The difference between the Monkey King and Trump is that there is not fundamental good within Trump. He is not a misbehaving child who only needs a firm hand and a sense of purpose to come to good. He wouldn't know good if it shot him on Fifth Avenue.
8
Fundamental good within him? I've seen no evidence.
22
There are some similarities between Trump and a Folk-Hero/Monkey King. I think Trump is more of a big fu-k-you to the US ruling elites who have run the country into the ground over the past 30 years (stagnent wages, endless wars, lower rates of labor participation, lower productivity, massive imports, immigration (legal and illegal), going from 6% to a 50% out of wedlock birth rate). Surprisingly he is having some success in turning these trends around. This makes him a much larger threat to the US Elites than a Monkey King.
5
To boil down the source of Trump's power is the promotion hate, anger, fear, and FUN. Yes I said FUN. Watch a Trump rally and watch a WWF wrestling extravaganza. Pretty much the same event with lights cameras, music, and promises of revenge. The followers are having a blast. This frenzy will not change via any attempts at compromise or appeasement. His base loves him and loves other politicians that push their hot buttons. That's why this pattern will repeat itself over and over.
Author Charles Blow asks "How does one fight a fiction?" The real source of power in our country is MONEY. Money in politics. Money in media. Money everywhere!!! Rupert Murdoch bought enough media to change the political landscape of the US and the world. And he is not alone. The political lobbying system buys votes and passes laws. Billions go into the supposedly democratic way of governing. Capitalism must be regulated or it will ultimately destroy our democracy.
15
Maybe if the Times' readers here would try to start with an ounce of respect for Trump voters instead of condescension and contempt they might gain a little insight into Trump's popularity.
If you must hate Trump, at least try to:
1) remember that 63 million Americans voted for Trump and they can't all be stupid
2) respect the Office of the Presidency
3) perhaps recognize that your feelings toward Mr Trump are primarily emotional and personal
36
Yawn. We’re supposed to respect the guy who mocks prisoners of war, disabled, Mexicans and brags about getting away with sexual assault because he’s a celebrity. Respect Trump? Never.
39
@Korth Um, I think that is what the author is trying to do. Otherwise, it is pretty hard to account for the unbelievable amount of lying (thousands upon thousands of lies), corruption, sexism, racism, bigotry, homophobia, hypocrisy, and cruelty that his followers are willing to overlook. You bought it, you own it.
30
@Korth Maybe it is our feelings for the United States of America.
20
Trump is a legend, "a legend in his own mind" as we know. Problem is the sycophantic republican congress could care less about his and their constituents, but only in deceiving them in order to get reelected.
Trump likes heroes that don't get caught, but he is one "folk hero" who will be eventually.
11
I think this is best analysis I have read of the confounding appeal of Trump
20
Agree. Explains everything
7
He is also a reality star and producer. Audiences typically tire of these programs at some point and grow bored. The question is when will that happen to his base. How many times can those adoring mobs hear the same old riffs. Dems would be well advised to respond the way Biden and Pelosi have to Trump. his sarcastic tweets. By being dismissive. When asked about a sarcastic Tweet, Biden said something like everyone knows who Trump is at this point. And when asked about impeaching him, Pelosi said he just isn't worth it. Amen to both responses.
17
Spot on and to a T, Mr. Blow.
So many popular folk hero’s and anti-folk heros, real life or not, to draw comparisons on to help us compare and contrast.
Godzilla comes to mind, who terrorized Tokyo and New York City was truly evil until Mothra shows up and makes you feel sorry for Godzilla.
Dragonball Z has Vegeta and Goku battling it out like the GoP and the Dems until tRumpian Majin Buu wants to destroy everything.
1
God did not put me on earth to try to understand people like your mother who vote against their own so-called values. His cult just cares about attitude and hating "the other side". Trump exists on money and adoration. He is and will now forever be Hero of Deplorables.
7
Your best column Mr. Blow. Trump is his followers avatar who vicariously lives out their fantasies, in which they bash 'liberals', colored people and anybody else they don't like.
14
Donald Trump is the most corrupt & immoral president in US history. That doesn't matter to his supposedly Bible believing followers. He is not their folk hero. He is their race hero.
11
You didn't mention that Edwin Edwards won one of the most important elections in Louisiana history, when his opponent in the governor's race was David Duke, the Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard. There were yard signs all over New Orleans, begging people to "Vote for the Crook. It's important." I lived in Louisiana during Edward's time in office, and I am surprised that you equate the low level, penny ante shenanigans of Edwards with the flagrant treason and other egregious activities of Trump. There is no comparison, other that the facile description of them both as "folk heroes." Adolph Hitler was a folk hero, as was Idi Amin, as was Pol Pot, as is Putin. (I have Russian friends, and they love Putin.) I would bet that for certain segments of American society Tim McVeigh and David Koresh are "folk heroes" too.
You cannot seriously be putting Edwards in the same league as all those creeps. Edwards is a crook who took bribes from other crooks who wanted a license to build a casino, a certificate of need to build a hospital. The bribes were ludicrously paltry. Edwards didn't say he was in love with the dictator of N Korea. He didn't invite Putin to investigate his political opponent, and laugh off how Russia meddled in his election. Edwards didn't instigate a policy of separating children from their parents and then forget to keep track of where the children were sent. By saying Trump is a folk hero like Edwards, you sugar coat the evil Trump has done and intends to keep doing.
17
I voted for Edwin Edwards when he ran against David Duke, the Nazi, because Edwards was the better choice in an election with 2 terrible candidates.
9
@janye:US Elections are usually Bad vs. Worse.
3
Tip o' the hat to Charles Blow and majority of respondents, but now a rider bill:
What is wrong with America can no longer be fixed by politics or elections.
When the Point of No Return was reached can be argued, but the same tipping point was reached in Italy in the 20s and Germany in the 30s.
Buckle up.....
7
Trump’s message is one of fear. Despite his chest thumping and obsession with “strong” dictators, he is weak inside. His cult of followers are also weak. Weak for being played by Trump and weak for being manipulated by his message of fear. But America is fundamentally a country of hope, positivity and promise. I have hope that the right Democratic candidate will remind us of who we are, what we really stand for and will prevail.
7
It is my belief that we all have a dark side which we often try to repress and refuse to exam.
I think the folks like your mother and others find in these dark folk heroes an outlet for their unacknowledged dark side to express itself. These "good people" truly believe that they are fine upright citizens, and perhaps they even mostly live it, all the while repressing any evidence to the contrary.
It's likely a lot of the reason why so many of the Christian types and folks like your mother find these scoundrels so fascinating. Those heroes give voice to the repressed darkness/evil that resides in them that they otherwise will not, or cannot, face.
Until they acknowledge that side of themselves and find healing through integrating it into their total self, their bifurcated selves will continue to cause them - and us, problems.
12
Charles, I think this is one of best columns you have written on modern politics. You hit the bulls eye bringing forth an epic hero that speaks to the rural areas of the USA and in particular, the American South. Whether it is the Chinese Monkey King, Bonnie and Clyde, or Mussolini, there is something happening that defies us educated Easterners and Westerners. Fascinating to watch, sad to digest, and disheartening to realize the outcomes. Trump seems to break every political and social custom with not an ounce of integrity or sincerity. No matter what, Trump will always be remembered as the world's greatest conman.
7
Perhaps you fight a folk hero with another folk hero who rescues the "folk" from the first one's deception...
So, who can we turn into a folk hero capable of vanquishing a Trump? Would we need one of his own to turn from him and reveal to his followers his falsehoods? Hmmm, they won't believe it. Perhaps an irreverent and unapologetic left leaning hero. Some one not afraid of the phrases "democratic socialist," or "free healthcare for all" or "free college for all" or "tax the smithereens out of the rich who are living high on the hog off our backs" or "it ain't really even close to a meritocracy right now" or "If the Danes can do it, then we can too!"
Yeah, that's the folk hero we need. A. Cortez mixed with E. Warren and K. Harris. That's my ticket.
3
“Folk Heroes” who have visions of grandeur and are out of touch with reality should not have access to nuclear weapons.
12
How is this different from Cult of Personality? Are they possibly related? How created? Could it be the Lite version?
3
The answer is simple. Write off the 35% who consider Trump a folk hero as “damaged goods.”
Focus on the 65% and offer a candidate they will vote for.
14
A lot of folk heroes have their origin in a pervasive sense of unfairness. If you think the rules are rigged and the system is a scam, then it can be satisfying to watch someone gleefully scamming the system.
6
The profile of Trump's hard core supporters seem to embody everything I saw in my rural, southern small town, impelling me to leave as a teen, never to return except for weddings or funerals. These are toxic places.
Racist, misogynist, anti science, anti intellectual, tribal/suspicious of outsiders, firmly evangelical, malicious and hypocritical.
Having made foolish decisions in their own lives, there was much resentment against those who were successful/had avoided or overcome mistakes. A lot of anger and bitterness that used to be surface but now appears to be more open.
8
Trump's success amply demonstrates the insidious power of television. TV creates an illusion (the savvy, hard-nosed real estate magnate) then packages it and markets it as "reality" ("The Apprentice": The most god-awful show in television history).
For too many Americans, it isn't "real" until they see it on TV. Even the people who attend Trump's "rallies" run home afterwards to watch the television news coverage of the event--even though THEY WERE THERE. Part of it is to see whether on not they appear on TV next to their hero. Another part is that they get to "re-live" the moment over and over through the miracle of video and the Internet. Never once do they stop to question, "Hey, what is this guy really doing for ME?" They accept Trump's semi-literate sales pitch (lower taxes, get rid of the Muslims and the Mexicans, Putin and Kim are heroic "tough guys") as if it were Gospel.
Television makes people stupid. Judging by Trump's iron-clad base, the American electorate is getting dumber by the moment. And judging by Trump's prodigious TV-watching habit, he ain't getting any smarter, either. May God help us all.
11
Good article, though I do think it's much simpler in understanding Trump's base: He hates who they hate. He hates people of color, foreigners, and gays. They do, too. They found someone in public office who spoke the language of hate like they do. Yes, that's part of the folk hero myth, but in reality, it comes down to sharing the exact same hatred. Starts and ends with racism, not tax breaks, not coal, not blue collar jobs. Racism and hate (both the same thing). It's a real easy read.
11
“Despite his superpowers, at the heart of the Monkey King’s appeal is his human fallibility — he is greedy, selfish, and prone to sudden changes of mood and outbursts of exceptional violence."
This isn't fallibility, this is perversion. It's not misbehaving, it's anti-social. trxmp's flaws aren't due to fallibility, they're due to a moral and spiritual vacuum.
8
I like my folk heroes not to be cowards.
3
Trump, a folk hero, Charles Blow? A legend? OK, he's devious and destructive. Greedy and selfish. And wishes he was beyond the law. Donald Trump is an outlaw, an outlier, the barbarian within our gates. His people think Trump's lack of morality is laughable. He's not a folk-hero.
"Morality" around a "legend" is loose as a goose. Is amorality the "flexibility" Trump is reveling in as he fires his department administrators and secretaries one after the other? Trump isn't an American folk hero; he's a chimera. You're correct, that the anti-Trump people must do battle against the chimera that is our president.
1
I disagree with travel broadening the mind. I have friends here in Texas who are well traveled, and they are strong Trump supporters. I think it’s the bigotry and white supremacy that draws them to him.
4
Charles, you are dead on. Except that Edwin Edwards, the lovable rogue before "going rogue," had a heart for the voiceless poor while befriending business for jobs. He married extremes through civil discourse, note: civil. Where Trump polarizes, Edwards defused disagreement with bright humor, finding common ground. What's corrupted Louisiana more than anything is that which radiates from New York and Washington, i.e. Louisianans expected to suck up huge environmental risks to fuel the whole country while the East coast prohibits drilling. Remember Deepwater Horizon? In the 70s, Edwards fought Nixon and Carter who forced Louisiana, even by military threat, to produce far below fair market prices to counter Arab embargoes. Edwards warned US drilling would stop and OPEC would seize control and they did. Fighting the monolithic DC-energy establishment is one of many reasons why he became a folk hero, but the sex part is what everyone wants to hear. Read "Edwin Edwards: Gov of Louisiana," well-researched, for some insight into "the folk hero" -and how reality-show Trump will play out but for vastly different reasons.
1
I did not vote for him but, for good or bad, he is a folk hero and deservedly so. He took on the Bush dynasty, the Clinton dynasty, the Republican Party, the Liberal Media and apparently the entire leadership of the CIA, the FBI, the State Dept, the Obama White House, and finally the Special Counsel and beat them all. The story of legends. To paraphrase a line from Jeremiah Johnston - "he has done well to keep his scalp when so many were after it"
3
Great column. However, I am disappointed that the author failed to propose a solution to this difficulty. because the 2020 election in season has already begun, this place has Mr. Blow's observations in the category of idle speculation.
The interesting question for liberals and progressives to ask themselves now is whether the way to defeat such a "legend" as our country occupant of the White House seems to embody is with someone similarly legendary, or rather instead with someone whose views and biography are more pedestrian.
The first step towards fixing this would be to stop referring to Trump supporters as "they." In the 2016 primary, many Americans had only heard of Trump in the context of "The Apprentice." In that moment, it was the media's responsibility to shine a light on all of Trump's prior business dealings and publicity stunts. Instead, the media chose to make American citizens the focus of their reporting. Big mistake - so, fix it.
In this election cycle, use the word "we" in a context that means all of us - and keep the focus on the the candidates. That would be a good place to start.
4
@Kathmre
I think it would be wise to stress the new industries and jobs that would be generated from a green new deal as well as energy independence and long term lower utility costs rather than climate change adaptation. And include in this package, government support for training and certifications for at least some of these jobs.
Also suggest to stop calling it 'green' because the evangelicals balk at anything to save the planet. One assured me the other day that god is planning to 'create a new earth'.
3
First, “the media,” did.
Second, any news on when Trumpists and Trump plan to start taking it down a couple notches?
The most important fact to remember about Trump is that his devoted supporters are a minority voting bloc and thus can be rendered moot if other voters (independents, newly registered voters, voters who sat out 2016, moderate Republicans, and Never Hillary voters) vote for the Democratic candidate in 2020. Also defeat Mitch McConnell in 2020 and the country can be restored to health more quickly.
There is no better defense than a good offense.
DUMP TRUMP IN 2020 - VOTE IN DEMOCRATS
9
People admire strength. They also have a longing to believe that someone understands their feelings and is trying to do get something done. Trump has tapped into these basic human needs very effectively and in so doing, has presented himself as being persecuted, blocked and taken advantage of by liberals, the courts, the media, RINO's and anyone else who stands in the way. When he fails, he finds a culprit, building up his popularity. It's the same strategy used by Fox News, with whom the President is in close partnership. The DEMs had better put forward a strong candidate with clear objectives, otherwise we could find ourselves with President Trump being elected.
4
@John Barry
Reminds me of a neighbor who for the past twenty years has inevitably turned any conversation into a grievance against his bosses, his coworkers, etc., and of course just happening to mention that they are black, Hispanic, whatever, while saying that he is not a racist, but . . . I have no doubt he represents the quintessential Trump supporter.
9
I hadn’t thought of it in those terms before. But of course, you’re right. That’s exactly the category Trump fits into.
It’s also a hopeful way of seeing the thing; for as you say, the only way the worshipers of a folk hero ever turn on him is if he betrays them. We may already be seeing that starting to happen.
1
"..adding to his legend" is a good explanation for the vocal support, but I believe the larger class are those who initially respected his gigantic confidence to run government like a business. Now, they see their 401K; they hear exaltations on conservative TV and radio; and conversations within their ranks run solidly along those lines. And to the flack about lies, tweets, and incomprehensible rants, they figure if Democrats are outraged then it can't be all bad.
In 2020, thwarting an agenda of the Democratic Party and, for many, overturning Roe v Wade -- will be the elephant's blinders when their man evokes virulent racism.
Trump has been told that lower-income supporters will defect on the "not-better, not-cheaper healthcare" coffee that they were served and woke-up to. He will lie again about a plan; he will divide again with black football player-type issue; and he will perform similar scripts at his professional wrestling extravaganzas.
We tell the truth; we unite; and we speak from our hearts. He owns the circus and the circus leaves town.
1
It is less complicated than Blow makes it out to be. America no longer looks to leaders as paragons of virtue, in part because virtuous leaders, from General MacClellan to Jimmy Carter, were no better and often worse than less virtuous ones. In the case of Trump, his supporters believe better his venality than the policy disaster that would come with the restoration of the left-veering Democrats. Were the situation reversed, and it were let's say Bill Clinton challenging President Mitt Romney, the calculus would reverse as well.
Who in the world thought of McClellan as particularly virtuous or a leader?
2
Thank you, Charles Blow. A lot of people have attempted to put this president in some historical context. You are the first to provide, in the flawed folk hero, a characterization that actually makes sense (to me at least), explaining why so many of our citizens stick to him like glue. In ways unfathomable to the rest of us.
7
As off topic as it may sound, the best solution to this kind of demagogue is...
FAIR REDISTRICTING -- ending the partisan gerrymanders that have given power to the tiniest rump of extreme right wingers who just want revenge (and in a few districts, extreme lefties, though they seem to be held to a more honest standard as public servants). Also ending VOTE SUPRESSION.
When most politicians have to reach out to both sides and straddle the middle to win most of the votes, then the politics of extremism will subside.
There really are a LOT more of us reasonable folks in the country -- we just have to make an effort to get OUR votes and voices taken seriously.
