Thursday, August 22, 2024

Rebranding Trump. He's a weird loser.

"The affirmative action of generational wealth."
     Michelle Obama's observation on Trump, Tuesday evening

Democrats called Trump an existential danger to democracy. It made Trump look stronger. 

They are switching course. Now he is weird. Sick. A crackpot. A coddled loser. 

Democrats have good and sufficient reason to call Trump a threat to democracy. After all, he carried out a plan to overturn the 2020 election with fake electors, and it might well have worked had Vice President Pence gone along with the scheme.  

The threat continues. Trump says that he may not accept the 2024 election results if he loses again. After all, he could only lose if Democrats cheated, so in that case of course he wouldn't accept the results.  Trump has prepared his partisans to go along. In a poll taken this month, 69 percent of Republican voters say they believe -- or at least suspect -- that Trump won the 2020 election, and among those people, 67% expect as very likely or somewhat likely a civil war if Trump loses again. Either Trump wins or civil war. Or at least more post election denials, certification refusals, and Proud Boy chaos. Who knows?
So, yes, Trump is a threat to democracy.

The problem with pointing out this danger is that it tends to make Trump look formidable. After all, if a man is dangerous enough to be an existential threat to America, then he must be a giant among men. A person of consequence. The imagery about Trump is one of dominance. He may not be good, but he is strong. Trump presents himself as a soldier fighting on behalf of his tribe -- fighting dirty -- sure, why not? -- but fighting and winning. All's fair in love and war. Trump dislikes what his team dislikes. He makes liberals cry, and however he can do it is okay. 

The iconography around Trump is strength.








That is why the new word is weird. Weird changes the focus to his fitness. His mental health. His character. It makes his high-drama midnight rants relevant. They are screwball. He looks bouncing-off-the-wall manic. His name-calling is juvenile and weird. He is so stuck in the past he teases Biden for being old, but it is Trump who now is the old candidate; it's weird that Trump hasn't adjusted to the new reality. 

My own sense is that weird is not quite strong enough as a word. Look at his tweets. Look at his flagrant excessive language. Look at his willingness to make charges and accusations that are demonstrably untrue, including saying that Harris's crowds are computer generated. This is faked-moon-landing, pedophile-pizza-basement, conspiracy nut-job level of wacky.  Would any Republican businessperson go into partnership with Trump, seeing what they see of Trump's speeches and tweets? Then why trust him to be president?Would any Republican attorney put Trump on the stand as a witness who would face cross examination? Attorneys who plan to vote for Trump as president should ask themselves that. (Attorneys in exactly that position of course don't put him on the stand. It would be malpractice.)

A weird Trump is a diminished Trump. It is a direct attack on his strong-man brand. We saw a salvo in that new approach on Tuesday. Trump calls Kamala Harris "low IQ," a woman whose career benefited from affirmative action. Michelle Obama reversed the polarity. She said it is Trump who gets the unfair advantage. She said: 

[Kamala Harris] understands that most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward. We will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth. 

If we bankrupt a business or choke in a crisis, we don’t get a second, third or fourth chance. If things don’t go our way, we don’t have the luxury of whining or cheating others to get further ahead. No.

We don’t get to change the rules so we always win. If we see a mountain in front of us, we don’t expect there to be an escalator waiting to take us to the top. We put our heads down. We get to work.

It is a new look at Trump. He isn't the political colossus who threatens a 230 year old republic. He is a spoiled, coddled loser who has been bailed out repeatedly by the privilege of wealth. We will hear "the affirmative action of generational wealth" many times in the next 75 days. It is a powerful observation.



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6 comments:

Mike Steely said...

As Michelle Obama said, character matters. Trump’s character is all about misogyny, racism and narcissism. He’s been found guilty of fraud and sexual molestation. He’s a convicted felon who tried to overthrow the government. Those who consider that presidential are as deplorable as he is.

I had a brother-in-law in the Oath Keepers who once raised the threat of civil war. I told him that people foolhardy enough to take up arms would last about 10 minutes against the U.S. Armed Forces. On the other hand, it would significantly increase the national I.Q. The comic book images Trump sells of himself at rip-off prices notwithstanding, anybody who thinks he would do anything, much less take up a gun, on their behalf is totally delusional.

Peter C. said...

I keep hearing that if Trump loses, there will be a civil war. I wonder what that would look like. My neighbor is a Republican. If Trump loses, will we be taking shots at each other? Will pick-up truck drivers point guns at anybody with a Harris sticker? What exactly look like? I think nothing of consequence will happen. We'll just go on our way and live life as always. A threat meaning nothing. The country survives as it always has.

Ed Cooper said...

Re: your remarks on Drumpf supporting Attorneys ;
I'm anxiously awaiting Mr. Myricks response. I'd like to ask him if he would risk his License to practice Law by putting ing the Vulgar Talking Yam on the stand as a witness.

Ed Cooper said...

At one time, not that long ago, the City of Medford kept electing a State Representative who was wont to insist that the Second Amendment was written so Citizens could defend themselves against a Tyrannical Government . I once asked him howhis trusty 30-30 would against a Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and he didn't have an answer.

Mc said...

BIL in Oaf Sleepers? Your sister can do much better.

Dave said...

It’s difficult to come off as powerful, when you ramble and complain. Dementia Don no longer appears strong. He is aging before our eyes. As Obama says, his stuff is less face it, stale.