Lesson Of Trump #2

Guest Post by The Zman

One of the ironies of the Trump phenomenon is that his most ardent supporters and his many opponents focused on the man, when it was never about the man. Ten years ago, no rational person would have picked Donald Trump as the face of populist discontent, much less the most consequential political figure in generations. When he ran, it was assumed it was a publicity stunt, as he had spent his life as an entertainment gadfly, finding ways to draw public attention to his real estate schemes.

Yet, as the Trump era draws to a close, both his supporters and his enemies have developed a political cult around the man. His supporters are sure he has some last trick up his sleeve to do something to save the country. His opponents are sure he has some trick up his sleeve to steal their democracy from them. So much so, in fact, they have turned the tiny internet fad called QAnon into a subversive conspiracy. There are more anti-Q fanatics now than genuine followers of it.

The thing is, Trump was always an opportunist. In fact, he is the extreme expression of the opportunist, which is how he went from Queens landlord to one of the most famous and successful real estate developers in the world. Real estate, especially the business of high-profile resort properties, is about opportunity. You find a deal before everyone else and cash in before the next big thing. Trump got rich finding the next big thing before everyone else realized that it was the next big thing.

Trump got into politics for all the same reasons everyone else runs for office in a modern liberal democracy. He wanted affirmation. Unlike the narcissistic robots that fill up both parties, Trump saw an opportunity outside the system. The swelling ranks of disaffected whites, unhappy with both parties, looked a lot like a neglected property with tremendous promise, if the right investor came along. Most important from Trump’s perspective, they were a motivated seller.

The first eager seller was Ann Coulter, who was one of the most prominent celebrities to get on the Trump train. Well before anyone thought Trump was a serious threat to the Republican nomination, she was saying he would not only win the nomination but win the general election. Queen Ann completely bought into Trump being the daddy she had been waiting for her whole political life. She went to war for Trump the man, believing he was the answer.

She was not alone in thinking Trump was the savior. The alt-right that had been forming up on-line in the Obama years also went all in on Trump. They convinced themselves he was the American Pinochet. Mike Enoch of The Right Stuff jumped on the Trump train with the same enthusiasm as Ann Coulter. Richard Spencer was a full-blown MAGA man. The alt-right went to war for Trump in the 2016 election, so much so that even Hillary Clinton felt the need to notice them.

The trouble is, Trump was never that man. He could never be that man. He could never have won the nomination and the general election if he was that man. Only an opportunist with no regard for what he was saying could have gamed the system the way he did in 2016. Unlike Pat Buchanan and Ross Perot who came before him, Donald Trump won because he was not constrained by the truth. Like every opportunist, he was only focused on exploiting the opportunity.

Of course, when this reality became too obvious to ignore, many people jumped off the Trump train and became droning critics. Like jilted lovers they could not stop talking about how the mean old orange man did them wrong. They were not wrong to point out Trump’s faults. Their error was in thinking he was their savior or that any man can be the savior in this political system. They were sure and remain sure that you can vote your way out of the defects of liberal democracy.

There are three lessons here. One is that Trump could never have existed without the realty of the masses that supported him. He was just a front runner, a guy who jumped to the head of a wave of people coming to terms with the fact that we are entering a new era of politics. With or without Trump, those people exist and will continue to exist with the same grievances and concerns. Just because the dull knight vanquished their champion, does not mean they cease to exist.

Another lesson is there is no way to reform this system. The sort of person who can win an election is either a careerist sellout like every member of the GOP or an outlandish outsider with no ability to govern. The only way forward for dissidents is to focus on building outside the system. A third of all adults and close to half of white people no longer think the system is legitimate. Every day the people in charge convert more people to this view with their authoritarian actions.

The final lesson here is that the old political labels are no longer relevant. That is what the Trump era demonstrated. It is no longer about conservative versus liberal or red team versus blue team. It is not socialism versus capitalism. It is about those who live in the lie of liberal democracy and those who live in the truth. If you live in the truth, you not only oppose the people running the system, but you also oppose the system that allows these criminal aliens to rule over us.

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m
m

Only an opportunist with no regard for what he was saying could have gamed the system the way he did in 2016.

Big words, that I don’t subscribe to.

Zman, you now have the advantage of total hindsight.
Please provide us with a top 10 (or just top 5) list of what most outrageous lies Trump has explicitly told during his presidency.
By taking his words “seriously but not always literally” please, instead of the TDS’ers “literally but not seriously.”

TampaRed

m,
those are very good comments–
trump had what it takes to cut thru the political haze & make himself stand apart from the other republican candidates but i don’t remember any outright lies from him–
the wall was started & would be much further along if trump had not had such fierce opposition,along w/only token pushback by his “supporters”–
he cut taxes by a significant amount,along w/huge #s of regulations–
he had started the process of draining the swamp-how many readers know that just to t’fer,not fire an underperforming mgr in the federal govt there is a process that must be followed & the mgr has a right to appeal the t’fer b/c it might affect his career–say a mgr who is anti the current potus or party in power is slow walking the installation of an audit system that would detect ebt fraud more quickly than the current system does–if potus wants to replace him,he has to follow the process,which takes time-
trump was not my initial choice but once i got behind him i stayed behind him & i’m proud to say that i voted 2x for him–

TN Patriot
TN Patriot

Well said, Red. The biggest disappointment for me was saying the Clinton’s were good people after his following had chanted Lock Her Up and he even said it during a debate.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slLCjLcgqbc&w=964&h=542%5D

Hardscrabble Farmer
Hardscrabble Farmer

“The swelling ranks of disaffected whites, unhappy with both parties, looked a lot like a neglected property with tremendous promise, if the right investor came along. ”

That was a hole in one.

See what I did there?

Anonymous
Anonymous

Now we deal with the mess.

An Open Letter to Trump Supporters

Abbi
Abbi

This article exemplifies why I usually skip over anything written by the troll ZMan. I made an exception today. It won’t happen again.

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