7
@Election Inspector: Gerrymandering is not a factor in the presidential election, other than the permanent gerrymander of the states themselves.
2
@Steve Bolger Yes, we need to address the gerrymandering of the Electoral College as well -- I would include supporting the National Popular Vote bill (already passed by many states) in our efforts to make every vote count fairly.
Also, while your comment is narrowly technically correct, the fact is, if fairer districts everywhere mean that more of each party's politicians are reasonable moderates (like most voters), it will be much harder for parties to nominate and elect nut jobs like the current President. The GOP got themselves into this Trump/Tea Party mess by their own merciless pursuit of "permanent majority" districts -- where only the most right wing candidate can win, qualified or not.
2
According to family legend, Jesse James is one of my ancestors on my grandfather's side. When I visited Arkansas in the 70's as a 16 year old, I heard stories from several family members about his exploits. The villains in the stories were always the banks and railroads. Why? They were changing the way of life in the Ozarks and lots of people didn't like it. They hated the banks and railroads and that hatred was still hot in the 70's. Though people were angry about what was being done to them, they felt helpless to stop it. When James and his gang began robbing banks and railroads, people felt he was acting for them, taking the fight to the hated enemy. It didn't matter what he did in his personal life; it didn't matter what he did when he was robbing banks and railroads. They finally had a champion to cheer as he waged war with the enemy. Some of my family mentioned that the James family in Arkansas and Missouri were good church going folk; many mentioned that he was a Robin Hood who gave his loot away to people who had been hurt by the banks and railroads. Reflecting back on it, I would say they had an "on balance" view of Jesse James' morality. In other words, they believed that "on balance" James was a good man, doing the Lord's work with the Lord's help even with all of his flaws. It seems to me that Trump is the same type of hero who my relatives today perceive as their champion, fighting the enemy, doing the Lord's work with the Lord's help even with all of his flaws.
9
You know the old saying, “don’t attribute to malice what can be explained by ignorance”. Something similar applies to Trump. Don’t attribute to competence what can be explained by dumb luck. As the gambling name “Trump” (as in trump card) suggests, his dumb luck is everyone else’s losing streak. But his luck will run out, in the next election when the shocked electorate expresses its disgust with the grifter and his grifting.
But, Trump finally getting his comeuppance is not necessarily us winning. Democrats are too cerebral. Important issues must be addressed plainly, since they are plainly important. #1 is Taxes: poor people bear an unfair tax burden. The tax code, designed to enrich the 1%, penalizes everyone else. Focus on that mess, and fix it, if you want a winning message.
6
The key element of the folk hero is boldness. The hero bursts all bonds of law and propriety, acting out the fantasies his followers are too weak, frightened, or inhibited to live for themselves. Too bad for us that the fantasies of Trumpkins center on power-tripping, cruelty, lust, and greed.
3
How does one fight a fiction, a fantasy? You don't. What you resist, persists. Instead of fighting, I'd love to see the Democrats start ignoring his antics and moral failures and focus on policy. People follow something they can believe in.
13
I found this really funny to read, "cocksure, gambling womanizer who would end up in federal prison in 2002 for bribery and extortion." I'm like laughing out loud.
I don't know what to say about Edwards. He sounds like a coward to me. Not someone worthy of leadership. But we all know now (most of us) that we often have bad instincts in picking leaders.
That's what makes democracy so scary to some people, that we basically give all control over to something none of us control.
But we also do the same thing when we pray. I turn over all of existence to something I cannot control when I pray.
These flawed people are funny. We're all totally flawed, and we love it when somebody is willing to look like a fool in public.
It doesn't make them great, it makes them human. Nothing more.
I think that we'd have better leaders if we stopped drawing hard lines and rules that nobody can really live up to. We have to accept our humanity and our flaws if we want to put one of ourselves in powerful positions. This, in my belief, when Trump says, 'God wanted me to be president' is what he gave the world.
If that guy can win, any of us can win! Stop drawing stupid lines in the sand as if your God, I say to political analysts. Everyone who draws lines in the sand, claiming to know what is or is not electable, is placing themselves in God's shoes. None of us know.
I've been given the gift of high knowledge from high powers at this newspaper. You changed my life. Can I help?
1
Lost me on that one, Dude! Huh?
1
Unfortunately I have bad news for people of conscience. There will be no end to this. Trump has solidified, bolstered and branded hate and ignorance in a way that is wholly attractive (we now know) to millions and millions of Americans. This is the new America and it is going to remain this way. He will, tragically, be re-elected on his "populist/nationalist" ticket of xenophobia and patently absurd lies. On a personal note, my family (all born in the USA) has every intention of leaving this country soon because it has become, in two years under Trump, an unrecognizable bastion of evil. The shootings, the assault on Mexican, Black, Muslim and Jewish people is no longer something we intend to co-exist with, geographically. Trump did not create hate, but he has become increasingly horrifying with each passing day. We will abandon ship while we still can.
15
I agree with your decision which I made a Long Time ago so that my children could grow up in Country without violence and hate.
6
Thank you Charles Blow for your always astute writing!
4
In twenty years time....the legend will have grown....
He will either be the savior Ronald Reagan (who was nothing of the sort)
OR
George Wallace.
Either way, the rest of us will know what he really is - a waste of space, a bigot, and the most unqualified holder of the office in the last 60 years.
11
He is the Elmer Gantry of American nativist politics, and a charismatic "folk hero." Like Bugsy Malone or Mickey Cohen, Trump is seen as a Damon Runyonesque character, whom his wife Melania dismisses as a "man's man."
In fact, he is unmanly, unvirtuous, scheming, and cowardly within. But his charismatic leadership is abided by adoring crowds in performance venues, just as Hitler's and Mussolini's were.
There is one way that a charismatic leader tumbles: he fails to make good on the promises his adorers most cherish. That is why the "wall" matters. If he fails, he falls. That is the key.
11
Mr. Blow, Had you written this article even a mere year ago, you might be hailed for your insight. As it is, I have to ask, "What took you so long"?
While you railed in anger and impotent self pity for the last two years, I, and others, have chuckled at your obtuse failure to understand President Trump's popularity. Congratulations for finally figuring it out.
3
Myself, what I chuckle at is Trumpists struggling desperately to sound superior with so little to work with.
8
@Robert
Ah Robert. You got the wrong guy. I enjoy President Trump's antics, since they tweak progressives, but I am hardly "a Trumpist." President Trump isn't really a conservative so I view him as better than Mrs. Clinton, but only just.
This is precisely the call of fascism.
13
Chinese Monkey King? Well, that explains why the Chinese play along with Trump's game and put up with his foolishness.
31
@Joan In California A real president, like Truman, or Ike, would have sent troops to central America to defeat the gangs, or at least to create safe zones. This president hid behind a woman, Nielsen.
5
Agree that anti-Trump forces should get over the notion that the solution lies in some kind of cognitive clarification. It's not so much that Trump lies, though he does--the signifying is worse than the lying, the intentionally vague propaganda is the bigger problem. Trump is not brainless or lacking in cleverness, though he does make old-person slips more often now and he could keel over any day. Anti-Trump action should focus on presenting in vivid ways how he is not delivering on his 2016 promises, which were, basically, a terrific welfare state for the "right people" and harsh measures against the "wrong people." Quite a few people who rolled the dice on Trump either didn't show or switched in November 2018. If wage growth improves and unemployment stays low and Trump shuts up about health care he will probably get reelected almost no matter what. But Democrats need to prepare the ground by sending the message that there are some win-win policies (for at least 95% of voters) and that Trump is not leading the good, hardworking, regular people out of exile toward the promised land.
1
Got enough dynamite there Butch?
3
it hasn't been much mentioned that Trump was a self-promoting man-about-town in NY, but really got his leg up nationally by becoming a media figure in the tabloid press, and leberaging that into becoming a reality TV personality. the TV personality of the brilliant and all-powerful billionaire, a fictional character, is what Trump has riden to office. he is a fake bilionaire serving as a fake president because of his widespread fame as a fake superexecutive on reality (eg, fake) TV. if he weren't familiar from TV, the current Trump base in rural, blue collar America would never have heard of him, let alone elevated him to mythical status. what you see on television is more real than what you see around you in ordinary life. you can ask President Trump himself about that, or just judge by what he says and does - and who validates and influences him. Trump is myth "as seen on TV". which way to the egress?
6
Charles,
The answer to your challenging question, "Anti-Trump forces must stop operating as if they are doing battle with a liar; they are doing battle with what his supporters have fashioned into a legend. How does one fight a fiction, a fantasy? That’s the question." is containing in the front end of your essay in the story of Edwin Edwards who ended up in federal prison. Somehow I suspect when his home state prosecutors finish their work folk hero Trump will meet a similar fate.
3
Important differences between Trump and the folk hero are his lack of even occasional generosity, of any recognition that a life without material success is for anyone but "losers," of even a hint of empathy for the unfortunate and, perhaps most notably, of an existential sense of humor. Only those mired in feelings of resentment could see such a person as a hero of any kind.
4
@eisweino
That's the point--they are mired in feelings of resentment, albeit directed at the wrong people.
2
Very thoughtful and insightful column. To the list of outlaw/folk heroes please add Missori's favorite, Jesse James.
3
Mencius said: Wanting to do good is sufficient and an essential criterion for a ruler.
Donald Trump only wants to do evil and thus he does not even qualify for a ruler's role. He is no folk hero but a legend of evil.
The answer to the question of the path to America's salvation is the fight of the forces of good versus the evil, the devil that is Trumpism.
3
This president was raised to take over a real estate empire. He, is, at heart, a landlord looking to pacify his tenant group and a collector looking to realize on his status. He wants everyone his patrons to all be the same and to all revere him. It is a kind of worship, provided there is a certain tension among the peasantry. He is uncouth because his job is to sell and what he has to sell is cash only. He owns us.
Heroes of all kinds fight for something noble in the face of great adversity. This is a key insight into Trump's enduring popularity.
The key question is to ask what Americans value and why. The answers will vary, but we must listen to each other carefully and take each other seriously.
Without mutual respect, and seeking to understand what people truly value, fear, need, and want, we are left with anger, hate, and disgust. These negative feelings are exploited by opportunistic politicians, distorted and misleading media channels, countries hostile to America, and other predatory and parasitic entities.
In our hyper-connected, drama of the moment world, we must see the forest and the trees. The fundamentals of civilized, peaceful society and cooperation are at stake.
"Anti-Trump forces must stop operating as if they are doing battle with a liar; they are doing battle with what his supporters have fashioned into a legend. How does one fight a fiction, a fantasy? That’s the question. Its answer is the path to America’s salvation."
I think historians and political academics call a "folk hero" as government office holder a "cult of personality leader".
3
Trump is indeed a hero to many. From day one of his presidency, he has never held the support of the majority of Americans. However, 40%, give or take, is a lot of people - more than 130 million Americans.
The question is, why?
As Buttigieg has suggested, the answer has to do with listening carefully and seeking to understand underlying values. One person's hero is another's enemy and villain.
We cannot afford to treat each other as traitors. Doing so is lowering our immune system and exposing us to opportunistic infections like power-grabbing politicians, distorted, hyperpartisan media outlets, and hostile foreign powers.
@Evan Meyers
You mean power-grabbing politicians like trump and his Republican accomplices?
@jr
Yes. But what to do about it is key. I think we need to appeal directly to American citizens, voters. Listen and seek to understand what underlying values are driving their votes and support.
... I believe that the British Council website quoted fundamentally misreads Wukong. The passage fails to grasp the point of the the monkey king:
The monkey born of a rock possesses exceptional talent and abilities which are not recognized by the establishment.
He is also not sophisticated in the ways of a hierarchical, status-driven world. In fact, he has always been kind and generous to the monkeys he purports to rule, as well as kind and loyal to his friends, of which he has many in the Mount Olympus - type heavenly society. He is prong to violence, because the world is a violent and dangerous place, and he is by nature a warrior and a defender.
Indeed he has also demonstrated an irreverent, vandalistic tendency, when he is not appreciated for who he is. He has stolen choice food, drink or elixir, which he is willing to share with others.
He has never been a bully.
The journey he takes with Tang Seng, the buddhist monk, teaches him not to be someone else, so much as an authentic, more cooperative version of himself, that is able to work with others toward a common goal. He learns to serve in order to lead, for Tang Seng very much needs him on this long journey they take, together with Bajie and Saseng.
Journey West is about a universally classic theme, the journey outward... that leads home.
This folk hero conveys a radically different vision of the world than Trump.
Abner Snopes is the perfect analogy, just aching to stick it in the eye of the elites, to defile their fancy rugs, to knock out their lights. Trump’s base appears to glory in such takedowns, to take more satisfaction from them than most anything else he does.
4
I think we have finally found a moniker for tRump that is short and captures everything about him: the Monkey King. That's what I will call him now. I bet everyone will know immediately who I am talking about even if they don't know anything about where it comes from.
However, I continue to wonder - why do we still try to win over those Monkey King supporters? They are a minority in this country, they should not be able to dictate what happens here. What we should be much more concerned about and where our efforts should go is in protecting and strengthening the courts, the elections, the mobilization efforts among Independents and Democrats. Forget the monkey and his idolaters, they cannot be won over! Even after Nixon resigned, a quarter of the population still approved of him! Don't worry about them, they do not deserve the effort!
4
To many, Trump is more than a folk hero. He has risen to God’s chosen leader to some. How actual Americans can worship a two-bit liar is a mystery to me.
6
Unfortunately, the horses have escaped the corral and are gone for good. One and only visit 2 years ago. Rymans auditorium, one good honky tonk and restaurant (names redacted to keep them unmolested). Good luck.
The odious person was able to pique his base’s aspirational desires. Something realists will never be able to do.
The most effective way to deflate Trump's Folk Hero's status is to make him a LOSER. As long as he is seen as invincible, his base and Republican legislators will stand with (or behind) him.
5
Mr. Blow you nailed it!! Great article and movement in your perceptions. Now I ask you is there a person or Democratic folk hero who can slay the dragon or the pig in this case? Your article says no. All cable news channels feed the lore and concentrate non stop on the folk hero, they helped and keep helping to sustain him. I hope CNN and MSNBC heads read your article and realize they are a big part of the problem. On an even darker side, our president is also following the playbook of successful dictators. Beware.
3
My favorite Edwin Edwards story is that a reporter once said to him, "Governor, you're a crook and you're going to get caught."
To which the Silver Fox replied, "Well, son, you're half right."
2
Well, I don't believe that "... there is fundamental good within him." Trump, that is.
Is there an action, deed, of his we can point to that personifies that "good?" Nope! Nothing comes to mind.
However, there're countless examples upon which his legend was built. Disgusting. Wicked. Immoral. Unrepentant.
Just one.
The Central Park Five. Innocent young men he believed should have been murdered by the State. That is, proved innocent, not guilty. Yet, he persists.
Inhuman. Spiteful. Petty.
Folks, he's no hero!
5
Even acknowledging that the Chinese "Monkey King" is fictional, I'm sure it will be easier for those who care to bring that monkey "to good" than it might ever be for the 'not mindless' in and among the U.S. citizenry to bring trump "to good" (or even 'to heel').
2
His supporters can't be so dense that don't see that 45 is using them.
It's easier to just be a cult member I guess.
4
Best Blow column ever!
Like Blow’s Mama, my Mama voted for Edwin - as everyone affectionately called him - every time. I even broke down and pulled the lever for him when the alternative was David Duke. We all had bumper stickers that urged, “Vote for the Crook! It’s Important!” And it was.
I grew up in Louisiana hearing the stories of Brer Rabbit from my Grandfather as well as learning about Huey Long and his brother Earl, plus a long line of Louisiana and other Southern politicians who used wit and cleverness to beat their adversaries when they lacked intrinsic power.
This has made Trump understandable to me in a way that my Democrat friends just don’t get.
Thanks for the great explanation!
3
But the Monkey King found redemption in his role protecting the Holy Monk, Xuanzang.
Where is DJT‘s redemption?
@Armand Beede It will be a great story if he actually finds redemption somewhere, somehow. Maybe he'll give away all his money and end up working in a homeless shelter in Cleveland or somewhere. "See that tall guy serving the soup? The bald guy? It's a pretty amazing story..."
Hillary Clinton's comment was that maybe half of Trump's supporters (not all - read it) were misogynistic, Islamophobic, homophobic or racist. Perhaps she overestimated but by no means did she mean or say that all were deplorable. But there is no question that without that vote by those people - and would you, apparently a Trump voter for other reasons, call them anything other than deplorable? - Trump would not be there. That's a fact; and I will keep disrespecting the deplorables, as above defined. But I understand the motivation of the majority(?) of Trump voters, who wanted a change from the status quo and sadly, believed that snake oil really would do the trick.
3
I hope hero worship is all it is Mr. Blow, and not a new chapter in American history, where one tribe permanently and purposely chooses hatred of their political opponents, compromise, and morality over choosing an honorable person to represent them in government. Winning over good governance, in other words. I fear it's the latter, so we can expect the same circus when Trump leaves office and the next Republican griftter takes his place.
2
“Legend”!? Ha! Doesn’t anyone know what words mean anymore?
2
Thank you for this needed nuance. For the Trump voters who had no voice, he is sticking it to the "elites." For those who feel shamed by moralists, Trump is calling the do-gooders names. It doesn't seem to make a difference if Trump is actually changing the lots of his base, for better or worse. Trump has a profound gift for stoking division and bringing out people's worst. Possibly the only way to thwart this is to put it next to it's opposite. A calm, rational, practical person who doesn't demonize anyone and is the opposite of bombast. Pete Buttigieg is looking good to me.
