so dangerous they should be excluded as a group. As president he has gone to court multiple times for a ban on Muslims and describing immigrants at the southern border as "invaders" and an "infestation" of the American people.

A great many American agree with Trump, some openly, some secretly. Fox, talk radio, and conservative commentators are adamant that there is a silent majority of people who agree with Trump and who dare not say it to pollsters or publicly. Trump makes constant reference to the size and enthusiasm of his crowds. Trump and his allies say that Trump is a man of the people, a patriotic nationalist speaking on behalf of people uncomfortable with immigration, especially immigration from outside Europe. Nonwhites. We are we; they are they. He defends us against them. 

Its rawness works politically for him, but it runs up against a contrary American value, of unity out of many. It makes it awkward for voters and GOP officeholders who need some show of balance, some evidence that he isn't, actually, intentionally dissing black and brown people.

Trump gives them the fig leaf they need. Tele-prompter Trump.

A viewer of Trump's formal speech about the shootings in Dayton and El Paso does not need to watch the whole performance to understand that it plays exactly the same role as did the grudging "and some, I assume, are good people." 

Click: YouTube

The speech was obviously written for him, but that is not the problem. The problem that It doesn't sound at all like Trump, nor is he making any effort to make it sound heartfelt. It is read haltingly, like a middle schooler not yet a fluent reader, in a near monotone.

Don't take my word for it. Click and watch some of the nine minutes of it and decide for yourself if this sounds remotely like Trump speaking from the heart. 

The words themselves are formal and perfectly appropriate--"today we send our profound condolences to President Obrador of Mexico, and all the people of Mexico, for the loss of their people in the El Paso shooting" and such. It is pro-forma.

The speech provides cover. In fact, the words in the teleprompter speech do the job and meet exactly the requirements of a bridge building healer. He said them and they are on the record. See! He loves Mexicans. He is a healer, not a divider. They allow his GOP officeholders to assert that the political message Trump gives with passion and enthusiasm in his rallies and tweets are not the real Trump, or at least certainly not the whole Trump. 

People hear what they need to hear, in both directions. 

Trump said, "Now is the time to set destructive partisanship aside. So destructive. And find the courage to answer hatred with unity, friendship, and love." 

Yeah, right.