DONALD TRUMP GOES TO WAR
It was predictable that the presidential political campaign would seem to go underground. It has. Joe Biden is in an unprecedented situation. He is far ahead in national convention delegates and it certainly seems likely that he will gain the Democratic nomination. Still, the remaining primaries have been delayed and Bernie Sanders is still out there. Joe Biden is now considering doing a daily appearance on the pandemic so that he can remind the trapped viewers that he is serious about their welfare.
In the meantime, Donald Trump, in a period when he can no longer hold his famous rallies, has been keeping himself in the public eye every day as he “leads the war” against the virus (the television screen takes on an orange glow). Until recently, Trump has rarely appeared on television speaking to the public directly. The press conferences that have become part of most presidents’ routine have simply been dropped. He has preferred to employ his famous tweets (sometimes as many as a hundred a day). The tweets, often inaccurate or childlike, have been a way to maintain a connection with the thirty percent of the population which make up his steadfastly loyal base.
The approaching pandemic has changed all that. Concerned about the vulnerable stock market, the White House originally played down the dangers posed by the coronavirus. Now that the viral crisis is upon us the president wants to get out in front and become a latter day Franklin Roosevelt. His appearances on the newly created daily show with him at the podium, with the real experts on display behind him, are meant to be latter day Fireside Chats. During the Depression, Roosevelt could spray his throat and use his mellow baritone to promote calmness over the radio to people sorely needing it. That also gave him the ability to speak in reassuring generalities to listeners who did not have the ability to critically respond.
Donald Trump has had good reason to avoid speaking directly to large viewing audiences. It is a difficult thing to do. Standing behind a podium in bright lights, while squinting at a television camera lens, is not easy for anyone. It is particularly difficult for Trump who insists on having a deferential line of people behind him, all of whom know more about his subject than he does. It is also hard because the real situation is dismal (the virus will spread, the stock market will continue to plunge). He wants desperately to sugarcoat reality.
Donald Trump through a long career has, in his own mind, been successful partly because he has not let factual truth stand in his way. It has always been Donald Trump unbound. And when reality intervened, he managed to escape with the help of money from his father or by legal maneuvers (he sued almost everybody), or by declaring bankruptcy and letting others take the fall.
He has never been a consistently hands-on leader. He presided in his gold tower and gave orders while others handled the details. He seems to have handled the presidency the same way. Through long exhausting days, presidents typically move (or are led) from one meeting to another. They are expected to really master detail. Ronald Reagan, who as governor in California had often left detail to others, found himself staying up till midnight frantically reading, trying to keep up. His wife had to rescue him, to order his handlers to back off.
Donald Trump’s long mornings watching himself on Fox News and talking to friends on the phone did not really prepare him to appear on television every day and deal with the minutia of a pandemic. Anyone under the hot lights with so little real information would make mistakes. He has to be both exhausted and frustrated. He may also be a bit paranoid about political enemies who are taking advantage of a situation that he did not create and can’t control.
The truth is that there probably are people out there who are enjoying what they think of as the president getting his comeuppance: After all those lies and all that fourth grade name calling, he deserves to suffer. He should, finally, be forced to grapple with the same detail that has so challenged previous presidents.
The larger truth is that we all have an interest in this president and/or the people around him helping to win the battle with this pandemic. For Donald Trump appearing to lead a successful national effort may be a route to redemption. For others, winning that war could be a matter of saving our own lives. We should wish him success!
H.J. Rishel
3/22/2020