5
Trump maintains folk hero status because people feel disconnected from the consequences of his behavior. The path to American salvation is for people to realize how much personal harm they might have to endure because of him.
7
might have to endure?? better “have endured”! every single day of this presidency is far worse than W’s, and harder to imagine.
3
@Mark Huberman
But Mark, those who are suffering now due to the tariff hits are saying well it's not good now but it will be worth it because he'll make it so much better later. Even some of the laid off government employees felt the later will be so much better.
1
Great explanation. The folk hero myth goes along with the American Dream myth that everyone can be a millionaire if they just apply themselves. So if people are holding on to the dream they must accept the folk hero that goes along with it.
3
@Chico
And the folk heroes named in the article for the most part were not only greedy and evil, but people died because of their actions, directly or indirectly, including the current "folk hero". I would like to see him dealt with in the same manner as Mussolini. Seems reasonable.
3
Excellent analysis. Excellent column. Now where do we go?
3
When members of his base are hurt, perhaps then they'll see the light. Still, I have my doubts.
1
@penny: The trouble is, being hurt isn't necessarily very edifying. It's far too easy for a demagogue to exaggerate the hurt, and to point the finger of blame at some scapegoat -- Trump says he will solve all problems, when he is allowed to, by building his beautiful wall. But he didn't invent the demagogic approach, it's been spewing for years from Fox News, talk radio, Tea Party politicians, and maybe here and there on the left also, I can't think of an example off hand...
Perhaps the most astute column I've read from the pen of Mr. Blow. Many American folk heroes were forgiven a multitude of sins. Or perhaps more accurately, they became folk heroes because of those sins.
This column reminded me of the near-hagiographic exultations of Martin Luther King's life that I read a few months ago, on the occasion of his birthday. Without calling into question the profoundly positive impact he had on our country, he was nevertheless a deeply flawed man. He was caught plagiarizing many of his writings, including his doctoral thesis, and he was rumored to be a philanderer. Yet many of my fellow progressives write about him as if he were a saint.
What is it about our species that so needs a hero? Why, driven by this need, do we elevate people who devote lip service to our causes, and yet whose actions are so often detrimental?
I see hero worship with athletes and performers. I see it with politicians and historical figures across all aspects of human endeavors. Mr. Blow asks at the end of his essay, How does one fight a fiction? I don't have an answer. But our overwhelming tendency to believe a good story over actual evidence does not give me hope that any answer will arrive in time for the 2020 election.
1
@hammond Give me that old time religion...
2
@hammond: The example of Martin Luther King doesn't quite work here. He was admired (and very widely hated among white people in those years) for his public role, and in that role he was a consistently courageous searcher for ways forward, always ready to put his life on the line in a crisis. As it happened, his private life was irrelevant to his role as a civil rights leader. What he didn't do was fool his followers about anything, especially about what he was doing in the Civil Rights movement itself.
The lies about King are that he was widely loved and respected in his day, that he was never a trouble-maker, that he would have rejected affirmative action or any race-based programs to improve the lives of the Black community... so I guess he has become a sort of unthreatening "folk hero" to the right wing.
1
Thanks. That explains a lot, as we have seen it in politics throughout the years. Unfortunately, 2020 may not be the slam dunk for the Dems as a result. I can imagine for some people that every time Trump gets away with something that's illegal, they cheer. Tough to run a business or country that way, but it's happening. Sad!
7
The rise of Trumpism has seen the loosening of the bonds of the forces of darkness. At the moment the only true countervailing force is the business community! As Trump unleashed his fury and wanted to close the border, the automotive and agriculture sectors whispered in the ears of advisors that this would be a terrible economic move and the crisis was averted. The business community can only do so much, they have no sway with white supremacists. These dark forces are growing stronger and bolder. 2019 has seen the firebombing of three black churches in Louisiana and a building tied to the civil rights movement in Tennessee. Call Trump what you like, but his presence, influence, and behavior bring forth the worst in America.
6
This is a great story/parable, Charles Blow. Thanks. Gov. Edwards another of those silver-haired and golden-tongued or whatever the metaphor is folk populist heroes like the other LA politician, also a governor who tried to help the very poor of his state and was killed by a doctor from a hospital. Forgotten his name now but book by Rbt. Earl Warren about him. Pappy Lee O'Daniel in Texas. This is the test for those of us who want Trump to be voted out for oh so many reasons. He is a mythological person of our complicated democratic past where successful bidnessmen are extolled but policy wonks, or pointy-headed intellectuals are not. The emotional and retributive reaction to all omits consideration for other views at the public, congressional or other sites for discussion, making them essentially moot.
2
People vote with their stomachs, not their brains. Trump knows how to get to your gut, and you're either elated or sick to your stomach.
4
And what about the folkiest hero of all, Bill Clinton?
3
@Anne
Revisionist history will be less gracious and forgiving of Bill, and I say this as a former rabid fan; I'm still an old fashioned left-center democrat, but now I look back on his womanizing -- and my indifference to it -- as appalling.
2
@Anne: Yes, he would certainly be an example, although there you don't have a super-wide discrepancy between his talk and his walk. But he sure is folksy.
1
But Hitler was a folk hero, too. So was Mussolini. And Franco. And Stalin. And Mao. And Generals Ratko Mladić and Robert E. Lee.
History is full of these "folk" heroes.
Their supporters were wrong, and history remembers them for their obsequiousness and moral cowardice in the face of violence, corruption, ethnic cleansing and all the other "evils" their heroes perpetrated to make their countries "great" again.
Trump and his supporters are no different.
How do you fight fantasy? By knowing your history. Trump supporters (but also anyone who didn’t turn out to vote against Trump, such as Bernie-or-Busters and Greens) do not recognize the danger—they don't get what all the fuss is about ("Hillary lost, get over it")—because they do not know their history; and so history repeats, and things that we fought wars to prevent from happening here are happening here.
16
This is just grammatical, but "swore them both off"? I think you mean "swore off them both." You would never say "she swore drinking off," would you? It's "she swore off drinking."
And Obama was treated like a messiah by the left.
3
Differences between Obama and Trump are numerous. Obama is an honest man who really cares about people, the environment, our allies, our neighbors. Was not an embarrassment in front of the entire world, Can’t say that about the person who now inhabits the oval office. Have found in life that people who have to keep telling you how smart they are, are not that smart at all. Don’t recall Mr. Obama ever boasting about his superior intelligence. Mr. Obama is still my hero.
11
this is a rightwing myth. President Obama was seen as too much of a centrist by much of the left. he was more like an Eisenhower era Republican than a leftwing firebrand, except in the minds of ideologues.
4
@M: There are some on the left who idolize Obama, but I don't think that is characteristic of him or his followers in general. There was very little of the trickster about him. No crazy bragging, no "secret plans", no "only I can fix this." All politicians have enthusiastic followers, but Mr. Blow is pointing to something very special about Trump.
4
This is a great analysis. I was aware of the "dead girl or live boy" quote. I thought it was really good when I heard it. I was not aware that it was uttered by an actual politician still alive, much less Edwin Edwards, of whom I've heard for the first time in this article.
Comparing Trump to China's Monkey King is even more illustrative. He's the main character of one of China's great classic novels, "The Journey to the West." In the novel, the Monkey King is as he is described in the article--an irascible, narcissistic, comic character who is like a misbehaving child.
But the quote ignored some nuance--the Monkey King also broke a vast number of laws. The Jade Emperor was like our system of checks and balances--a humane, even-tempered celestial ruler who wanted the best for humanity. So he, with his army of celestial bureaucrats, articulated the laws of the universe through a long and cumbersome process that prized fairness and equality above all else.
The Monkey King found this process all too tiresome, and used loopholes by which he could gain ever more power. This truly exasperated the Jade Emperor and his bureaucrats. Worse yet, this defiance of the laws caused greater and greater calamity on the Earth, leading to the death and impoverishment of innocent Chinese peasants.
Trump is our modern reincarnation of the Monkey King. The Monkey King was finally brought to heel by the vast power of the Buddha. We will not be rescued by the Buddha this time around.
359
@Luboman411
Your post is worthy of a NYT Pick. It adds an important element to the story....that the government and Buddha worked against the Monkey King. May the electorate bring this Monkey King to heel in 2020.
52
Blow cites his mother's vote for Edwin Edwards as a kind of cognitive dissonance, because Edwards was a corrupt womanizer who would land in prison, while Blow's mother was conservative and righteous. Well, not so fast there, Mr. Blow!
The truth is that oftentimes Edwards was the lesser of two evils. In 1991, for example, he ran against David Duke, the openly-KKK Grand Wizard. Only in Louisiana!
7
Mr Blow is totally on target. And indeed his analysis has some relevance in the appeal of AOC and others who our completely unqualified and unregulated to actually administer and pay for their proposals for broad societal change. Still, as well documented in your reporting the degree of venality in this administration accompanied by the power vested in the presidency is way beyond that of any legislator. Only by accident have we avoided major catastrophe in foreign events or national safety. Our blissful good fortune will not go on indefinitely.
3
@bruce I agree with you, and I suggest that Democrats need idea contests to fight Trump and Trumpism.
One idea of mine that stands out is the use of symbols.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
For example, take Trump's use of the OK sign, constantly.
What if Democrats reminded us of the danger of Trump,
by showing OK signs, with both hands at the same time?
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The reality is that Trump is not OK.
He threatens our sanity, the nation and the world.
But Trumpsters naively see Trump as a simple, cure-all.
Trump to them is like Amazon, and credit cards:
"One size fits all"
But in fact, Trump is destroying democracy, day x day.
If he is re-elected, he will try to finish the wrecking job.
So, I suggest that we need a constant Trump vigil:
-------------------------------------------------------------
"Eternal vigilance is... the price of liberty". (Jefferson, etc)
4
Charles’ mother voted her self interest in voting for Gov. Edwards.
Trump was a NYC character in the 80’s and 90’s. His voters today generally are not serving their self interest (except for the very wealthy.)
I didn’t have a lot of respect for some aspects of Bill Clinton’s behavior, but I thought he was better for the country and better for me than his opponents, including war hero George HW Bush.
I wish people would vote their self interest, but the Brexit voters were likewise voting for a legend, Britain saving the Free World at the begging of World War II.
3
Could it be that the right also lives with “folk tales” and they vote for Trump despite his perpetual challenges to the rest of their sensibilities?
These folk tales are conspiracy theories fabricated by the right: liberals are coming for your guns, liberals are taking away Christmas, liberals are taking your hard earned cash and giving it to the underserving, climate change is a hoax designed to steal your income, liberals want to kill babies, vaccines are a conspiracy between the NIH, CDC and big pharma, immigrants are dangerous, America is a white Christian nation, etc....
Trump signals to these voters that the conspiracies are real, and that he’s finally stopping the madness, so they overlook the saliently distasteful aspects of his personality because questioning the truth is much more difficult.
3
In the history of Boston, nobody had a bigger personality than James Michael Curley. Curley was the city's 41st, 43rd, 45th, and 48th mayor, and once served as mayor from jail. He was also the Commonwealth's governor for one term, served as a legislator on both Beacon Hill and Capital Hill. He was corrupt, brash, and at times incompetent. But he was a folk hero to the city's Irish population, who were 2nd class citizens during the late 1800's and early 20th century. He was their voice, and he punched the city's Anglo-Protestant establishment in the face. Not only was Curley punching the establishment in the face, he was delivering for his constituents. Curley expanded the T (Boston's metro system), numerous parks and playgrounds were created, the Boston City Hospital (which is now the Boston Medical Center), as well as new schools and libraries.
This leads me to ask, what has Trump delivered for "his people". He's trying to take away their healthcare, doesn't care if their homes are destroyed by climate change, and giving tax breaks to the companies that are laying them off. The only thing Trump has delivered to them, is their sadistic joy of seeing "those" people suffer.
7
@Sandeep: Very good point. A lot of the classic old corrupt politicians took lots of money for themselves and their friends and families, but they also delivered significant benefits for the neighborhoods, in the form of jobs and public services. You could make a good case that those benefits -- jobs on the police force and in the schools and so on -- could have been delivered a lot more fairly and efficiently. But still, when people were loyal to those corrupt politicians, it wasn't entirely about demagogic fantasies.
1
If a billionaire draft-dodger who kisses up to Wall Street, oil companies, defense contractors, polluters and foreign dictators can be a "folk hero," the end of everything is closer than I feared.
7
he's not a billionaire or have you seen his taxes?
1
Not the first in history..a folk hero and SociopathicPersonality.
6
Trump is a godsend to Blow. He must go to sleep at night counting his blessing that he is our President. Seriously, it hardly even matters what musings get written up, so long as it says "Trump" it wins a healthy audience of minimally critical readers.
2
@Eric377 it’s almost like...wait for it...he’s a folk hero :)
6
77,000 votes across three states, voters who TWICE voted for Obama, cost Hillary the election. But of course the idea that white supremacy is ruling the land, 11 million adherents and counting is a much more media friendly excitement to write in... Did those voters suddenly become racists after Obama? No, but ignored workers are less sexy than white supremacists, but they are who brought down the Hillary train. In the ugliness after 2016, with Charlottesville idiocy by Trump who actually IS racist, both sides jumped on their respective favorite memes: kkk and white supremacy, when only a few thousand storm troopers across the land (fbi), became Maga Trump fascists on the right, while the right points to commie socialists and BLM intersectional grievance on the other — a political moment has unfolded and pitched a tent. Both are invested in demonizing the other. But I ask you, once again, who speaks for workers abandoned over the last 50 years. I wouldn’t vote for Trump, but I can see by personal experience that many of us have had enough ‘trickle down’ and ‘learn to code’...they sent the jobs away and tossed the workers to the docs where Purdue Pharmacies Oxy’s would help kill the pain. And the workers. So it goes: elites are those with law enforcement unions and good jobs in media, on one end and Capital in the high towers downtown, on the other. The squeeze on the middle class simply doesn’t stop.
1
So now Democrats' biggest adversary is something of legend. Remarkable.
Folks, your biggest problem isn't myth or legend. It isn't an opposition party or doctrine. It isn't some deranged slice of the electorate, lost and awaiting the left's wisdom to bring it in from the cold.
It's the individual, and his/her worldview, in the mirror. Charles Blow can spin tales of Trump the Legend all day. But until he and the ideology to which he devotes himself understand that we only have President Donald Trump because his party chose to nominate the ethically bankrupt Hillary Clinton, and that President Donald Trump Part II looms ever larger on the horizon because the alternatives Dems seem intent on providing to the country are the likes of Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren, there's simply no taking Democrats seriously, at least by the 20 percent or so in the American ideological middle who decide every national election.
Your opposition isn't a fiction or a fantasy Charles. It's quite real and not all that complicated. The question is whether you're capable of acknowledging it. If this piece is any indication, you have some work left to do.
I just can't fathom how Trump's supporters don't understand that he's playing them for suckers and loving every minute of it. How could you not see that he delights in being their puppet master, pulling their strings to make them dance and yell at his rallies? Pitiful. God help me that I should ever be that easily bamboozled.
4
One fights a fiction or a fantasy with the truth, and not just the obvious truth, like Trump is a liar. We are all liars, except we're not as obvious and don't know we're lying. To fight the lies built into our everyday lives, we must undergo a paradigm shift in human thought.
Donald Trump not only lies to achieve his daily desires; he uses lies to keep his legend alive. While praising the intelligence of the American electorate, he secretly knows that they can be led around like a bulls with nose rings - only instead of bull rings, he uses their beliefs and prejudices to lead them wherever he wants.
If DJT doesn't destroy our fragile democracy, he has published the blueprint and playbook for some other demagogue to do it later. If a democracy like America's is going to exist, there will have to be a complete shift in human thought throughout the world.
In the near future, we will program the human mind in the computer based on a "survival" algorithm, which will provide irrefutable proof as to how we trick the mind with our ridiculous beliefs about what is supposed to survive - producing minds programmed de facto for destruction. These minds see the survival of a particular belief as more important than the survival of us all. When we understand all this, we will begin the long trek back to reason and sanity.
See RevolutionOfReason.com
2
"Fundamental good" as an element of the folk hero?
Well, knock me over with a feather. If the president has a fundamental good, he sure hides it well.
Charles says we must find a solution to counter this folk hero ethos. But I say, that sounds way too hard, even impossible, because nothing we can say or do to weaken his hold over his followers will be believed, or if incontrovertible, be accepted.
The problem with myths is they defy logical explanations, being at heart an emotional response or a deep-seated biological urge, like lust.
Maybe instead of countering Trump by example, Democrats would be better off honing a message and doing what the president does: repeating it over and over until it leaps from mind to the gut.
446
@ChristineMcM
My impression is that the "fundamental good" was mentioned as part of the myth, not an actual description of any reality. As pure myth, of course it has no basis in reality!
16
Yes. Yes. Yes. Keep repeating the truth and keep the spotlight on Trumps evil and never let up.That's how Republicans demonized Obama, Hillary and Democrats. Just like a TV commercial ditty song you can't get out of your head, it eventually sticks.
26
@seattle expat
No, no, no. Myth is the repository of reality. Either the myth was misstated by Blow or he unintentionally got it wrong. Christine Mc. is correct in that there is no fundamental good in a villain. To believe so is to disbelieve in the existence of evil... which is the unexamined life. Trump is an example of someone who has never been held accountable for his words or his deeds. He is a false hero; his appeal is to the ignorant.
