Trump’s principle objective on the Independence Day weekend was to divert attention from the coronavirus pandemic and the fact that Russia had put a bounty on American soldiers in Afghanistan. In that he succeeded. Whether spouting his unhinged lunacy about the Confederacy was any better for his Presidential prospects than claiming that the virus was conquered and that he doesn’t read his security briefings remains to be seen. So far his Hail Mary move does not seem to have provided him any salvation.
The Fourth of July, the day that Jefferson published his aspirations for the new Republic, is traditionally the occasion that the POTUS announces his agenda on uniting the nation and advancing the vision of the Declaration of Independence. The Forty - fifth President Donald J. Trump punted his interpretation of the document in an oblique fashion. He inferred that the Founding Fathers were totally correct in limiting “equality” to white men.Trump’s narrative jarred with the majority of Americans coming to terms with its racism, brutality and colonialism towards the African Americans and native Americans. This national awareness recognized that those who expressed their sexuality in a different fashion were also “created equal”. Trump with his demagoguery denied the fact that America, in Martin Luther King’s words, were nudging the arc of history towards the Founding Fathers’ vision, not his own.
As Donald Trump’s disconnect with reality widens the question in the Biden and Democratic camp is what should their response be and how should they present their agenda, ever mindful that Trump has the microphone and will seize on the remotest perceived weakness. Bereft of his own ideas the POTUS relies on distorting his opposition to be the danger to America that he in fact represents.
To date Trump has found that the wily Biden is playing The Donald like Mohammed Ali played his opponents in “rope a dope” fashion. Biden is emulating the canny prize fighter who danced around teasing and barely countering his frustrated challenger as the latter lashed out in frustration. While the World Boxing Champion just bobbed and weaved and bounced off the ropes, Biden just sits in his basement periodically exiting to lay a wreath or conduct a virtual town hall. He punctuates these appearances by making dignified presidential like statements contrasting himself with the Ignorant, narcissistic, mendacious President, thereby reminding America that they were Great till this buffoon arrived on the scene.
So what are Donald and Joe facing and how are they reacting on the two hundred and forty - fourth year since the Declaration of Independence?
DONALD TRUMP ON THE FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND
The POTUS on the weekend of the celebration of Independence Day declared mission accomplished and victory for the first four years of “Making America Great Again”. While foreign leaders planned their strategy for a world bereft of American leadership and their secretaries of state placed travel bans on Americans visiting their countries, Donald, in front of Jefferson, Lincoln, Washington and Teddy Roosevelt’s gigantic effigies, inferred that the message of those four Presidential giants had been misunderstood. The Democrats’ interpretation was a “hoax” as the Founders got it right when they didn’t include the black man, the indigenous American and all women.
While his health care experts begged the rest of America to stay home on this hallowed holiday cautioning that if they ventured out they should socially distance and wear masks, Trump held two great big jamborees doing the opposite. Trump’s massive cook out on the WhiteHouse lawns on The Fourth was obscene in the light of the over a hundred and thirty thousand that have died under his watch. He pointedly ignored the fact that his eldest son’s significant other had contracted coronavirus as had his Secretary of Housing at his damp squid indoor rally a few weeks ago. That gathering had been held in Tulsa Oklahoma at a time which was particularly sensitive to African American history. At Mount Rushmore he was doing more of the same with close on eight thousand people, maskless and sitting on top of one another in sacred Native American territory in South Dakota.
On both days America suffered a record number of positive corona virus cases - over fifty thousand. He obviously was in denial that nearly eighty percent of those victims were now in red states. He had been warned that the virus could mutate from blue to red. But as far as Trump was concerned the pandemic was over, the curve flattened and all that was happening was that too many tests were being performed. So while the hospitals, ICCU’s, and ventilators were at or near full capacity in his red states of Florida, Texas, Arkansas, Georgia, Alabama and the like he organized fly overs and bands playing lustily to celebrate his Great America. He left the Governors of those States who had heeded his advice not to shut down or to open early, to stew in their own juice.
The Commander in Chief was celebrating a return to the Great America that he envisaged. While America in general was coming to terms with the fact that the Confederate figures who had fought to retain slavery and who had revolted against the then Federal Government were not “heroes” but traitors, even if they were part of American history Trump was venerating them as THE Founders of the America that he wanted to “Make Great Again”.
