When it comes to Donald Trump, Neal Gabler writes, we keep missing the point. We judge him as a president. Trump doesn't see himself as a president, Instead, he is -- and always has been -- an entertainer:
Whether by design or experience — and I suspect it is both — Trump never saw the presidency as a political institution. Originally, I wrote earlier here, he thought of it as a form of celebrity — the best way to get attention, which is what celebrities do. Now I fear that I was too optimistic. He actually seems to see it as an entertainment — not just a way to be the center of attention, though he clearly loves that — but as a way to tickle the public appetite for excitement. In doing so, he has replaced political values with entertainment values. Politics mean nothing to him. Policy is a bore for him as for most Americans. They want a show. So does he. And he intends to provide it.
Trump spends his time dreaming up future episodes of the Trump Show:
He knows how to put on a show for an electorate who likes shows. He thinks in terms of episodes. He knows how to bait the press into asking “what happens next” and to keep juicing the narrative. Chaos is an awful way to run an administration, but it is a wonderful way to keep people riveted and to distract them from policy discussions. And here is another thing about the show: It never ends. It is all Trump all the time. No entertainer has ever come as close as he has to monopolizing the ink and air.
Earlier episodes of the show had him "repealing and replacing" Obamacare. This week, he's cutting government subsidies to those who can't afford health insurance on their own. Next week's episode will be entitled,"Cancelling The Iran Deal." A future episode will be devoted to NAFTA.
For an electorate fascinated by The Jerry Springer Show, The Bachelor, and Survivor, he's made to order. That's why what used to be considered the world's greatest democracy has become The Gong Show.
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8 comments:
I have thought the same thing about the Trump administration, Owen. It is fascinating in its own way, as are train wrecks. I have also been wondering for some time whether his reality-show approach to government will have irrevocably ruined American political institutions. Once addicted to reality programming, it will be hard for many citizens to go back to anything approximating normal, i.e., bland, governance.
Real government -- good government -- is like good banking, Lorne. It's pretty boring. If Trump becomes the template for how government functions, the United States is doomed. The question is, "Does his influence transcend American borders?"
Entertainers don't last long unless they keep their ugly tendencies concealed from their audiences. History is full of popular actors who were real shits off screen. Trump, however, wears his uglies on his sleeve like badges of honour. He's a bully, a real sadist, and his faithful followers admire that in him.
and the opposition can not wait to go on stage.
It may be quite awhile before they get there, Steve. In the meantime, Hurricane Donald will do a tremendous amount of damage.
Watching Trump is like watching a roller derby match, Mound. He's a rolling menace -- all elbows and no grace. There was a time when roller derby was popular. But, eventually, those rolling, vicious ladies lost their charm. Can we hope the show will soon be cancelled?
Trump sees America as an extension of his grifter arm. He will run America like his biz, all balls in the air all the time.
That's true, Steve. And that's precisely why he is unqualified and unfit for the job.
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