34
It is impossible to change sexual orientation but I had some success with political conversion.
4
Trump is running a religion. At the center of every religion there is a murder, according to the late philosopher, René Girard. Christ's murder is the obvious example.
Girard suggests all religions exist to channel violence, and that the object of this violence is invariably a real or ritual murder victim. The ritual sacrifice at its center of Trump's religion was that of his political enemy, Hillary Clinton.
Primitive religions adhere to rituals and prohibitions that are practiced and observed over and over -- without change, without exceptions. By endlessly re-enacting the original (human) sacrifice, sometimes with animals, the high priest is able to dissipate violence and channel it away from the faithful. This is why, more than two years after the 2016 election, the Trump faithful are still chanting "Lock her up, lock her up."
The violence of a Trump rally is obvious and palpable. No one can miss the fact that over two years after Trump's defeat of Hillary Clinton, mob violence is still being focused, in rituals like the lock-her-up chant, against an uppity woman.
Women sense this craziness in a way men cannot. They marched on Washington immediately when Trump won the election. They transformed the House of Representatives. A woman, Hillary Clinton, was and still is the centerpiece, victim and target of Trump's religion.
Women have not forgotten her, and it is women who will overwhelm and defeat Donald Trump in 2020.
9
We're all waiting for that Lonesome Rhodes "Face in the Crowd" moment. But Trump's vulgarity 24/7 is in full view of his base. Only brainwashing can explain that.
3
I have spent two years reading every article that attempts to explain the trump supporter. I keep hoping to read something that strikes a chord, that makes me have some kind of "ah ha" moment. It has yet to happen. I just don't get it. I simply do not understand their attraction or enthusiasm for this deplorable person.
Henry Luis Cates was on MSNBC this morning. I only caught a bit of it but his explanation -- loosely paraphrased here -- has to do with the lip-smacking support of those who were deeply appalled by the audacity of 8 years of the black man, Barack Obama. He compared it to the numerical rise of the klan only after black Americans got the right to vote. These uppity blacks need to go.
I believe there is something --what I don't know -- deeply personal within the trump supporter that explains his appeal, and it has to do with them, not with trump. There seems to be some part of a self-image that rings a true bell within these people. God only knows what it is.
The New Yorker recently had an enticing piece about a French cat burglar who was a kind of folk hero. He had honed his second-story skills and broke into wealthy homes stealing only art. And for the most part it was only art that he liked! Now that is a legend or folk hero whose appeal I can at least understand. There is something somewhat seductive about this story -- he never hurt anyone or took money or other valuables, he only took beautiful paintings.
That can't be said of trump.
3
@pinksoda
Here you go, from me:
The "racist" tag just won't stick. I did not vote for Trump but travel extensively through Trump country.
Trump's support has nothing to do with racism or with "white" nationalism. What Dems call white nationalism is more accurately described as majorities resenting attacks on their Country and culture-nothing to do with race. Trump won and is gaining ground with middle class whites, blacks and hispanics because:
-the corrupt Clintons had exceeded their "15 minutes of fame" and stayed too long at the fair;
-broadside attacks by Dems on the Country the middle classes of all races love, because it has been good to them;
-the failure of both parties to enfore the borders;
-the hollowing out of our industrial states;
-the lack of respect by Coastal elites for the heartland; -the stupid Iran deal; and
-the stupid Paris Climate Change deal.
Not much has changed. To win in 2020, the Dems must: 1. nominate Buttigieg or Klobachar; 2. support the re-industrialization of our Country; and 3. emphasize border security.
If Dems do not change their tune on border security, nothing else will matter-just look at Europe if you don't believe that.
How does one fight the legend? When the legend betrays them, they will see for themselves how morally bankrupt Trump is. If they have to lose their future retirement to his tax cuts for the rich, their health insurance because he hates Obama, their savings because he doesn't think you worthy of disaster relief, maybe the fantasy will fade and truth will dawn. Since nothing has put a dent in their legend love, it may take a reality rub in to recognize the man cares nothing for anyone but himself. Nixon was similar until the Congressional leadership said enough was enough and they had the case of 'high crimes and misdemeanors'. We will get there, despite the cover up and obstruction of Republicans in leadership. Justice will be served. The day of reckoning will come. DUMP the TRUMP!
3
When I saw "A Face in the Crowd," I was just a little child, but I recall grasping the phenomenon of the wicked "Lonesome Rhodes" (brilliantly inhabited by Andy Griffith) charming and manipulating his naive believers in his grab for power. He had to be stopped! And Patricia Neal neatly uses technology to expose him for a huge sigh of relief and happy ending.
Having lived through Trump, however, I realize I still had much to learn. Now I would tack on a different ending, or an epilogue at least. Instead of turning away from their exposed demagogue, the crowd rallies and unites behind him, Instead, they attack Patricia Neal, insist that Rhodes was not saying what he appeared to be saying about his contempt for the suckers. He would have arisen from the ashes stronger than ever and Patricia Neal would lose her job and be disgraced and discredited as a mere scheming jealous woman (and a liar).
I recall a time when the least whiff of scandal or irregularity could bring down a candidate. Poor Ed Muskie.
At some point in his life, probably during his single digit years, Trump discovered The Big Lie and how well it works. (And here's a nod to another iconic movie and its immortal mantra "Deny deny deny."
I believe that his cult is completely inoculated against Trump perfidy stories at this point. He's a bad boy, they say --- and he's OUR bad boy. But who would ever imagine such a charmless, unwitty, literal, concrete odious character could carry that off?
2
It is simply bizarre and insane that such a wealthy person, who claims to be a billionaire, someone who has built resorts and penthouses and who owns a private 757, all to separate himself from the masses who could never approach him in public could be a folk-hero of any sort - especially to the common man.
And those who want to be like him? A cheat and a liar? Success at any cost?
5
you got it! a lot of Trump voters can see themselves in his shoes one day, given a lucky break or some miracle payoff... because if such an obvious idiot can be a billionaire, it isn't so far-fetched that someone as smart and upright as I could do the same. what inheritance? I saw on TV he is a self-made titan.plus, tall and blond and garrolous always works well.
2
Charles, I get what you're saying, but I disagree with the list of those you believe may have made that list: e.g., Barry, Ford, LePage. Nothing at all attractive or amusing about them. Plain repugnant people.
At the end of your Monkey King description, you wrote "But we know that there is fundamental good within him. He is the misbehaving child who only needs a firm hand and a sense of purpose to come good.” DJT fits every one of the negatives but certainly does not at all fit this sentence. There is nothing in his behavior that we've seen, going all the way back to his early days in NYC, that shores up this possibility. He is not good; he has fired or forced resignation on anyone who tried to contain him with a firm hand, and I don't think he has the capability of creating a sense of purpose that would benefit anything or anyone other than himself.
3
I don't see any fundamental good in Trump. He cares only for himself. I feel sorry for him that he was born with a crippling personality disorder. But the rest of us have an absolute right to protect ourselves from harmful, cruel people like he is.
2
Thanks Charles. It helps my bafflement at those who seem otherwise intelligent yet seek to gulp the trump Kool-Aid. (Thanks also for references to Faulkner and Twain. They knew us well indeed.)
He does not appeal to intellect but to something archetypal, which varies from person to person. He is a Trickster, Destroyer, and, to some, a Hero.
Every Republican who despised “Slick Willie” Clinton rushes to praise the exploits of a life-long conman and loser, excusing or extolling every despicable trait as a virtue, or keeping mum while the barn burns down.
We are all blind to our hypocrasies, until some disaster holds them to our faces. The disasters trump & swamp co. are bringing on us will largely be irreversable.
107
@JB after the suffering of the bumbling Obama, Trump has fired up our economy for everyone.
More full time, high paying jobs.
Income increasing.
America feared again, which is how we have liberated millions in our history.
Name the disaster you seem to call out(unnamed, unsourced of course)
1
@Joseph, every folk hero needs his myth. You've supplied it. His followers think Trump is responsible for an economy that has been on an upward trajectory for ten years--and which has seen greater job growth under Obama. His supporters think Trump is a strong, respected leader who is "feared." The reality is that he's a weak, needy man who can be easily manipulated; in all likelihood his ongoing business deals compromise his ability to act in our interests.
Looking for a disaster? How about Puerto Rico, where 3,000 Americans lost their lives in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. That's worse than Katrina, and a competent FEMA response might have prevented it.
31
@Joseph: thank you for illustrating mr blow's point so well that trump supporters live in a fantasy world.
if you think america is feared again, i suggest you get out of the country more often. worldwide, trump is regarded as putin's lapdog, or at best a carnival clown who delights the simpletons.
neither of those things are good.
29
I don't blame people for becoming enamored with a folk hero figure. I absolutely do blame them for wanting such a figure to be in a position of real and immediate authority over them and over things that deeply affect their lives. Adults are supposed to be able to discern myth from reality, because sometimes our survival depends on it. This is one of those times.
3
Excellent piece. The whole Mueller process that resulted in Trump escaping criminal culpability, has only added to his legend and his appeal to his base, and then some. He is up to about 43% now.
So, what brings him down? More hot pursuit by the law?? That only hardens up the opposition as well as his base, and with every escape, he firms his base and adds some to it. Like a tin horn dictator, surviving another day, means that he won the battle yesterday.
What brings him down in 2020? Not Mueller or Russians, but Soybeans and factories. Dropping crop prices because of the tariffs and low employment in the manufacturing sector. I.e, the economy. Its the only thing that brings Mr. Legend down. He is Legend because he works for his followers. Let him be seen working against them, and let that be felt in the pocket book, and the 43% will melt back to ole reliable 35% and then he will be done.
It is inevitable, because Trump, when you get down to it, is not for his Base, he is for Trump and when those two come into conflict, Trump is for Trump and then the dominoes fall.
4
Trump is losing the alt right by supporting more H2B visas.
-----------
American Renaissance
Latest Trump H-2B Increase Again Betrays American Workers
Preston Huennekens, Center for Immigration Studies, March 29, 2019
In April 2017, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 18837 — a directive to “Buy American and Hire American”. The order signaled the president’s intent to defend the interests of American workers, one of his key campaign promises. Some of his supporters were less-skilled and less-educated voters who shared his concerns that widespread immigration (and foreign guestworker programs) would shrink their job prospects. {snip}
{snip}
{snip} Instead of reforming the guestworker system, Trump has allowed it to flourish. In its latest action, the Department of Homeland Security announced today that it is raising the 2019 H-2B cap by 30,000. The additional visas are available to H-2B guestworkers who previously worked in the United States within the past three years.
{snip} I’ve explained before how the H-2B program is a raw deal for Americans.
https://www.amren.com/news/2019/04/latest-trump-h-2b-increase-again-betrays-american-workers/
1
You’ll oardon me if I don’t really care all that much what a pack of racists on a, “race realist,” website has to say; it isn’t just the dippy racism, it’s the droning repetition of the same old claims and sams old round-ups of the same old suspects.
Looking at the faces and live shots some of these people at Trump's rally, I have to wonder sometimes if Trump is the closest thing they get to for live entertainment that is free.
6
How do you fight a fantasy in a country that was founded on fantasies upon fantasies? We never have an perhaps never will. From the pilgrims to the constitution to the bill of rights, all neat nicely told fantastical stories. In order to assuage the sense of guilt and remorse for the plunder and mistreatment of our fellow humans, beginning with the early settlers we had to refashion and recast the ugly realities of genocide, slavery, and indentured labor; all too ugly and real and too heavy a burden to carry up to the present time. Our collective denial of reality wrap around the lust of privilege and power has brought us to Donald, and persisting upon this path could only darken the future of our frail democratic experiment.
2
I think Blow makes valid points about some in the president’s base. But some of the president’s voters are independents, and Republicans, who are not thrilled by the president’s unethical and corrupt behavior. If Democrats can find a way to get even 5% of the president’s supporters to not vote for him, or better yet to vote for someone else, 2020 will be a landslide for Democrats. It is worth working to peel away that 5%.
5
If you believe in science, logic or reason I just don't see how you can support trump in any way. Period.
6
First time running for office, beats 16 primary competitors, overcomes Never Trumpers at the convention, beats the Clinton dynasty, confounds the press and beats back a 2 year political attack/hoax by the deep state and media. Defeats ISIS, supercharges the economy, lowest unemployment in fifty years, and 2 Supreme Court judges. Legendary indeed. One man's success through sheer force of will against an establishment uniformly aligned against him. Sounds like a great movie, and an even better sequel!
1
You left out “compulsively cheats at golf,” and the other bizarre characteristics of the DPRK....oh, wait, I’m sorry. It sounded like you were talking about Kim, not His Nibs.
2
This is a very astute set of observations and a spot-on analysis. It answers a critical and vexing question: why do millions whose own lives are lived with relative probity, and under the sway of traditional values and ethics, idolize a figure (Trump) who is the absolute negation of what they themselves live by?
Humans, all of us, are complex, layered choirs of inner voices or "selves." Think of them all as kids on our bus: we can never throw the more "unruly" ones off the bus (though, through various forms of repression, we try) and we certainly run into problems if we let them drive the bus. But if we can do it vicariously - through identification with a "hero" like Trump - that solves much of our psychological dilemma.
Trump embodies the childish and the iddish that, in maturity, we come to temper and - especially if we're "values" people - throw off the bus. But the kids we throw off the bus scream all the louder (though we make sure they can't be heard). If one doesn't work hard at self-integration, the repressed selves become quite powerful. They want to drive the bus - or have a "hero" do it for them - live out the fantasy these law-abiding adults deny to themselves.
Trump - instinctive, evil, bent - has captured that craving in millions. He has also made himself the peg in the ground over which "decent" heartland America goes to war against the "corrupt" coastal elites.
There is no easy answer here. It reflects a great vulnerability wired into human psychology.
1
Big problem with this analysis...#45 is NOT good or in any way good hearted underneath. There is zero evidence of such. His decisions have each been made from a personal center of cruelty and inhumanity. If those are foundational to a folk hero...humanity and the USA in particular has lost its soul and we are sunk for any foreseeable future. Heartbreaking. And tue.
2
How do you fight a fantasy in a country that was founded on fantasies upon fantasies? We never have an perhaps we never will. From the pilgrims to the constitution to the bill of rights, all neat nicely told fantastical stories. In order to assuage the sense of guilt and remorse for the plunder and mistreatment of our fellow humans, beginning with the early settlers we had to refashion and recast the ugly realities of genocide, slavery, and indentured labor; all too ugly and real and too heavy a burden to carry up to the present time. Our collective denial of reality wrap around the lust of privilege and power has brought us to Donald, and persisting upon this path could only darken the future of our frail democratic experiment. I already the miss the democracy we had.
2
Mr.blow you've nailed it. Now we must reveal in some way such "heroes" are harmful to the nation, world, and the very folk that support them.
1
Trump claims the upswing of the economy to be his doing. Not true. Obama regulated the banks, bailed out the auto industry (and they paid back every cent!) and brought the US back from the brink of economic collapse.
Now Trump is partying with the big boys with tax breaks and de-regulation. These things take time to develop and by that time, the Dems will be back in to take the blame.
5
The folk hero angle may be valid, and it may represent a key component of trump's popularity, but it's not the only one. Here are a few others:
1) Good, old-fashioned, partisan loyalty, which in our hyper-partisan times, has engendered a powerful hatred - in may cases combined with fear - of all things liberal and progressive. trump followers revel in every opportunity to stick it in the eye of the opposition, even to the detriment of their own personal interests, and trump never ceases throw them red meat.
2) A kindred racism, which found its perfect target in Barack Obama, not merely a black person, but an educated one.
3) The green light trump gives his followers, either by example, or in code, to express their vilest, most indecent impulses. (See also #2, above.)
4) "Christian" beliefs in the immorality of such things as abortion, homosexuality, and transsexuality, which conveniently override any moral concern about the Sinner-in-Chief, himself.
5) Personal interests, especially financial.
Combine all these together with generous measures of ignorance and gullibility, and you've got a coalition that might be invulnerable. America teeters on the edge.
4
Trump supporters are just republicans gone more addled. It's not simple, stubborn, resentful trumpite mobs responsible for the trump nightmare. It's the GOP.
Never-trumpers in what used to be the GOP like to think they're not to blame for trump's rise and point blame at his rabid fans. But the GOP certainly greased the skids for him.
The GOP has had its "legends" before: The Saint single-handedly brought down the USSR; W accomplished a mission. For the last three decades the GOP has lied, cheated, gerrymandered to stay in power and siphon off the public trough.
It broke unions, tanked the middle class, drove up healthcare costs, tried to destroy welfare and public education. The same GOP loves women so much it denies them rights over their own bodies. Who loves nothing better than a little war in a far off land or a big recession right here at home. When Trump was peddling his birtherism atrocity, it wasn't just trumpites sniggering.
We're told that most trumpites are victims of economic dislocation seeking change. What they got was tax cuts for the already rich and tariffs on their own products. They are left to rot in flood/fire/hurricane damage. They are still waiting for trump's promised healthcare.
They stick with trump regardless of the damage to their own self interest. Republican voters always have.
6
Good short story on human behavior mr Blow. We all want fiction to alleviate the burden of our mortal lives. The problem with legends ; they colonise our imaginations.
At some point we need to rewrite the narrative. Right now, i do not see a new potus in 2020.
1
What difference does this make? Legend, or professor, or liar, or blowhard, preacher, charlatan, Svengali, or academic, guru, chameleon, oligarch or pretentious iconoclast, what matters is results. And as long as the results are good, and in America's best interests, Trump will win, and THAT will be America's salvation.