TRUMP’S HOLIDAY MESSAGES
Finding it increasingly more difficult to smear his opponent Trump went for all who made up his opposition. They were turning his world upside down. At Mount Rushmore he warned against “far left fascism that was involved in a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes erase our values and indoctrinate our children”. The next day at the WhiteHouse he underlined what the faithful were up against, “ … the radical left, the Marxists, the anarchists, the agitators, the looters and the people…. who have absolutely no clue what they were doing”.
He brought to the consciousness once again that he longed to return to the old Confederacy. While the American world was once and for all dumping any remnant of the pro slave regime, even with a bipartisan motion to rename army bases with Confederate connections, he railed on went on and on about the “real Americans”. This at a time when the closest institution to this culture, NASCAR racing, banned the flag from its tracks and cars - which of cause Trump had condemned. All of this was over the top as more of the institutions and corporations tried to correct their discriminatory past towards minorities including the indigenous Americans. Finally sports teams were lining up to remove the “Red Indian” connotations to their names. A plea that had been disregarded for ages inspite of entreaties by the native Americans.
TRUMP’S STRATEGY ON INDEPENDENCE DAY
In his messages he ignored the pandemic which was front and central on everyone’s mind in the hope that a cure and a vaccine will bail him out by November. Inexplicably he is narrowing his base by this throwback to the Confederacy. Central to his chances he believes is to suppress the vote, In this effort he is aided and abetted by the GOP legislators who don’t need a massive turnout either. Then there is the hope that the economy as opposed to the stock market, which even he now knows his base are not reliant on, will miraculously come back. And that is it. The re election policy ls really that thin.
What the POTUS has to be praying for, because his finances are the only topic that could turn him religious, is that the Supreme Court will not allow the release of his taxes. He has to be holding his breath for the reaction to his niece’s revelation on his life, “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man”, which is due out on July 14. It is already the number one best seller on Amazon books surpassing the other public relations disaster by his former National Security Advisor John Bolton.
Trump has William Barr running cover for him in the Courts axing prosecutors who are involved in exposing his involvement with Russia and Ukraine, his finances and a host of other activities. Also there is the suggestion that those who were involved in “The Russian Hoax” may be prosecuted - So What! Whatever happens on that front is not going to change one voter’s mind to pull the lever for him.
All in all the strategy is two fold: Firstly, denial of any subject that adversely impacts on him, Secondly standing around hoping that lightning will strike twice in the same place again as it did in 2016. Incidentally if he had any insight he would wish that the Supreme Court would ignore his plea to end Obamacare.
BIDEN’S STRATEGY ON INDEPENDENCE DAY
In a video Joe Biden exuded calm, dignity and vision. He referred back to the ideals of the Founding Fathers while acknowledging their shortfalls. He argued, “We have a chance to rip out the roots of systemic racism. We have a chance to live up to the words that founded this nation”. Alluding to the Foundational document, he reflected that the words, “All men are created equal have gnawed at our conscience and pulled us towards justice”.
In contrast to Trump flouting science and risking spreading the virus by his two weekend extravaganzas Biden stated that he would follow Public Health guidelines and listen to science, in the management of the pandemic. He also placed the blame on Trump for throwing the country off course, arguing that ,”He finds new ways to tarnish our democracy”. Biden undertook to deal with the economy, health care and fairness in society, leaving his comfort zone to state that his Administration would be transformative.
So Biden is doing what he has to - namely leave it to Trump to traipse around the country with his stale message while exacerbating the growth of the pandemic with its economic consequences. He quietly reassured the nation while offering the sane alternative to the current mayhem.
All he has to make sure that he cannot credibly be targeted as a “Socialist”. While the Party’s left wing have had their successes the Democratic electorate have made it abundantly clear that they don’t want any obstruction to the removal of Trump. Also he needs to not only announce a Vice Presidential candidate but his cabinet as well. He has a well of talent and never before has the opposition been so united to rid America of Mary Trump’s uncle.
AT THE END OF THE DAY
At the end of the day the Trump enablers in Congress need to let society know that they can no longer support Trump’s bigotry and bizarre foreign policy. They are sunk anyway so they may as well emerge with some tattered integrity. Maybe they should have to attend live readings of the two current best sellers…
After the weekend Trump tweeted - LONE WARRIOR
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