Deconstructing Trump
and its usefulness to the Left
Richard Nixon may have been the first political victim of deconstruction.
On November 17, 1973 at a press conference at Disneyworld, Richard Nixon answered a New York Times reporter with “People have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I’m not a crook. I’ve earned everything I’ve got.”1
The phrase became fodder for comedians, the Democrats, and the political Left for the remainder of Nixon’s presidency. And thereafter news outlets, both print and media, exploded with analyses divining what politicians said versus what they meant.
Deconstruction, the analysis of language versus meaning, breathes realist expression into the subtext of pragmatism, disambuates idealism, and serves as an antidote to nihilism.
Donald Trump’s biography, self-told, ghost-written, and third party attempts, have been stymied by the dearth of any factual agreement about Trump’s life beyond his birth. The dearth is due to Trump’s penchant for pathological lying, Dunning-Kruger statements, and likely Narcissistic Personality Disorder. It is nigh on impossible to write the history of someone who denies history as anything other than his current version of it.
That said, Trump has committed himself to certain narratives consistently enough so that historiographical deconstruction is possible:
Billionaire and successful businessman - It’s become painfully obvious that the prevarications used to get on the Forbes 400 list and the list’s usage to buttress questionable financial statements achieved their goal. Nearly 45% or so of Americans actually think Donald Trump is a wealthy man. At best, he is a man deeply in debt and without cashflow, he’d be impoverished overnight. His PAC for an ostensible 2024 presidential run and the handful of operational golf resorts he owns are all that stands behind him and poorhouse. And a significant percentage of the cashflow he receives goes straight to lawyers to keep that cashflow much like a juggler’s balls — up in the air and out of reach.
The Democrats and the Left have focused unduly on Trump as a tax cheat rather than message that Trump simply is not rich and what he does have is mortgaged to the hilt.
Best people - This is another case of the Democrats focusing irrationally on indictments and prison time for Trump cronies rather than a far more dated truism. Donald Trump has defended himself in thousands of cases involving non-payment by disputing the quality of the work done. Trump’s business model of charming people into working for him then denigrating their work when payment is due has been his long suit. And that model transferred well into the political arena.
The Democrats would be better served messaging Trump’s word is meaningless. As the Philosopher Parr once noted “a handshake from a snake isn’t worth much”.
Germaphobe - It’s been Trump’s excuse for not shaking hands and for not eating out. The coronavirus pandemic should have stanched that bit of biographical folly. Two years ago, Americans in lockdown bought every bit of antiseptic wipe, spray, and cleaner in sight along with every tissue, paper towel, and roll of toilet paper. For Trump, life did not change one iota. He went so far as to have a big event upon the comfirmation of Amy Coney Barrett. No masking, no social distancing, and more to the point — handshakes per usual upon embarking on his presidential quest five years earlier.
Trump doesn’t shake hands, because he is a racist; and to a lesser extent, because handshakes are the seal of integrity in business — a person who won’t shake hands is not to be trusted. By his own admission, he does not eat out (except in his own restaurants), because he is afraid of being poisoned. His affinity for McDonalds/KFC is more about anonymity than cleanliness.
The Left has largely ignored the germaphobe narrative. Being tagged as a racist and a cheapskate moves the political middle — no one wants to be accused of either in politics.
Top Athlete - Ask anyone who was a jock in high school about their “glory days” and be prepared for hours of stories, news clippings, and stats. Donald Trumps has never offered even a smidgeon of braggadocio. Probably made the team just by signing up at NY Military Academy and then rode the bench.
The fact that Trump has no stories or friends ought to be more than a history lesson for the political Left — it’s a roadmap to victory. The list of Trump’s failings and prevarications goes on and on, and yet the Democrats and the Left seem to think that culling a mere 10% of it is enough to decimate Trump.
Messaging Trump as a nobody is better than calling him a liar. And Bill Cosby’s bits on football notwithstanding, it’s not really endearing to be seen as such.
In football, the blitz defense uses multiple players to rush the quarterback to upend a pass play. For all its risks, the blitz works on two levels - one the quarerback cannot get to available receivers; on another level, the offense fears losing yardage due to a sack, so they play more conservatively.
The political timeline for a non-Trump presidential run becomes harder and harder for the GOP every day. By January 2023, a scant nine months from now, the Republicans won’t have a lot of choices if Trump is a viable candidate.
The Left needs to stop hoping that a stillborn Trump campaign cannot win — that kind of thinking put Putin in the driver’s seat in Europe, empowered the Far Right, and put 3 terrible choices on the Supreme Court. Pushing the GOP to begin the post-Trump era is akin to a football team trying to avoid a sack — no one wants to kick on 4th and 25.
“Trump’s entire life is fiction if you believe him — and he’s poor, prejudiced, and pathetic, if you don’t” is a good way to start that process.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/nixon-insists-that-he-is-not-a-crook