1
And if some of the LESSER PEOPLES must be sacrificed in se name of zis NEW IMPERIUM, why....oh, my bad. I thought it was 1934 there for a minute.
Keep in mind that cult hero status cannot be attained without someone to tell the tales that enforce the endearing elements of the character. Trump could not exist without Rupert Murdoch empire, including Fox News and various print outlets, and others such as American Media, Inc.
5
Mass delusions and the madness of crowds...Especially among those voters who voted for Obama and switched to Trump.
The four pillars of Trump's surprising 2016 victory....
1) A foreign intel service recovered Trump's candidacy during the primaries every time he set it on fire. Once he had the nomination, they turned to hacking DNC emails and strategic documents. Mueller says no collaboration but clearly the Russkiye push upped Trump and was a drag on Clinton.
2) GOP congressmen outed Director Comey's private letter about the re-opening of the unauthorized email server. This was a dirty trick but not illegal. [The timing of the memo was tooled by a slow handover of Weiner's laptop between the NYPD and the FBI.] Congress needs to extend the Hatch Act to all branches of government. We don't need the Mueller Report to start on this one.
3) Knowing that the congressional torpedo into the Clinton campaign had been fired, Trump okayed the hush money pay-offs to Daniels and MacDougal.
4) Voter obstruction and apathy reduced turnout...Over 94 million eligible voters did not vote! Wonder if any would take that day back if they could?
Trump's margin of victory in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania were less than 77,000 votes of 13 million cast. This extrapolates to a 750-800K swing nationwide for Hillary to win.
...and that's how a neophyte gameshow host became President of the United States.
Are we going to do something about it?
1
Ol' Charles has indeed hit on the main vein of Mr. Trumps 'popularity'..as well, as have many of the posters/commenters
herein.
I would however submit that while each of the people offered in example(s)..we read the names Edwin Edwards, Bonnie/Clyde ei al..but it could be said that the circumstances of a particular period for instance also fed into the reasons one might choose a person of obvious shortcoming could reach near canonization.
The legend of Robinhood was born in slowly evolving iterations beginning in 13th-14th England during periods of great famine..of the Plague, times thrown into both economic and political turmoil, thus a legendary archer a hero to the yeoman class defender of Richard..then of course it grew to splitting arrows, the Merry men and lovely Maid Marion (Melania, ?)
Jesse James' countryside following and legend likewise, born of the sadness and confusion after the War of Northern Aggression.
Then, good ol' Trump fully formed as not an urban hero but a 'rural hero'..to counter approaching 20 yrs. of war..and all the rest..while pronouncing himself a legend..cult leader fits better.
1
With all my respect for your mom and conservative people like her I think that that kind of behavior become obvious when the subconscious part of ourselves eventually fights and in some way wins over the suppressive conscious. In short, many conservative people like VP Pence for example, eventually show what they really are: hypocrites and liars down to the bone.
2
I guess it never occurs to CB or other rabid anti Trumpists that maybe, just maybe, people voted for and support Trump because they like his policies -- and he won because HRC was a horrible candidate and he's a smart politician. And maybe a lot of his supporters also find the lefty positions espoused by mainstream dem politicians to be ridiculous. And that the age of identity politics has passed?
And perhaps the horrible behavior of the dems on topics like 1) Kavanaugh nomination, 2) the entire Russian collusion narrative, 3) border policies 4) the constant attempt to overturn the results of the 2016 election thus undermining our democracy -- simply in many people's minds is disqualifying for leading the country?
No, of course not. It's that devil man Trump who somehow misleads his poor delusional followers and they are now the zombie apocalypse? Really.
If the dems don't grow up and realize that they are the religious cult and get over it, then good luck in 2020 --- and beyond.
1
I’d ask you what the heck you’re on about, but I’d prefer to remind you that you may wanna get those checkups done before your boy yanks your pre-existing conditions protections and Medicaid.
4
@Robert Fine, I'll remember. And if you libs continue this nonsense, you'll have Republican out voting in 2020 and every independent -- voting for Trump.
A legend thrives on public attention.
President Destructor is lucky to arrive in the age of the 24/7 news cycle, making it more likely that he and his busy thumbs will continue to dominate the news.
Dear Media: Please stop reporting about him so much. Ease off on the attention, which implies that his latest mean-spirited spasm is actually important "news."
Although I doubt that any media outlet will risk losing money by not obediently serving him up, I bet it would make a difference. He might even back away/off a little, maybe even becoming less outrageous in his words and actions as he strives to keep himself in the headlines.
Stop watering a plant, and it will wilt.
www.theinsanityhoax.com
1
They did the same to Reagan. Completely forgot his real history and made him into a mythical hero. It seems that certain groups are succeptable to this.
3
This analysis of Blow is all well and good, but it doesn't explain how Trump got elected. Because, I simply cannot believe that approximately half of America is fooled into believing that Trump is any kind of hero. The numbers just don't add up for me. That is my conundrum re. Trump.
Additionally, one cannot analyze or understand Trump's election without including the context. So one must also include a comparison of Trump to Clinton with no stones unturned. It is complex and I don't think anyone yet fully understands what happened. Or, more likely, is ready to admit and state what happened.
What a refreshing change in tone from Mr. Blow! So interesting and greatly appreciated. I agree that Trump is seen as a rebel and a folk hero and that people give him a pass on his many failures. One thing the main stream media has ignored for the most part is that Trump's first target was the Republican neocons and W Bush heirs. He stood up like David to Goliath during the primaries and faced down the establishment (including Fox News) for their disastrous Iraq invasion and WMD lies and incompetence. He was able to turn a huge portion of the Republican base against the establishment...people who were once gung-ho for Bush and his wars. This helps explain why the warmongering neocons are now seen on MSNBC and CNN and not on Fox. As a person who voted straight Democratic ticket for a dozen years due primarily to the Middle East mess, Trump became a folk hero to me and I cut him a lot of slack on other issues.
2
Dear, Blow’s point is that Trumpists completely overlook their little tin god’s flaws, greed, and outright lunacies because they’ve transformed him into a folk hero, just as Americans have been suckered into doing so often over the years.
It’s not a badge of honor, you know.
1
A lot of Donald Trump supporters realize what Charles Blow does not. The man uses hyperbole and exaggeration. He uses humor. He uses his people skills. All tools he uses to get things done.
Is Donald Trump perfect? No, far from it. But he has a knack for focusing on the possible and trying, and often failing, until he gets to his goals. That's unusual for a politician. Most of them avoid failure like a plague. Donald Trump accepts it as the price of eventual success.
I've never met the man, but I believe those who say he is warm and kind-hearted. That seems to be the case from what I've seen. He sounds snarky, but it's a front. Do you think he seriously hates Adam Schiff when he calls him a "pencil neck"?
For me, Donald Trump's style sits a lot better than Barack Obama's. He seemed too idealized, and enlarged in his public persona beyond what he was in reality. He seemed shallow when he was portrayed as being deep.
Worst of all, Barack Obama never really failed, but he never really succeeded either. Hope and change? We never got it. He won the Nobel Peace Prize but never did a thing for peace.
You can have Barack Obama. I'll take Donald Trump.
1
@John Smithson Perhaps you should talk to the many vendors he has stiffed over the course of his "business" career. I don't trust someone who doesn't pay his bills or has never read a book (he hasn't) You can have your reality show con man fool but I'll take a serious deliberative mind like Obama any day.
1
@gary Donald Trump certainly has his faults. Boy, does he. But Barack Obama does too. And Trump has executive skills while Obama has political skills. I guess it depends on what you want in a president. I want someone who can get things done. I don't care so much about what he says.
Barack Obama certainly was a monumental president as the first black president. But did he really do much to increase peace and prosperity? Did he ever earn his Nobel Peace Prize? Did he ever do much to help the economy?
Certainly Barack Obama's paying his bills and reading books are good things. But do they matter much? I think not.
Steve Jobs's criticism was well on point: "“I’m disappointed in Obama. He’s having trouble leading because he’s reluctant to offend people or [tick] them off." Jobs added: "That's not a problem I've ever had." Neither has Donald Trump.
1
The only answer is a private and public education system that can create more people like your mother. The current generation of Trump supporters cannot be reeducated.
2
Our president isn't Brer Rabbit although some of us less generously inclined than his worshipful followers do see him as a grotesque cartoon figure. If his fans have elevated him to a cult hero, they are viewing him through a very distorted lens. He may be "sticking it to the liberals" and filling his admirers hearts with glee, but in the end, he's demeaning our country- and will ultimatel fail those worshippers who currently see him as a folk legend rather than the huckster and fraud he is.
2
Therein lies the conundrum Charles, too many weak and forlorn people see in others what they wish they themselves possessed. They live vicariously through their alter egos until they fail them somehow; just as Hillary Clinton failed the Democrats, or perhaps it's the other way around, whatever. The point is that Trump has a big mouth, is rude, judgmental and has a sense of entitlement, superiority if you will, much like the pool of New Yorkers from which he crawled. The fact is that most people saw through this and accepted the end justifying the means method of governing a breath of fresh air from the sequestered Obama sitting in the Oval Office executing his duties by working the phone and signing executive orders. He knew that no one could ridicule him by staying quiet and in the corner. He knew too that he would never become a folk hero. So we got a polar opposite who's engaged, extremely controversial and pushing an agenda. He's got the media on its toes, people engaged and the Democrats going utterly insane.
The Chinese Monkey King resembles Trump except in one key respect: “He is the misbehaving child who only needs a firm hand and a sense of purpose to come good.” There were some who believed that as long as McMaster, Mattis and Kelly hovered near the Oval Office, they could hold the Donald’s demons in check and encourage his better impulses. Others placed their hopes in Ivanka and Jared. But in the end the demons drove out the McMacho trio, while Jivanka fell captive to Mohammed bin Salman and the Israeli Right.
The only “firm hand” that ever could moderate Trump’s behavior was that of father Fred, who also gave him whatever “sense of purpose” he has had in life (mostly, get ahead at any cost). Even Fred couldn’t rein in the bad boy on his own and needed to send him away to military school. But Fred’s ghost, for all we know, is all that prevents the old rogue from going “full animal.” Was Donald maybe channeling Fred when he made the recent bizarre claim that his father (rather than grandfather) was born in Germany?
Trump is no "fiction" or "fantasy," no matter how much he might be a supposed "folk hero." He is a dangerous, immoral reality who disdains the folk who mindlessly revere him.
2
A legend who has accomplished nothing in his first 2.5 years in office. The one piece of legislation was the Ryan led GOP tax cut. Who led the GOP to a resounding defeat in the house and in many local state races. Trump's legacy turning the GOP into a fringe party of political right wing extremest and religious crazies. His only lasting accomplished is carnage of the nation and the GOP.
3
I believe, Charles, that this characterization is neither sufficiently accurate nor helpful. Governor Edwards did things that really helped folks like your mother. Mr. Trump has done nothing for working class and middle class Americans. Moreover, he is pathologically malevolent. Unlike the Monkey King, there is no good at all in Trump. In the comments on this site, we often read that Trump tells no lies at all, especially compared to President Obama. Why give the Trumpies yet another false narrative that they can hide behind? The term is demagogue. The modus operandi is lies, racism and fear mongering.
Thanks, Charles, as always, and very good to have you back--
1
Trump is a con man supported by a national news organization with millions of faithful watchers only interested in hearing news telling them what they want to hear. Hopefully someday something breaks down that barrier and the reality of the truth makes it mark. If it ever does, Trump will fall.
1
Charles Blow, you forgot to mention one "folk hero" who, in my opinion is more relevant than the others when you talk of Mr. Trump: Jim Jones.
To the denizens of Jonestown, he apparently could do no wrong, all the way to the very last day, when it all went very wrong. I fear the same could be in the offing for the U.S.
There is a huge difference between Edwards and Trump. The difference has just been confirmed by the Mueller Report. Contrary to your opinion Blow, Trump is not a weasel, and a crook, and a snake. BTW, the way you describe your mother, I am surprised she supported Edwards. There must be more to the tale. The story is nonsensical the way you've presented it.
@BSCook111 BS, neither Congress nor the public has yet seen the Mueller report, so there is no basis for saying that the report confirms anything. We have also not seen the Mueller team's summaries of its findings, which were written specifically to be released to the public. Instead, all we've seen is the Barr letter, which surprise!, exonerates Trump. Barr is doing exactly what he was installed to do, which is to keep Mueller's findings from seeing the light of day. If the findings truly exonerated the president and his inner circle, don't you think we would have seen them by now? Aren't you the least bit suspicious, BS, that Trump, with Barr's help, is hiding something?
1
The proof is in the reaction of the solid polling support he has maintained in spite of every misstep, flip-flop, lie, broken promise, and overt corruption. I don't know how long I've said to myself, it can't get any worse, but it does almost daily. I don't understand anything that is happening in this country and there hasn't been an article from any source and rationally explains it all.
2
Most of my southern family voted for Trump (abortion is a big issue for many of them) but my recently passed mother wasn't one of them. My mother lived in assisted living at the end of her life, and many of the people who worked there were here illegally. Almost to a person, they were hard-working, kind and dedicated. One was deported despite living here almost 15 years; she had two children, both born in the states, who were left with their father. My mother loved this woman, and she said that her Sunday school lessons said that her obligation was to love this woman , and that a government (then a campaign that called Mexicans "rapists") who saw her as a threat was not a government that she could support. Despite many in my family who told her she was dead wrong for voting for "that woman," she saw Trump as representing the worst impulses of her fellow citizens. This last year since her death has been tough (I loved my mother a lot) but I had such respect for her that she lived her faith. Unfortunately so many ignore the New Testament's teachings that Jesus is love.
8
One of your best columns, Charles. Thank you. For me, it's the very first explanation--and I've read many-- of the loyalty of Trump's base that rings true. I think I can finally give my efforts to understand it a rest.
6
The answer is in the text of the column: “an exposed betrayal of the folk.” Trump can be defeated when it’s exposed how he betrays his supporters. It will happen only when it becomes crystal clear to them that he’s working against them, which of course he’s been doing from the beginning.
5
I agree. So how can it be made crystal clear? Their thinking has been twisted into believing that experts are wrong, elites are anyone who is educated and a critical thinker and not to be believed - and they will take away their guns and freedom, they don’t read or listen to a variety of news sources...
1
Well, a minority of the "folk" have no interest in this poorly executed tale. Time for the rest of us to exercise our prerogative and vote out the ogre.
1
Unfortunately the rest of us are fighting about who is the most perfect and pure progressive and we are unable to compromise and come together to first get rid of the ogre, which has to be the first order of business.
Who cares if the person most likely to beat the ogre isn’t the perfect embodiment of progressive liberal ideals and give us everything we want immediately? As long as they are committed and able to moving us closer to a more progressive agenda, and work to undo the destructive policies of the orange ogre, then we can build on that. But unless we solidly defeat the current occupant of the White House we are doomed. And I hope voters remember that the senate and Mitch McConnell still will try to derail any Democrat president would try to enact. So don’t go for the far left superstar who promises everything - go for the left of center plodder who can deliver. Even if you have to hold your nose.
3
Well, Mr. Blow, at least this is a change of pace from your standard column, which repeatedly emphasizes your view that Trump is always lying.
Also of interest is your discussion of your mother's political views. I wonder what she thought about the Jim Crow Democrats that controlled Louisiana politics through most of her life -- did she vote for them? Or did they even let her vote? And why aren't you and she concerned about that Democrat Party legacy?
Mr. Blow , I agree with you 100% .
Trumpism has become a cult , like a dogmatic religion, an ephemeral hope mainly for poor white people to transcend the precariousness of their life .
He is their Lancelot , the savior , who will lift them from a life of despair .
Needless to say that at the root of this behavior there are an incredible ignorance and misinformation , that make poor people prey of the predator in chief , who only cares about the wealthy and is using the brain of poor destitutes to achieve his goal .
Our only hope is that his electorate will directly suffer from the consequences of his legislation and will finally open their eyes.
4
Ah... a legend in his own mind.
2
Ah yes, t-Rump and his ilk have set the stage for brutality, immorality, incivility, lack of ethics, cheating, lying and on and on. I doubt real folks like these qualities. They can see through them for what they are. Base. We have evolved above this. t-Rump and his ilk have taken us back. Way back.
4
Trump has built his myth on other American myths. Andrew Jackson is extolled as a man of the people. America is great because it has massive military power. Poor people are inferior.
Really Trump is Sasquatch. A construct built by lies and ambition to fool the public.
2
The problem with Mr. Blow (and apparently his mom) is that he does not know what to do with someone suffering with a racist narrative. The President of the United States, like a good judge, must put aside his personal narrative and try to treat all people fairly. The hardest part can be turning the other cheek and wishing the raciest, atheist, climate denier, misogynist, war monger, socialist, abortion provider, and fat, ugly, poor, queer, old person; a very good day.
Mr. Trump, like his father before him, may not discriminate in his residential and commercial properties, his hotels, restaurants, or night clubs. This has not stopped dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of accusations by people seeking to profit or gain a political advantage from making an accusation. Donald Trump would often have to attend depositions and answer charges where he had little knowledge and no personal involvement. Over time, Mr. Trump’s narrative included the expectation of mostly false accusations that often became unfairly personal.
