The presidential television producer leads him to look for dramatic tables that create his preferred image of himself – strong, defiant, tearing down organizational structures and breaking the usual etiquette of the presidency.
But his recent attempts to create arrested political figures seem to be creating support.
In Saturday’s latest example, Trump’s attempt to wrap himself in the power and prestige of the military failed at a graduation ceremony in West Point, apparently put in his favor when his crawling down the ramp sparked so much ridicule on social media that he felt the need to explain in your tweet.
And for all his tweets about order and peace, he didn’t get out on the latest apparent incident of police brutality – the fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks in the back of Atlanta, which led to the resignation of the city police chief – while alone at his New Jersey golf resort for most of the weekend.
The president’s infamous march on the iconic church in Washington, DC, in Lafayette Square, after protesters were forcibly ousted, was supposed to project strength for his supporters, but turned into an emblem of his mismanagement of George Floyd’s protests and severely strained his relationship with the current and former military brass. The high iron fence erected around the White House then became a symbol of the president’s severance of ties to the changes that are engulfing the nation. Trump’s instincts after Floyd’s death with a police officer’s knee on his neck were supposed to influence the situation to improve his own political prospects – instead of easing tensions and seeking national reconciliation. For example, over the weekend he relied on Major League Soccer policy to support the rights of his players to protest during the national anthem.
“And the NFL seems to be moving in that direction as well, but not looking at me,” the president tweeted. Trump has long exploited controversy over kneeling players to protest police brutality to create a cultural war issue to address his supporters. But there is a possibility that, as the NFL games continue, his choice to escalate could turn against the president if more players kneel and reflect a nation that is increasingly willing to reconsider some of its views on race.
Back on the campaign track
This week, the president will return to the campaign trail, holding a rally Saturday night in Tulsa, Oklahoma – despite fears that an indoor event with a huge crowd banned at sporting events will cause a spike in the new coronavirus infection. The original plan was for the rally to take place on Friday. But the decision to coincide with June 16, a holiday marking the end of slavery, served to emphasize the president’s tone of deafness to the race. And instead of leading the leading issue, the president stands behind – with Democratic and Republican lawmakers working on police reform and major changes in law enforcement practices commissioned by states and mayors.
Trump’s rallies, a striking example of artistic political performance, are far more important to him than conventional politicians could be. Not only do they give the president a chance on the central stage to enjoy the adultery of the crowd, but they define his savage presidency in many ways and give the impression that Trump is overthrowing the mass anti-Washington movement.
Take a look at the 2020 presidential election
Trump has plans for more rallies in Arizona, Texas and Florida – states where the virus is growing rapidly again after the early economic openings he sought. Events are likely to draw attention to his denial over the pandemic and the inaccurate ruling that the United States “prevailed” over the crisis.
His sharp refusal to wear a mask, meanwhile, underestimates his own government’s message that covering the face could significantly slow the spread of the coronavirus and actually speed up the resumption of normal life. U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams on Sunday undermined Trump’s hinted claim that changes in social behavior that the government’s mandate has taken over from the government by the virus are a violation of Americans ’fundamental rights. “Some feel that covering their faces violates their freedom of choice – but if they wear them more, we will have MORE freedom to go out,” Adams wrote on Twitter.
In many ways, Trump’s presidency represents a series of interconnected and choreographed moments, from his summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, who did nothing to persuade an isolated state to give up nuclear power, to staged announcements like the recent decision to leave the world. organization in the middle of a pandemic. Critics saw the decision as an attempt to dismiss blame for their own failures in the fight against a virus he had long claimed would not be a problem for the U.S. and has now killed more than 115,000 Americans.
Such was the case, for example, when he visited France in 2017 as a guest of honor at the state parade of Bastille Day and returned home determined to place his spectacular character with himself as a central player. The event eventually turned into a highly controversial July 4 celebration last year that pleased its supporters but alienated millions of Americans by politicizing patriotism and raising serious questions about the president’s use of the military as a political omission.
One of the key questions in the November election will be whether the message the president is sending to his supporters – and voters moving in the middle of the road – with his courageous performance will be enough to form a winning coalition or turn more voters against him.
Trump returns for a walk down the ramp
The president and his re-election campaign spent months trying to portray Democrat Joe Biden as powerless and mentally and physically incapable of rigorous presidency.
But the White House did not want to worry about its own health, including a mysterious and unplanned visit to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in November last year.
And when critics questioned Trump’s slow walk down the ramp at West Point, he couldn’t stand it.
The president, who turned 74 on Sunday, retaliated on Twitter with his own narrative of what happened, and that only intensified the moment.
“The ramp I went down after my speech from West Point was very long and steep, had no handrails and, most importantly, was very slippery. The last thing I intended was to ‘fall’ to make the Fake News entertain. The final ten meters I rushed to ground level. Momentum! “The president wrote in a tweet early Sunday morning.
The West Point degree has moved forward even though cadets have been involved in online learning since March, when the academy in New York City was one of the hardest hit areas during the pandemic.
The president made it clear back in April that he planned to attend the graduation in person, despite a warning from critics that he would expose the cadets because they were invited to a socially distanced event.
Ahead of his pre-election rally in Tulsa on Saturday, participants are being asked to sign a waiver, vowing not to sue the presidential campaign if they contract against the virus, a situation that has sparked criticism that Trump is putting people – gathering people and people will meet in the community – in risk to meet their own political needs.
