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Trump the Showman
We are witnessing the real-time unraveling of the Donald Trump presidency. It’s become entertainment done for the benefit of his adoring base. This is a man who thinks of ratings and green rooms. It is a show for the base, which increasingly feels like a death cult. This death cult, like others in the past, is willing to die for the leader. This is the ultimate way to show loyalty in any authoritarian government. The fight against the wearing of face mask is the latest exhibition of fealty
The president refuses to wear a mask, even made a point of it. He told us, “this was not for me.” Never mind there is a virus on the loose in the West Wing, which is a messaging problem for the president, not public health. After weeks of no pressers, he came to the Rose Garden as his usual combative self, trying to get into fights with the media. This is part of the show intended for a base that hates reporters, and I am hardly the first to notice this. His battles are based on racism, conspiracy, and lies.
Trump needs the show, the green room, the backstage as well. It’s the oxygen that he needs, which a lack of rallies is not filling. This is why he went back on stage at the Rose Garden. This is but one reason he wants things to go back to what he understands as normal. That is also coming back to the adulation of his fans. Never mind that many of his fans will die from the virus since they resist…