Trump coped with his upbringing by emulating the playboy lifestyle and being quite successful at it. The “wisdom” of his old age saw conversion from Democrat to Republican, pro-choice to pro-life, and man-about-town to family man. All types of people remain in his life. The Art of the Deal now also includes the Art of the Snarky Response. It is an effective way of conveying some crude truth and getting along with racist and formerly racist friends and associates.
2
Back before he got elected Clinton had the chance to pop his balloon, but she failed to understand what was going on and this helped burnish Trump's image among his... followers.
Remember when Trump stalked Clinton around the stage during the debates?
If Hillary had turned around and made Trump back off, then she would have changed the whole dynamic.
Trump needs to be humiliated in public in a way that leaves no doubt that he's not a leader. That Trump is a failure and his policies are garbage.
I think Elizabeth Warren can do that. Plus I like a policy wonk who thinks before speaking.
6
Finally, I agree with Blow. Now, he needs to look at the likes of Hillary and Obama and recognize that he is doing the same thing with the left. Trump is morally bankrupt, but seems pleasingly virtuous compared to Hillary, his former friend.
1
The basic thesis of the Trump supporter is that the dreaded left has overplayed its hand. The Fox News culture insists that the left has insulted the sensibilities of the "populists" by preaching that their value schema is wrong. They are fat, fast-food eaters from "flyover states", boys are bad, whites are "privileged" and don't deserve to be heard at universities; white men in particular are the cause of all the world's woes... The left is about political correctness and judgyness. Trump. in their view, is the ultimate rule breaker. He can't be brow beaten by the highfalutin liberal. He won't apologize. Whether it's creating a fraudulent university or buying the silence of a porn star, or inviting a foreign adversary to influence an election, it doesn't matter. He's their bad boy breaking all the rules at the expense of the "snowflakes". The irony that the Trump supporters refuse to acknowledge is that he's breaking all of the rules that ostensibly define conservative values. By supporting him, they are undermining their own identity.
2
Ignorance is bliss so they say. Let's just hope it doesn't reign long. Yes we're all flawed but guiltless flawlessness should not be rewarded.
I like what Trump has done to help the people of this country. Frankly, I just don't buy the hate that the Times, the Washington Post, CNN are selling 24/7. Personally, I'd say that even if the media hates Trump, it should be careful about pushing its Trump hate non-stop. People may be getting bored with it and maybe are leaning to discount the hate after seeing one million pieces like this one. By the way, when was the last time Blow wrote a piece not filled to the brim with his hatred of Trump?
1
@Bill Carson exactly! I really can’t take it anymore. Economy is good, jobs are plentiful, and wages are moving up. But just saying this will bring out the haters.
1
@Bill Carson
and Anne, do you actually believe the numbers coming out of this White House?
Growth gets revised every quarter downward from the numbers Trump announces, and Trump's policies get blocked in court more often the affirmed. Pay attention to the headlines at your own peril.
Trump supporters believe/swallow the idea that criticisms are hatred because Trump is invulnerable as long as he's winning.
Another bunch of suckers who like what Trump's doing are farmers who have lost billions because of the trade war with China followed by severe weather events that will hamper their next crops. Small farmers will be snapped up by corporations because of Trump's policies.
In addition I recall criticism of Obama by the republicans because he wore beige suit. Criticizing everything Obama did was the way to whip up hate. If you expect Trump to be treated differently, then you should have spoken up over the treatment doled out to Obama by republicans.
I think you mistake the stock market for the economy. It's not the same thing.
You forgot the most famous folk hero of all: Bill Clinton.
2
Trump and company need enemies--- the liberal fake media, invading hordes of brown people, deep state bureaucrats who are thwarting the will of the people, latte-sipping Prius-driving tree huggers, welfare cheats, gays, Muslims, academics, etc.
If the media stopped reporting and criticizing, if immigration completely stopped, if all government investigations ceased, if Starbucks went bankrupt and everyone bought a pickup truck, if no one was on welfare, all gays went straight or into the closet, all Muslims converted to Christianity, and all campus political discourse stopped--- if everything Trump rails against was defeated and disappeared... even if all that happened, there would have to be something new on Trump's Hate List.
Because hate is Trump's superpower. His supporters love him because he gives voice to all of their hatreds, and most of them are just plain angry at the way the country is going (whatever that means).
4
“I think it is a mistake to believe that Trump’s supporters don’t see his lying or corruption. They do. But, to them, it is all part of the show and the lore. They have personal relationships and work relationships like the rest of us, and those relationships depend on honesty and virtue. They, like my mother did, are allowing in him something that they would not allow in themselves.”
With all due respect to your mother, those “allowing” any folkloric hero to be a lying, cheating scoundrel are as guilty of moral failure as Trump. His followers aren’t committing the same transgressions but something far worse. They are the ones who exalt and enable a Trump—-or an Edwin Edwards on a smaller scale or a Hitler on a larger scale. Their vicarious, wink and nod enjoyment of corrupt leaders makes them the real problem. We shouldn’t be worrying about how to beat Trump; we should be worrying about your mother.
Blow's columns that are hard to reconcile.
Blow in Jan. 2018: "Trump’s supporters are saying to us, screaming to us, that although he may be the “lowest white man,” he is still better than Barack Obama, the “best colored man.”
Today: Trump's supporters see him like people see a folk hero. They "...know that there is fundamental good within him. He is the misbehaving child who only needs a firm hand and a sense of purpose to come good.”
@Scott
Where's the discrepancy?
1
Mr. Blow, you have just ruined my day. DT as a folk hero? The very thought turns my stomach!
Folk hero or demagogue, the common allure is they represent someone to fight for something, whether real or just perceived, that is more damning than the moral failings of the person. With Trump it is is the coastal elites, campus PC whiners, and of course the bogeymen immigrants. The fact that 70% of immigrants here illegally are illegal because they've overstayed their visas doesn't matter. Just build a wall. Criminals of the '20s and '30s were better than the govt that took away booze or the banks that took the farms.
When more than 30%+ of voters go a direction on anything, it is prudent to understand why.
2
For more than two years I have been collecting epithets both amusing and vicious describing Dear Leader. I gleefully add 'Monkey King' to their number. It is elegant, a bit obscurantist (and so may be elitist) and true.
Thank you, Mr Blow.
2
"Its answer is the path to America’s salvation."
Funny, Trump supporters believe that Trump is the salvation.
Quite a far cry from Blow's usual "Resistance" rant. Even he realizes that Trump could very well win again, given the current group of Democratic loons running for President.
2
Trump is the modern Jesse James, who was celebrated by former Confederates and adored as a post-Civil War Robin Hood, while in reality, James kept all his loot for himself, family members and his gang. Sound familiar?
Trump is the folk hero vanquishing evil liberals who are perceived as traitors out to destroy America. Since the McCarthy era, liberals are equated with socialism and communism. My ex- husband referred to me as a "commie-pinko liberal." Obama was vilified as a Marxist and a Muslim Kenyan Socialist. Pat Buchanan's speech at the Republican Convention in 1992 spke of a "religious war for the soul of America" and referred to the fight against liberalism, feminism and the gay agenda as a continuation of the Cold War.
The GOP sees the Donald as the warrior battling the traitorous liberals and they will stop at nothing. People believe Soros paid $300 to each participant in March For Our Lives. Liberals, unaware there was a war, are losing to the pervasiveness of the G O P beliefs in paranoia and conspiracy. Thus, we have the Hillary-Russia-Obama-FBI collusion that must be investigated.
How do we fight this war the GOP has been waging since FDR'S New Deal and LBJ's passage of the Civil Rights Act?
Trump will remain a folk hero for generations to come.
1
I believe the path to defeating Don the Con is by engaging and winning over those millions of eligible voters who chose, for whatever reason, not to vote in 2016.
Donnies' sycophants and followers are like adolescents who like to annoy their parents, teachers or anyone in authority. Separate families at the border, try to deny healthcare to millions, rob the taxpayers blind, abuse power....so what....all these things send 'liberals' into hysteria... GREAT!
Don the Con is elected with less than 79,000 votes over three states. His followers are set in stone...... those who chose not to participate in '16 hold the key to our future.
2
Taleb is right:
('Knowledge' in this context means a blizzard of information from any and all sources)
One cannot assert authority by accepting one's own fallibility. Simply, people need to be blinded by knowledge - we are made to follow leaders who can gather people together because the advantages of being in groups trump the disadvantages of being alone. It has been more profitable for us to bind together in the wrong direction than to be alone in the right one. Those who have followed the assertive idiot rather than the introspective wise person have passed us some of their genes. This is apparent from a social pathology: psychopaths rally followers.
1
"But we know that there is fundamental good within him."
I do not know that; Trump is an evil man: petty, vindictive and malicious, uninformed about important issues, and concerned only about himself,
4
The danger of painting everyone who likes or agrees with Trump as has die-hard fanatics, is that it's factually incorrect. Most Trump followers don't like his rhetoric but generally agree with his policy stances. Secure borders, defeating global terrorism, rising economy, low unemployment, etc., etc. Most don't see him as a folk hero but as someone who is trying to change Washington. I don't agree with most of his vainglory speech but I do agree with many of his policies, albeit, I wish he wouldn't disregard his advisors as much as it seems he does. I could not fathom another 4 or 8 years with an Obama or Clinton in office since I can't even come up with a few things that I agree with them. Sure, Clinton (Bill) and Obama were very well-spoken but their policies lead the US in the wrong direction almost every time. So, we should ask ourselves, do we want a leader to lead our country or do we want one who can speak eloquently ? I don't know that those two characteristics are mutually exclusive but they seem to have been in quite some time!
So intervening in the 2008 crash and setting the base for the current stock market trend is not something you agree with? What would your Trump and his advisors done? It seems to me in reality they have no policies only responses with no consistent underlying principles or values. Obama’s Healthcare was carefully crafted and contained important initiatives that to this day are cherished by most Americans. Trump talks but has only hot unhealthy air it would seem. If things go off the financial or international rails, you will see the true caliber of this administration...methinks you won’t like that either
He's a folk hero to us, because "you people" keep disrespecting the deplorables and he is the only one to punch back. He is a master at language. He is shrewd. He is more formidable than 10 of your degrees. He is bigger than politics, he is culture.
6
@Tony
Wow! Who is the "you people?" Who is "deplorable"? No one, in my book. How many degrees do I have and what is my agenda?
We cannot heal without losing the labels. We are all God's children.
12
@Tony
I've been telling people for a while that Trump is the perfect "president" for today's America. Vulgar, tasteless, bombastic, ignorant, and out for himself. The country I grew up in had many faults, but most of us were trying to correct them. I guess we failed. Now we celebrate the worst of us. I'm glad I am old.
22
@Tony Tony, of which culture do you speak? Trump's culture is not the only one, you know. Or do you? This is a diverse country, or at least at last count it was. There are us women who are presently being threatened by having our God-given rights over our own bodies taken away from us. There are our brown and black-skinned neighbors, our non-Christian Americans, our LGBT brothers and sisters who are all discriminated against by way of rampant bigotry and racism. We call ourselves a Christian country? What a joke. Christ himself must be shedding tears of grief. And I will respect people and the leader of our country when, and only when, they are worthy of respect.
21
"Escape from the Trump Cult (New Republic 12/13/18) suggests a "stick: for Trump: Congress and the Judiciary must exercise their responsibilities to check/balance the Executive. I would add we the public must support the five or so House Committees in their investigations of Trump's all too public record and take to the streets as we did this past week in demanding a release of the full Mueller report. (BTW, why is it those masses of demonstrators were not on national TV and the mainstream press?)
For the followers, the above article recommends showing we care; for them, use "carrots."
Well and good, but these goals may take years and 2020 looms. The question is what candidate can confront Trump's fanciful promises and lies. Trump has a great talent for promising one thing one day then promising the opposite the next day. He is able to come out with so many lies it befuddles most of us. The trouble is, most people would not have the gall to carry off such absurdities e.g. one lie caught on tape got Nixon to resign. There is a detachment from reality that allows Trump to lie so well; this is his appeal to his followers and his challenge to opponents who are not able to lie so profusely and get away with it at the same time as appealing to a segment of the public.
I just watched "A Face in the Crowd" an Elia Kazan movie from 1957, with striking parallels to Trump. I won't spoil the ending, so please watch it and take some lessons there for Trump.
3
I would argue he has more in common with the folk trickster character (think Pied Piper) than with the folk hero character. And not just because of the child separation policy.
4
tRump's base, which includes the so much loved by him 'undereducated', will always see him as a man who's is giving them manna from heaven, deliver them for the influence of a 'deep state' and poverty, while dreaming that he will pull them up by the shoestrings to live in future splendor and protect their low-paying job from being taken away by an invasion from the Southern border.
Wild, Wonderful West Virginia comes to mind, a state that is over 97% lily white.
2
Brilliant, Charles. Thank you.
6
The ultimate prize for Trump will be to win 2020. That's it. He'll have thumbed his nose at authority and decency and rule of law and that's all that matters. Nothing beyond that date. If he deludes his fans just up until then, he'll have achieved his dream. Then he'll live at Mar-a-Lago for then next four years and let his minions run the country. He'll sit there and get richer and richer from the graft he's enabled and hold court for the true elites - his billionaire cronies. That's the con that scares me the most.
9
@Kate
His dream? Are you sure? Leftists promised us that Trump would start a nuclear war and destroy the economy with glee the moment he entered the White House. Now you're saying all he wants is to just be re-elected? What a let down!
1
@Bill Carson
Leftist never said any such thing. I see this a lot, folks who get their left-wing perspective by way of Jeanine Pirro.
1
The left have turned Trump into the devil so I guess it evens it self out.
1
Mr. Blow, this piece captures the “taboo” issue that worries me about nominating Buttigieg- that even liberal people with as sound a moral compass as your Mom, have yet to evolve morally to embrace the homosexual other.
Put them together and what have you got? VOTE!
No, Mr, Blow. It’s racism, pure and simple. Trump’s promise that their whiteness will continue to occupy a privileged place in America.
5
Mussolini was a very popular leader as well but we all know how that turned out....
4
@Rjnick
Hanged, upside down and bleeding out.
However, that was after a disastrous war.
I think a simple but obvious analogy would be to compare the people who are anti-Trump with the intelligent people of Germany during Hitler's rein. Clearly, Hitler was a folk hero to the people who followed the Nazi cult. Hitler could do no wrong in their eyes and they created a massive following that defied logic which was demonstrated during his monstrous rallies; however, there were also people who were aware of the truth about the horrific damage and carnage he was responsible for and the tragic future of their beloved country. They were watching a runaway train heading for a brick wall. We’ve never experienced such a corrupt, defiant, cult-driven leader in our country before, so it might be wise to take time to consider the lessons of history.
9
Kind of hard to do when many followers are either uneducated or willful deniers.
@BR
I think they can be gently educated to see the light, but it will take patience and persistence. I'm doing what I can in my little corner of the world and that's all anyone can do.
Charles: It is outrageous for you to compare Donald Trump to the Monkey King. Unlike Trump, the Monkey King had fundamental good within him.
3
In your passion to link these American folk heroes, usually common criminals trying to look like Robin Hood who ended up shot, you missed the real threat that Trump embodies, that is National Socialism as represented by Adolf Hitler. That is where we're tracking. We can't expect his "base" to turn on him. They support his policies. Look at the films of a Nazi rally, with Hitler spewing hate, and see the starry-eyed facies of the Hitler Youth movement screaming for blood. The American Brigands of the Wild West did capture people's imagination but few were willing to follow them to the grave, they were never a threat to our Democracy. They were far removed from the seat of power which Trump now occupies. As is said, forget history and be doomed to repeat it, so may be said of us.
7
If Trump slept with a dead girl, would he still feel the need to have the National Enquirer buy her story?
2
If true folk heroes brag about their impunity to
grab a woman's genitalia, kill someone in broad daylight on New York's Fifth Avenue, abandon our most loyal allies while consorting with our most formidable sworn enemies, separate families at our borders and throw their children into cages, to name just a few examples of such continuously egregious behavior, then, by golly, that's what we've got ourselves here and probably for the next 5 years. An anti-Robin Hood hero who robs the poor and gives to the rich, vilifies anyone who dares to disagree with him and surrounds himself with corrupt sycophants who proudly enable him to divide and destroy our democracy by their complacency and complicity.
How much will the rest of us have lost when this dysfunctional, dystopian fairy tale finally ends?
3
Trump supporters are a coalition of the greedy, the ignorant, and the mean-spirited.
3
That Trump - at least to his base - is a kind of folk hero is pretty clear. I think, however, a closer model than Br'er Rabbit and Monkey King who, even with their frailties, have a fundamental decency, is another figure, Abner Snopes, the father from Faulkner's short story, "Barn Burning" Snopes, a tenant farmer and an embodiment of class rage and anger, has been run out of counties elsewhere for barn burning. When he goes to his next wealthy landlord's home to talk terms, he is asked to wipe his feet before entering. Instead he deliberately steps in excrement and ruins a valuable rug, instigating a chain of events, leading him to try to burn the landlord's barn.
It is not, I think, a belief in the essential, if buried, decency of the folk hero that attracts Trump's followers to him. Neither is it the - in many ways - legitimate class anger, although that is a factor. Rather, I think, it is that Trump, like Snopes, will deliberately provoke, will walk in the excrement, because Trump and his true believers, like Abner Snopes, are motivated by malice and finally really just want to burn the barn.
250
@tomg
That is a brilliant association. Br'er Rabbit cleverly skewers his enemies by outwitting them; with nothing but his wits he slays those who think they have all the power. Br'er Rabbit symbolizes ingenious resistance to oppression. What do you do when you don't have the brute force to fight your oppressor? You trick them into undermining themselves.
