Aside from the usual hand wringing over the rise of American fascism, another complaint stood out in the reactions to Trump’s coronation at the Republican National Convention — we did not hear about his human side. His family could barely muster a few cute anecdotes. His friends and supporters were also stumped. Where were the stories of dirty socks strewn on the floor or insufferable snoring or big sloppy kisses? Instead, the Great Man rhetoric surged triumphantly forward: Great father. Great friend. Great president.
Even Trump’s horrified critics wanted a peek behind the mask, a charming look at the soft underbelly. Michael Barbaro of The New York Times compared Trump’s speech unfavorably to the humanizing portraits of Richard Nixon, George H.W. Bush and Mitt Romney at their conventions. Trump, on the other hand, “seems constitutionally incapable of, or stubbornly averse to, capturing and conveying the complexities of his existence.”
How many people, let alone politicians delivering a speech, capture and convey the complexities of their existence? The Buddha? What Barbaro and other pundits wanted was not complexity but familiarity. They are so used to seeing aloof, stage-managed politicians become folksy at exactly the right moment, that a complete rejection of this familiar trope disconcerts them.
Millions have chosen as their president a man who is unabashedly decadent. His narcissism is untouched by coyness or self-effacement. He never apologizes nor backtracks. His slogans and signature phrases are idiosyncratic; they seem to come from a fevered, infantile imagination, not a playbook. Donald Trump is honestly full of shit. This has repulsed most; it’s enthralled, or cowed, enough.
We liberals and never-Trump right wingers spend so much time analyzing Trump’s bizarre appeal that we blithely forget what it is in reaction to — our own lazy contentment. Just look at Ted Cruz’s rote smarm. Or Hillary Clinton’s market research smile. Compare them to Trump’s intuitive theatricality and violent disregard of PR wisdom. The contrast is unforgiving, and us good, right-thinking people, don’t know what to do about it.
