Ever since all of this started during the summer of 2015, people have been trying to place him. Is he serious? What does he want? What does he want from us?
No one but he knows. Repeated attempts to define, contain, classify, and psychologize the current President of the United States are, without careful consideration, futile. I believe few would disagree that Trump is a character wholly repugnant to the idea of classification.
As such, I don't think he's a murderer.
True, no one has accused President Trump of murdering anyone…outright. Yet, the explosive devices mailed to at least 13 high profile Democrats and Democratic associates (George Soros, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, John Brennan, Eric Holder, Maxine Water, Robert De Niro, Cory Booker, James Clapper, and Kamala Harris) have laid the groundwork for Trump's critics to level such claims.
"Words matter," Jeff Zucker, CNN worldwide president stated earlier. "There is a total and complete lack of understanding at the White House about the seriousness of their continued attacks on the media."
I cannot disagree with Mr. Zucker. Words matter an incredible amount. I wouldn't have this job if they didn't. And yet that aforementioned "complete lack of understanding" is the point. Trump doesn't get it.
From the beginning, this has been something Trump has taken seriously only insofar as he takes himself seriously. Which, to be frank, cannot be to too great a degree. The man covers himself in bronzer on the daily, after all.
Which is to say, I'm not sure realizes his actions have consequences. He's built such an impenetrable shell of reality TV imperviousness that to even begin to address the notion that saying things such as "knock the crap out of him"is morally and ethically wrong is beyond him.
And yet, despite his obstinance, there is the very real possibility that his rhetoric could have greatly injured or even killed someone. The arrest of Mr. Cesar Sayoc on Friday says as much. Recovered at the scene of the arrest in Plantation, Florida was Mr. Sayoc's van, covered from window to window in Trump praise and propaganda. There is no doubt that The Donald was at the center of Sayoc's motivations.
And yet, what is perhaps more disturbing than these would-be bombings are the conspiracy theories peddled by Trumpists; as they will tell you, these recent attacks are merely attempts by the Democrats to reenergize their base in the lead up to the midterm elections.
That's not to say these hoax theories are so shocking. After all, such reprehensible behavior has become normalized and standardized. Rather, it enacts a spirit-damning effect in that the first response is not only a political one but a political one designated to discredit opponents.
We should all remain thankful that no one was injured in these attempted acts of political terror. This is not us. We should also remain thankful that the Trump administration and law enforcement reacted as quickly as they did, though that does not mean Trump's hypocrisies should pass into nothingness. Trump may not always fully understand the ripples he creates when he speaks of violence, but that does not excuse him from his behavior either.
These are dark times indeed.