Trump walks in manure and wipes his filthy shoes on the White House rugs.
43
@tomg Very perceptive comments. Many of The Con Don's faithful support him because he hates (or at least bashes) the same people or groups that they hate. There are many people in this country who, as you say, are motivated by malice. No other motive than to just make things hard for other people or to say hateful things about others.
But what does this say about our country? We all want to think well of this great country and its people. But about 35% are avid supporters of a president who incites malice and division. And what about the religious groups which support him because they think that he furthers their religious goals. I think that our elected leaders reflect the people who elect them. It is not a pretty picture is it.
43
@tomg: Trump has no fundamental decency, thus he and his is beyond preserving or being granted leniency.
11
Well, now you know how the Mondale felt in 1984, Dole in 1996, and how Romny felt in 2012.
2
The disruptive rascal who thumbs his nose at perceived authority is classic Hollywood archetype and cracker barrel topic of legendary prowess at making them stuck up blue bloods take notice of real folk....yikes.....we are in trouble ....it could work again and the fever may not break.....
3
Ben Franklin wrote: "We are all born ignorant, but we must work hard to remain stupid."
I think any person, whether s/he be Democrat or Republican, who votes against his/her self-interests, who supports politicians like Trump because he "sticks it to the man," who worships a liar and a con man - any person who does that is pretty stupid.
It's one thing to be a gadzillionaire and back Trump because his policies are putting millions and millions of dollars into your pocket, but the folks at his rallies? The ones with the MAGA hats who rant "Lock her up" and scream their undying support of this man?
I am reminded of the parable about the scorpion and the frog. Like the scorpion, Donald Trump cannot help who is he. It is his nature to lie and cheat. The millions of people who swear him undying fealty need to examine their almost psychotic need to be in love with a person who doesn't give a hoot about them.
4
Echoes of Huey Long.
Is the Monkey King running in 2020? Could be competition for Trump.
1
Louisiana is not the United States of America. This is a very weak analysis. Trump has shown that he is a very proud racist, a pernicious misogynist and has engaged in criminal or criminal- like behavior for forty years. He “won” the presidency by colluding with the Russians. This is not “ folksy” fun and games Mr. Blow. What’s at stake is the very life or death of our democracy and bringing your dear Mom in to present your case is not helpful.
2
And to some of us, Donald Trump is the final ascension and triumph of the mediocrities! The Gutter Has Come To Power!!!
3
Transparency on every facet of Trump's corrupt nature with clear black and white expose for all to see and except for his fanatical cult Trump can be reined in and perhaps defeated at the polls even with a booming stock market,
Maybe we'll just have to hope that enough people grow up by 2020 that we won't have to endure years more of rule by a Monkey King.
Mr. Blow,
This is not news to me. It was clear on Day One. American Carnage. You hint at the future of this guy, but for some reason you don't follow through. You know what happens. You are clearly familiar with the history of his type. You know well that history is replete with characters just like him.
Something goes wrong. Not a big thing, but a small event, and suddenly the thin ice cracks, and then the cracks become the freezing river. People begin to drown. As they struggle to survive they can't blame themselves for their creation. They blame their creation. They grow distant and sullen. Then angry. The anger overwhelms them until the clown and his sycophants end up metaphorically and sometimes literally, like IL Duce, hanging upside down along with his mistress, strung up by their heels in a filthy gas station, unrecognizable. The mob becomes a crowd and the crowd goes home. They have killed their creation, and by doing so have severed any link to themselves. In the depths of their soul have they done some kind of penance? I doubt it. But I don't really know.
2
I think the best possible answer to Trump in 2020 is a misinformation campaign aimed at his base.....just like the Russians did with Hillary....telling his base that he has the election sewn up that his poll umbers are incredible and that he will be a shoo in for the next 4 years. Hopefully, then, his people will be too lazy to go out and vote, thinking he has it in the bag.
2
The president isn’t a legend, but he’s doing what most of us elected him to do and that is to secure the borders of this great country because before it becomes another Third World trashcan.
No country allows tens of thousands of undocumented people into it, why would we, and what is the motivation of those who would do so ?
Democratic votes, that’s the simple answer
4
I'm not convinced it's the folk hero draw in all his base. I'm 76 and a classmate of mine sends out emails with attachments that place Trump in a more spiritual and patriotic character. Not some bull in the china shop breaking up the establishment.
I'm afraid his base has gone way beyond folk hero to something bordering spiritual or even God like. So we better get out there and vote in 2020.
2
So too was, Hitler, a folk hero to Germans. It took a World War to undo his legend and there are still those who worship the death and destruction he wrought upon the World. Let us hope that one election cycle (or an impeachment) and will undo the legend of Donald J. Trump.
4
"Anti-Trump forces must stop operating as if they are doing battle with a liar;"
No we don't. We don't have to convince his credulous, naive, mob mentality throngs of anything. They are beyond convincing as your portrayal of their fictional antihero indicates. This is the same mentality that came to find Hitler a pretty convincing guy.
There's the famous New Yorker cartoon of sheep in a field with a billboard of a Wolf as a candidate quoting him saying "I am going to eat you" and one sheep telling the other "He tells it like it is."
If Trump's Pied Piper act lures all those people to follow him on his path leading the country over the cliff, that doesn't mean we have to give them any credibility. They are fools.
There is a solid majority in this country that repudiates every ugly, imbecilic, demented action of Trump and are ready to man the barricades in an existential fight to reclaim the liberal democracy that men for centuries have mutually pledged to each other their Lives, their Fortunes, and their Sacred Honor,”
These Trump people deserve all the respect due to anyone who admires a man who revels in bigotry, white supremacy, racism, demagoguery, crude, vulgar demeaning of the office of the president and disrespect toward dead veterans: None.
Liberal democracy is something worth fighting for; we have been complacent and passive taking our future for granted.
It's time to stand up and with all one's strength do every thing in our power to reclaim our inheritance.
2
"He is the misbehaving child who only needs a firm hand and a sense of purpose to come good"
So the *wisdom* of the American voters have given us this?
Whence cometh this adult with the firm hand to lend our spoiled self-absorbed brat that sense of purpose?
As is said (an adult Republican president - A. Lincoln - is supposed to have said it) you can fool some of the people all of the time. How true.
Shame on us.
Oh my, this column by Mr. Blow is a great disappointment to read. That he feels compelled to raise Donald Trump to "folk hero" status is quite shocking to me. Even alarming. Must the Times inflate Trump's importance so much? I don't think he's a folk hero at all, nor do the people I know who support him. They think of him as a bully and thug, but he's *their* bully and thug. And because they are angry people, they are pleased to have an angry person as president. But hero? No, they don't see him as that.
2
The reality is much simpler than your contrived, nonsensical explanation. Most people who voted for Trump did so because of his policies, not because the voters have a love affair with him. I voted for Trump because he promised to put conservative judges on the federal bench, promised to support legislation that would slow the left’s commitment to using abortion to stop millions of beating hearts, and promised to do something about the broken immigration system. That was it. No doubt lots of Hilary voters did exactly the same. Unlike your mother, you appear to have little grasp of how the world really is. But it’s a shame that she doesn’t understand that she and the religious conservatives whose social views she shares are far more alike than she and the leftist Democrats are.
Great article.
1
Characterizing Trump as a “Folk Hero” is a little over simplistic.
As New Yorkers, we all know of Trump’s journey from an “Outer Borough” (i.e., Queens) real estate businessman to an ostensibly successful (yet multiple bankruptcy ridden) real estate and casino career to being a Reality Show Star and of course now to the most improbable US Presidency.
Throughout this journey, Trump shrewdly established his “Personal Brand” as a “Celebrity” by being a proficient media manipulator (reportedly at one time, he used to pretend to be his own publicist) and a provocateur extraordinaire. He is a brazen, faux anti-establishment brawler full of braggadocio. Moreover, Trump is a tabloid star with a Playboy image and for being a “King of Kitsch” for his gold plated bathroom fixtures, personal planes with “Trump” name brightly emblazoned at the back yada yada yada. Notwithstanding the “Rich Celebrity” image, he maintains his common man image by eating cheeseburgers, well done steaks and of course cursing and trash talking.
We now have our “Shock Jock” President because people love notoriety. Essentially, Trump is a vulgarian who represents the Freudian “Id” our national psyche: all innate instinctive impulses (e.g., like 3 am trash tweets).
Trump is also a product of our media’s attempt to boost their ratings by discussing Trump endlessly. As an attention seeking person, Trump loves it and his myth grows as an anti establishment hero. It’s like a Presidential Reality Show 🙄
A scary scenario when a sizable portion of the population admires a bombastic con-man - an ignorant mendacious fool who would trash the planet for another billion in the Koch brothers war-chest.
All you can really do is wonder how we have come to such a sad circumstance.
3
Charles states, "How does one fight a fiction, a fantasy? That’s the question. Its answer is the path to America’s salvation." In my view, the solution is to starve the beast. Ninety-nine percent of everything that comes from Trump's mouth and tweets is useless garbage. All he ever tries to do is lock up the airwaves with his inane comments, misdirection, and gaslighting. And unfortunately the press enables him in this regard, because they cover in detail every waking moment of this guys pathetic existence. He uses the press as his megaphone to spew forth his garbage.
So the path to salvation is to cut him off; only report on things that are true and/or deemed to be of value for the population as a whole. Ignore his stupid rallies and the silly speeches he gives at conventions that amount to simple ramblings of a grifter.
Now some will argue that the press shouldn't filter this garbage, that that's not their job - just report what is being said. Well you have a choice, do you want to stop this guy in his tracks before he destroys everything in our country or do you want to put a muzzle on him and bring back some sanity to the discussion of issues that the American people yearn to address and discuss. I know how I would vote.
Mary Shelley wrote the original.
1
How many Trump voter are there in Atlantic City?
'Trump turned this place into a ghost town' ... “The smiling employees are still there, but Trump’s name has been scraped off... He’s tried to have his name removed from all his abandoned buildings here, but it’s still there if you look hard enough.”
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/apr/08/atlantic-city-trump-ghost-town-gambling-brian-rose-photographer
Yes, but Trump supporters still deserve a slap upside the head. I don't care if that includes your mother. This has gone way beyond cute. The survival of the planet depends on some leadership right about now.
How do you defeat a trickster? Don't American stories usually turn with the good people of the town showing up with pitchforks?
2
Mr. Blow, you make a very good point. I guess then, one way to beat Trump is to show that he has, in fact, betrayed his followers - handouts to the rich and a kick in the teeth to the poor. His vaunted "great economy" is nothing more than a mirage created by a trillion dollar tax cut to millionaires - and who is going to pay for the debt? The poor suckers who voted for him! Just like he does in his business dealings!
1
Ironic isn’t it that for decades Hollywood liberals glamorized folk hero’s in their excellent and thrilling movies and TV shows.
1
Every once in a while, Charles Blow says something really different. This is one of those times. Well done.
Brilliant, Charles Blow. One question: Is it okay if I start calling Mr. T the Monkey King to my Democratic friends? Oh, how I can not wait to tell the story behind this new alias for you-know-who.
I try to avoid talking to my husband's relatives and even close Republican acquaintances about Donald Trump. What is the point? Yet I can be standing there doing pretty much nothing other than being polite, and I will be tossed the bait to get my ire up. (By the way, I will either change the subject or feign the need for the rest room.) The unborn child is numero uno on my in-laws' list. And let me say that their leader walks on water...the new savior of the victimized. Give guns to the unhinged white guy? No problem. May lose their health care? They'll "get by." Same with the Wall people. My neighbor does not like Trump personally. But Donald is going to keep those "rapists and criminals" away from our sacred land....even the refugee kids do not deserve to be with their parents. America will "take care of them." That is what we are faced with. However, the laws of nature predict that nothing really remains exactly the same between mutations and evolution. But then again, Trumpism is not natural.
1
This is a perceptive piece by Charles Blow. One additional point seems important in understanding the Trump base - they are living vicariously. Oh what fun it would be to lie, cheat, insult anyone you don't like and be openly racist! He does it for them.
2
Dammit, Charles. You’re absolutely right.
I hadn’t thought of the relative ease that the voting electorate will vote for rascals when it suits their purposes.
I guess we all do it. It’s just that voting for Trump seems exceptionally egregious whatever one’s rationale.
There’s a symbiotic relationship between the iconic, mesmerizing Leader and his worshipping followers. Often, the connection is fear of the followers not to be a part of the tribe. There’s also the implied permission the Leader grants his physcophants to release their darkest, malevolent views. Trump is no Hitler, but the latter is the most recent example of the triumph of evil.
My concern: Trump loses re election and refuses to concede, encouraging his troops, biker gangs, the “good people” who marched against Jews, Blacks and anyone not a white Christian
to stop the deep state from dethroning him.
Not to mention that if he’s just an ordinary citizen after the next election, he faces at least one criminal indictment that’s not barred by the statute of limitations. Make America Cruel Again and let the flock worship outside Federal Prison and secretly celebrate his birthday well into the future.
Putin's puppet only has a minority of American voters.
This con artist is no folk hero, even to them.
He is a mean and soulless grifter.
Putin controls the election, not this minority.
Americans need to get out and let their voices be heard.
2
I agree with much of this, but there is another type of political figure that that comes even closer, in my estimation, to Trump's appeal.That is the charismatic dictator propped up by a state sponsored cult of personality: Stalin, Mao, and, yes, Hitler. They crafted a media landscape in which "they alone" could save the nation, in which (imaginary) existential threats had to be defeated, and only they were tough enough for the task (kulaks, imperialists, Jews). True, Trump hasn't murdered millions. And true, Fox News isn't officially a state media company, but in most other respect, the fit is pretty close.
1
Excellent analysis. What’s Trump says isn’t not as important as how he say something it - with his cocksure disdain for the fictitious Democrats who want open borders and free everything.
It’s not that his supporters don’t see that he’s a fatuous windbag, they just find him amusing. Everyone likes to watch while someone acts out their rude fantasies. Until they realize what’s he’s costing them, he’ll remain popular, and among idiots he’ll always be a hero.
1
Edwards once joked on the eve of one of his elections, “The only way I can lose this election is if I’m caught in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy.”
I think the red caps would even overlook those.
" ... convinced, by dint of history and experience, that the Republican Party not only abides racists, it courts them ..."
Convinced? It's absolutely, undeniably true. There's a reason when the Klan, David Duke, the alt-right, Alex Jones, Richard Spencer, Rush Limbaugh, Jared Spencer, Tucker Carlson, the Daily Stormer trolls, the murderous Charlottesville tiki-torch mob and the guy who shot up the Tree of Life Synagogue, and the Charleston church, and countless others, choose a party to support, they support the Republican Party and the right wing.
It's no accident. This is who they are. They're telling us and showing us.
1
Correction: Jared Taylor (not Spencer).
Folk hero might be too elastic a concept. The comment from Realist sounds more precise -- "champion" -- the base feels powerless and hopeless, so they turn to Trump in the hope he can win the battles they have lost. He seems powerful because of his confidence; many people are fooled by that. And to the point that he is not really the base's champion -- you forget these people are not that bright, and also they are deer in the headlights -- they feel too threatened to process the world rationally.
I'm glad so many commenters said "outvote the base." I hope everyone realizes, at the end of the day, we can only do that if all our votes go to the Dem nominee. It's the math, stupid.
A friend who grew up in Nazi Germany shared this story: his older brother and sister went to one of the great Nuremberg rallies in 1933 or 34. When they came back, his sister said, "Oh! This man Hitler--he's going to do great things for this country!" And his brother said, "He is a psychopath, and he's going to destroy this country." Is there a plausible explanation for siblings raised together to have such disparate opinions of the rhetor and the rhetoric? There are no demographic differences to point to in this case: race, economic status, upbringing, geography, and education were identical for this brother and sister. And because both men and women found Hitler a compelling leader, gender can't explain the divide. So, perhaps, as Blow suggests, it comes down to one's need for or acceptance of myth that suspends critical analysis for uncritical faith.
3
DJT is not and never will be a hero of any kind. He’s simply a puppet and mouthpiece for Steve Bannon, the Mercers and others who provided the platform.
1
I was thinking Trump was more like the Antichrist.
1
TRICKSTER VERSUS MESSIAH
The Monkey King is a trickster. Trump is not a trickster; he’s a cartoon messiah. The trickster and the messiah are actually opposites. The trickster breaks through sterility to open the world up to new possibilities, albeit with both positive and negative repercussions, and ends up expanding the world to something much greater than it was before—a place that can absorb all prior contradictions into a new unity. The messiah projects his shadow onto others and then demonizes them (Fake News! Crooked Hillary! Treasonous Mueller!) to become the heroic savior of the world, and ends up reducing the world to something much smaller than it was before—a place that divides the world into the simplistic dualism of good versus evil to be fought with salvation and damnation.
That Trump is not even a competent messiah figure shows just how desperate his followers actually are.
For more, read Lewis Hyde’s “Trickster Makes This World.”
3
He is no folk hero. Just a very naughty boy.
". . . we know that there is fundamental good within him." Hmmm. Somehow, I just don't get this Monkey King/Donald Trump analogy.
"How does one fight a fiction, a fantasy? That’s the question."
My answer is by showing that the folk hero is a fiction. Donald J. Trump is a fictional character modeled on Archie Bunker of "All in the Family." Both are prejudiced, racist, narrow-minded, and narcissistic.
