“World War III is looming like never before in the very dark and murky background. Lack of leadership is solely responsible for this unprecedented danger to our beautiful USA and likewise to the world itself. Hopeless Joe Biden is leading us into oblivion. We cannot let it happen. We have to take back the White House, or our country is doomed. Thank you very much.” -- Trump, yesterday Okay, no, not so much. I was thinking about leaving it there, since that one sentence says everything necessary. And there really isn't all that much to add. Or much too much. The hardest part is figuring where to start. And then end. As the great Molly Ivins said, though in another context, it reads better in the original German. My favorite part of what Trump says here in his video is that after raining down doom and gloom, World War III, oblivion, unprecedented danger, and looming, dark, and murky– Trump ends it with “Thank you very much.” All I could think of was Andy Kauffman delivering that rant as the Foreign Man. The only thing that surprised me is that Trump didn’t choose to end it instead with “Have a nice day.” The one good thing is that in saying “We have to take back the White House,” I’m not sure if Trump realizes that he’s acknowledging he wasn’t elected. Keep in mind, this wasn’t a Trump ALL CAPS meltdown on his social media service. (He did have one of those yesterday, but it was whining about all the investigations against him.) No, this was a campaign video. This was a “Vote for me!” thing. This was laying out his vision of the future as the foundation of his election platform. Sturm und drang. The only thing missing was underscoring by Richard Wagner. Perhaps “The Ride of the Valkyries” would do. Even in the midst of the Great Depression, when the country was collapsing – no “looming” about it, it was here and destructive – Franklin Roosevelt laid out the harsh realities in his First Inaugural Address, but still had the presence of mind to offer, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” It went over so much better than “If I am not in charge, you are all going to die!!!!” I’m reminded of Trump’s own first inaugural when amidst his dystopian view of the world around us, George W. Bush turned to Michelle Obama and said, “That is some weird sh*t.” And it hasn’t stopped for six years. At least it’s all familiar territory, and he’s sticking with “I alone can fix it.” The problem, of course, is that “it” was largely caused by him. This is the old “Break everything and claim credit for repairing what you broke” gambit. The big hurdle for Trump is that he’s never figured out the “repair” part of the equation. I thought of listing all the reasons why what Trump said was contrary to reality. But then I realized it doesn't deserve debate, because that gives it validation. In the end, I think it stands on its own as a fine example of dark mania by a malignant narcissist. And a really weird campaign video. Thank you very much.
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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