Apoplectic
in Arizona
Misquote yourself. Leave out the words that outraged a majority of a nation.
The speech that
President Trump gave in Arizona was not the teleprompter-confined President of the
speech on Afghanistan.
He was the martyr to
an unfair witch hunt. His words after Charlottesville were in reality healing -
if the press would just tell the truth.
He was misquoted and
taken out of context. He has drawn the battle lines to divide a nation between
his "us" and the "them" of the others. And he basks in the
swagger.
Never mind all the
critics outside of the press, the CEOs, the GOP officials who have questioned
his mental stability, and the global condemnation.
But why does he attack the press, as "bad people" who "don't like our country?" "Sick people?" Why does he say "the only people giving a platform to these hate groups is the media and the fake news?" CNN, the New York Times, and the Washington Post is the enemy. Fox News and Sean Hannity are the good guys.
This bombast is
because the press is a check on power. The press is performing its
constitutional responsibilities. The investigative reporting has drawn blood.
The forces of
political gravity that have tethered his agenda to reality went unstated.
So he attacks
sanctuary cities.
He touts a wall that
is apparently being built, and over which he is willing to apparently shut down
the government.
He hinted at a pardon
for the controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio. "Sheriff Joe can feel
good."
He keeps fighting the
battle over healthcare, unable to let go of a stinging defeat. Over and over he
said "one vote away..." fully conscious that one of those key votes
that doomed his healthcare effort was the senior senator from Arizona, John
McCain. "I won't mention any names. Very presidential."
And then he attacked
the junior senator from Arizona, Republican and Trump critic Jeff Flake,
without mentioning his name either. But the tenor was clear. Mr. Trump was
ready to attack any GOP senator who has the temerity to go against him.
This was Trump as
candidate, uncaged, unscripted, unabashed, and frankly unhinged.
The crowd got to chant
"lock her up" to the name of Hillary Clinton and cheer a president
who claims that he has accomplished more than any president at this point in a
term (never mind reality). He was playing to the home crowd. But there is a
much bigger world out there, no matter the picture Mr. Trump may wish to paint.