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As Ronald Reagan quipped about Jimmy Carter in October 1980, “There he goes again.” President Donald Trump has been making news at a frenetic pace. His speech in Dallas was a stream-of-consciousness screed that included administering a loyalty oath and calling himself “the greatest” of presidents. But as with everything Trump, you were not quite sure whether it was a joke or just an attempt to explore the theatre of the absurd.
Boredom seems to drive all of this. Much like Gabriel García Márquez’s novel “The Autumn of the Patriarch” which examines the decline of a South American dictator, he appears both lost and lucid. Trump declares “Victory” over Iran and fulminates against “Communists”. Like a King, he treats Republican politicians as if they are court fools. Trump may have his moments but he must be amused that the GOP has no shortage of candidates ever ready to play straight men or women.
Moreover, Trump seems amazed at their willingness to abase themselves. He derides Ken Paxton for the way he dresses and talks, but otherwise he’s a great guy. Then he goes to the Pentagon service and looks bored at the memorial for the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 victims of terrorism. Then he hops a plane to Ireland to attend a golf tournament. He is clearly enjoying himself immensely and while he was in the Emerald Isle he encouraged unification. Not a bad idea but a bit casually introduced.
The roots of his behavior are that he always operated on the “never complain, never explain” dictums of mega-wealthy corporate bosses. Whether he picked up the idea from Roy Cohn or Norman Vincent Peale, Trump more closely resembles the eccentric Howard Hughes. Like Hughes, Trump prides himself on mastering the “art” of construction and his former TV celebrity status. He always tended to ignore what people might think – now it is obvious he really doesn’t care, not even a little bit – my world, and welcome to it.
Politically, he behaves like the old bosses of Tammany Hall, from William Marcy Tweed to Carmine DeSapio, who, to say the least, were transactional. Give a little and get a lot. Tweed, who shared Trump’s dislike of the press, was a skilled politician who used tried-and-true MAGA tactics that involved, shall we say, inducements. Trump, no slouch, promised the Dallas faithful that if the GOP held on to the House and Senate, every voter would receive five thousand dollars. Old man Tweed would have been proud.
Trump would agree with one of Tweed’s maxims: “The way to take power is to take it.” His phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which he requested that he “find 11,780 votes" to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in the Peach State, demonstrates this view. Again, Tweed, who dominated New York City in the 1860’s and 1870’s views on the ballot, would find agreement with the Sage of Mar-a-Lago: “As long as I count the votes what are you going to do about it.”
In the end, Tweed was undone, partially by the cartoonist Thomas Nast who depicted the Tammany boss as both manipulative and dishonest. Fake news, not exactly.
Trump would be wise to curtail his present behavior but it does not seem likely. He is clearly enjoying himself too much.