Trump claims to be driven to erase Obamacare, but in reality he has not done such and through his tax cut, he has given Barack and Michelle a tax break as they are both high income earners. So much for being a champion for the little guy.
Trump is a fictional billionaire which his tax returns will show and his a poor business man. Trump is a fraud and examination will show that. There is no other reason for his hiding his financials.
Trump University was a fraud which he settled for $25 million.
If Trump supporters don't care, there is nothing that will change their minds. "Against stupidity, even the gods are powerless."
1
Well, I guess that it is good you are back Mr. Blow. You certainly have an audience. Although, really, why would anyone need to read your column. You have been ranting about Mr. Trump for two and a half years. No one is going to learn anything from reading your column that they haven't already heard from you about 150 times. And from other anti-Trump writers several hundred thousand times. Really. That is no exaggeration. There is a great big world outside of Don Trump. Would be nice to hear a little bit about it. You used to write informative columns.
Say what you want. Trump is the Monkey King.
You can use all your well learned politics. Trump is still the Monkey King.
CULT.
It's a cult.
Believe me, in KY, I've seen plenty of them. They are wild-eyed true believers who believe anything that comes out of his mouth.
1
I agree that Trump’s supporters ignore his cheating on his wife, his payoffs to porn stars, his incompetence, his bone spurs deferment, his disrespect for Sen McCain, his failure to stand up to Russia, China, Saudi Arabia and North Korea, his tweeting and his golfing, and the vulgarity he brings to the White House.
I still think his tax returns may be his Achilles heel. When people see how little he pays, and how little he gives others, many will start to realize he’s just another rich guy who’s not paying his fair share. And then they’ll know that for all his bluster, he’s not on their side after all.
1
@WestHartfordguy
I want to agree with you but I can't.
There is a point of no return, beyond which it becomes too shameful and painful to admit, even to yourself, that you have been had. Then you are in too deep and have to tough it out, continue believing with redoubled resolve.
I think the T-base is way, way past that point.
Let us hope your mama wakes up to the fact that her voting Democrat (the party of Jim Crow and the Klan in the South) is pure habit and that she actually has far more in common with Trump and populist Republicans than she knows.
Tell her about the #walkaway movement that's ballooning across the nation, black citizens who are coming to their senses. Tell her that Abe Lincoln was a Republican. She probably thinks he was a Democrat.
Yes, Mr. Blow, but there is a simpler explanation. Trump supporters like him because he stands up, screams bloody murder, and raises his middle finger into the faces of the libs. They can't do it -- they might get fired, or one of those wimpy liberals might up and punch 'em in the nozzle. Trump is their surrogate.
Waiting for the Lonesome Rhodes moment when the barely veiled contempt that Trump feels for his base (and most everyone else) is finally exposed, as it did in the film A Face in the Crowd.
President Trump is a genius. He is Machiavelli with a red neck tie. And we under-estimate him at our peril.
He has tapped into undercurrents that are present in the American psyche and convinced half the population to vote for him even when it is against their own self interest.
We have analyzed Trump ad infinitum. The true question is: How to Defeat Him?
I live in a purple state that could very well decide the 2020 election. I do not hear anything from the current crop of Democratic candidates that gives me any confidence. I do not know what planet they inhabit, but it is not one with which I am familiar.
Trump's desultory path through American politics leads people to believe he doesn't really plan ahead. He routinely contradicts himself in the next sentence. His policies seem like impulse, tweeted out with no apparent connection to an overall world view.
And yet, he took great care to install his personal tax attorney, Michael J. Desmond, as IRS Counsel shortly after Democrats took the House. Donald even asked the Senate to confirm him ahead of AG Barr, which they did.
Donald had the foresight to protect his tax profile several months in advance of the actual House request.
He likes to pretend he's just flying by the seat of his pants, but I think we are being played.
2
Dear Mr. Blow. Thank you for your piece. Perhaps we should rephrase, for the purposes of discussion, what we are up against. I don’t like to use the term lightly, but we are against a phenomenon of evil in some form. The corruption, the breaking of norms, the breaking of law, the coverups of those activities, these are not the actions of upright and honest persons. We can see it in daily news reports. It is right in front of us, as Jake Tapper of CNN said. We do not need the Mueller report in order to begin the process of curbing this president and his outsize ego. The report’s release can come later. But the evidence stares us right in our eyes; we remain willfully blind. Since the president won’t do it, it falls upon we the people to seek the affirmation of law, protect the Constitution, and defend our republic and democracy and insist on equal rights for all. Yes, it is coming to that—-now; today. The US is still the world’s last best hope of democracy in the world. The threat is not migrants, nor Islam, nor the other issues Trump rails against: it is us and our own fearful selves. I pray we haven’t fatally lost our way.
2
This Opinion has elicited many thoughtful comments. It is worthwhile to read them, too. So far, I haven't seen any of them referring to Mayor Pete Buttigieg. He may be one of the answers to Blow's crucial question concerning the so-called 'folk hero' Trump: 'How does one fight a fiction, a fantasy? Buttigieg, an unknown, has raked in a lot of support in donations and public interest. Directly, simply and with personal authority, he has confronted his tricky bio, which includes being a homosexual, 37 years old and the mayor of a small city in Indiana. Whatever the success of his candidacy, Buttigieg's experiences in the military, in government and his straight forward candor contrast effectively with Trump's fictions, fantasies and fakery.
4
This is an interesting and I think accurate way of viewing the support for the current resident of 1600 PA ave. I would add that many of his followers view him not just as simply a man, but as some bizarre messenger from God. The folk hero status of Bonnie and Clyde, El Chapo, Dillinger, et al. is well known. What is also well known, but conveniently forgotten, is their inevitable date with justice. This false, folk prophet will meet the same fate.
3
Wall Street voted for Trump, not because he was their folk hero, but because they knew tax cuts would be coming. Trump's base voted for him because he was anti-establishment and they wanted to get Washington's attention. Democrats should learn from that.
3
The answer to the pure id of the folk hero whom the dispossessed ”volk” revere is to restore their human right to agency with respect to the powers who deny that right.
The reverence of the powerless for the folk hero who does to the powerful what they cannot do themselves only ceases when the People again become invested in the power structure that has ignored and dehumanized them.
Robin Hood, Bonny and Clyde, Thelma and Louise, and countless others cease to be necessary when the People themselves can speak their truth to the powerful and are valudated by being heard.
3
I think many people voted for Trump because he told it like it is for the most part. We saw a disruptor, someone who could upend Washington DC politics. And he did. But many of us also thought that once Mr Trump won the Presidency, that the weight and importance of the office would tone down his antics and he would act more Presidential. Boy, was that a wrong assumption. It is for this reason that I think Mr Trump has an uphill battle for re-election. Americans are hungry for change. I sincerely hope the Democrats don’t make the same mistake they made in 2016 and field an establishment candidate would instead of one who promotes radical change.
5
The answer was shown to us in the elections of 2017 and 2018, and it's simple: Get out the vote!
Fight voter restriction and all the dirty tricks Republicans play to keep Democrats from voting, whether it is secretly purging voter rolls and not telling the voters, to absurdly restrictive voter ID laws, to moving polling places to unreachable locations, to closing ALL the DMV offices in minority-majority districts.
The 41% will vote for Trump even if he IS found with a live boy and a dead girl. To them he's God-sent to fight the "evil, Satanic" Democrats and can do no wrong. So don't waste time on them.
Over 93 million eligible voters didn't vote in 2016, far more than either candidate received. And only once in our history did a candidate win a majority of the votes cast and not become President, but that was due to the weird mechanations of our most corrupted election prior to 2016, in 1876 when Tilden won 52% of the votes counted.
If a Democrat can win 52% of the popular vote, or more, it is nearly impossible for the Electoral College to re-elect Trump.
However, if the 3 "Blue Wall" states that fell can be reversed, and all-out efforts made in Texas and Florida, winning at least one of those two, plus efforts made to flip Georgia and North Carolina, another Blue Wave can take back both the White House and Senate, while holding the House.
1
Far, far too much has been made of trying to interpret Trump and his very modest, Electoral College victory of 2016. People see and hear the noise coming out of his White House and, having previously decided to support him. take the noise as direct proof, "He's fighting for us!".
Obama was a quiet president who was unable to take command of the media and the narrative of his presidency, Trump spends ALL of his time trying to control the narrative not just of his presidency, but our times. The major media play right into his hands constantly playing up everything he says and does. To the public, the noises makes it seem like Trump is actually doing something.
Trump's support is emotional, not logical. You can't argue with emotions. It's a waste of time. As matters move forward, many people will see that not only has Trump not done what he said he would do, he has consistently attacked the interests of millions who voted for him. When will the realization come? Bit by bit the walls of obfuscation will come down over time. Rest assured.
2
@Doug Terry
I wish I could be as sanguine as you, but I'm not. Emotion has prevailed over rationality so far, despite countless instances where it shouldn't have, and I don't see what's going to make people suddenly see the light, at least in time for the election.
1
@Doug Terry, You say:
"Trump's support is emotional, not logical. You can't argue with emotions. It's a waste of time. " I disagree.
Democrats need to be more emotional to win...
I suggest Democrats have idea contests to win in 2020.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Here are some of my own suggestions for winning:
1) Try to show that history is on the side of democracy.
2) Use Leonard Cohen's "Democracy" song to suggest a new democratic wave, in response to Trump's insane dictatorship.
(He sang, "Democracy is coming to the USA" in 1992).
3) Mock Trump with simple gestures, such as his OK sign.
4) Show that Democratic candidates can also be interesting, on a daily basis, with humor and Tweets, etc.
5) Find emotional ways to explain policies to ordinary folks.
I wonder what C. Blow thinks about any of these ideas.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
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@Harry Pearle Thanks for your thoughtful comment.
Yes, you can fight emotions with other emotions but I am hoping the Democrats and whoever else opposes Trump locks those emotions to real, actual policies to improve the lives of millions of citizens.
The biggest weapon would be to get people to laugh at Trump during the next election. Right now, when he has control of the nuclear codes, laughter is difficult and might be dangerous.
I am visiting Las Vegas at the moment. On the way to the airport yesterday I listened to an old Neil Diamond song (forgive me). It is called Coming to America and is a rousing call for people around the world who want to come here or have come here to make a better life for themselves. We can't take everyone who would like to come but the point is there are so many positive things about our nation, our people and our potential that both voters both need to hear another messages and they will get tired of all the attacks and constant criticism.
In Trump's world, there is nothing good to say except as an afterthought, "And some of them, I assume, are very good people." Gee thanks. If negatvity were a governing style, he'd be number 1 with a star by his name.
Trump is following the dictator's playbook: racial hater-mongering, xenophobia, complete disregard for the law, attacking the media as liars for reporting the truth. There is nothing new here it has all been tried and done before. Some call it populism..in this case neo-fascism is more appropriate.
The Anne Frank Center has even openly compared Trump's behavior to that of Adolf Hitler. They ought to know. The Republican leadership bears full responsibility for supporting Trump in his boundless efforts to deconstruct American democracy and defile all that American's have fought and died for. If all of these extremists are not thrown from office ..It can happen here!!
7
It's not rocket science, Charles. The one who fights my enemy is my friend. Trump fights the progressive spirit in science, human rights, climate change, political correctness, immigration, higher education etc.., and his base finds comfort in that. Those are their enemies. So he is their friend.
6
Most of my religious republican friends speak of Trump as a criss between Geirge Washington and Jesus. I see numerous depictions of Trump in revolutionary war garb wuth a halo like light about his head. There is no nore heroic picture in any museum. Just slightly short of the second coming
And like the bible they think Trump speaks only the noble truth, sometime via educational parable rather than objective truth. Like the bible his truth is not to be disbelieved. It is god’s word
The idea that he has been chosen by god to save America is broadly held. He will win in 2020–and 2024
2
I know many folks who voted for Trump who personally dislike him. The reason they voted for him was that they found the identity politics of Hillary even more disagreeable. Democrats regained the House by electing moderates. I fear, however, that if the litmus test for gaining the Democrat nomination is to lurch to the extreme left - i.e. abolishing ICE and private health insurance, reparations, free everything for everybody - those same voters will hold their noses and vote for Trump. And as I could never vote for him I understand perfectly well why others - who have no other way to say "no" to the extreme leftist agenda - could.
15
@John J. Free everything for everybody...there has been nothing of the sort proposed.
That said, that people want to flush the entire country down the toilet because of "identity politics" is laughable. The most successful purveyor of identity politics is the current occupant of the White House.
When folks are that ignorant, we get what they deserve.
1
@Victoria Bitter
These folks are informed of the views of the left by Sean and Jeanine.
This is an extremely important article. No matter what his opponents do, Trump seems bullet proof.
Tax returns won’t change anyone of his supporters minds. Affairs won’t.
But, running against the Republican Party and what it stands for is Trump’s Achilles heel. Focusing on that will be more productive than trying to make him look bad personally.
9
We will never convince those who put trump in the folk hero status that he is bad for their health or future. Like in a TV show where they parade poor souls across the stage to chants his rallies parade a list of lock em ups and ban thems, only the chants are trump trump instead of Jerry Jerry. The fist pumping and chanting are the same but trump uses real pain. No we can't take them out of their thrall to their folk hero. All we can do is make him exit the stage by numbers, by voting with more numbers. Only once he's permanently gone from their view can we hope to get their attention, at least some of them. Some will just wonder aimlessly looking for the next charlatan to make a folk hero out of.
5
Plainly put, Trump has portrayed himself as the new sheriff in town, come to protect his people from the thieves who intend to take all their stuff, and then drive them out into the badlands where they're unlikely to survive. That the sheriff is a lawbreaker himself only makes him more colorful and able to identify a thief when he sees one.
The Democratic candidate who understands and addresses these fears will stand the best chance of turning these frightened folk away from the worst thief of all: the man they pinned the badge on.
7
I love this column, Charles Blow, partially because I went "away" to college in Louisiana and lived there for eight impressionable years and loved reading about the state's prediliction to elect populist "hero" candidates like Huey Long and Edwin Edwards. The quibble I have with the Trump / Edwards comparison is that Edwards truly was a "man of the people." Louisiana voters forgave him and his personality flaws because he was likeable. He was a grifter and a con man but he owned up to it. That made it "okay." Trump is the exact opposite of Edwards. He doesn't really like people. He is not at all transparent. His lies cover a corruption of both his business practices (surely his refusal to release his taxes will only be settled by the Supreme Court.....here's looking at YOU John Roberts!....) and his moral corruption as a person. Louisiana survived Edwards because ultimately he loved his state and people there knew it. We cannot say the same about our prrsident. And the utter shame of his presidency is that his base refuses to acknowkedge they've been conned.
7
You do your mother a big disservice Charles, by presuming she might have supported a criminal like Trump. Trump's supporters are not supporting him as a rascally folk hero with good hidden somewhere deep inside him. What they are supporting are his attitudes, policies and life style, all of which they admire, envy and wish they could imitate. The man railing against the migrants on on our border and cheating on his taxes is no folk hero and the people who are cheering him on know it.
5
Who admires criminals? Other criminals, and wannabes. They admire what they want to be. This adoration is self-adoration, attached to an image. It's like worshipping a billboard. The image must fail for the worship to stop.
2
Charles, please. He's no folk hero, even to his base. He's a t.v. star/con-man who made his dynamic by firing people on a preposterous, nearly unwatchable nonsense show. The people who worship him are the same people who think The Apprentice, a show wherein a host of "contestants" get summarily dismissed, is terrific viewing. To what or whom, exactly, was the winner an apprentice? To a con-man grifter who stiffs people and goes bankrupt five or six times.
6
“How does one fight a fiction or a fantasy?”
Perhaps with a better fiction/fantasy.
5
Here's the difference. Edwards did good for Louisiana. Yes, he was a crook (even bumper stickers read Vote for the Crook) but Louisiana thrived under him and he loved his state. Trump has only benefited himself and his wealthy pals. None of his policies physically help his supporters, unless you consider a hate fest ("lock her up!" "build the wall!" ) chicken soup for their souls. Which I doubt.
4
Trump is wrong.
Charles is right.
The country slips farther into totalitarian rule.
3
Mr. Blow. I got to the point where you agree, (with yourself) that Trump supporter's blind loyalty to the "folk" hero causes them, (me), to lose all connection to reality (or worse). Thanks, but no thanks.
1
I can't help but recall the "Star Trek" episode when the ship was inhabited by a strange force. It appeared as a sparkle, and wreaked havoc. It derived its energy from fear. Capt. Kirk ultimately realized that the only way to fight this force was with laughter. The crew humiliated the sparkle with laughter, and it quickly died.
We must battle Trump in the same way. Humiliation is his greatest weakness.
7
Like pointing out that the emperor is, in fact, naked.
Trump spent over three decades closely involved with professional wrestling: https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-donald-trump-wrestling-presidency-20170828-story.html . He jumped into the ring and performed all sorts of antics. It was apparent before his presidency that he loved the theater of it all. Does this push him into the ranks of other folk heros? Maybe. It shows the destructive force of some national mythologies and it shows the power of comic books.
From wrestling to the UFC bouts that he hosted, he has always been involved as ring-master. I still have trouble blaming him; I blame the American people who constitute his base, who love the show. I blame Republicans in our nation who will ignore these antics and go along for the sake of lower taxes for the wealthy, guns of every sort on every street, and stripping women of their ability to choose.
5
If Mr. Blow is right we then need to focus less on the legend and more on audience. To that end let me submit my horror at the applause he received at the Republican Jewish Conference in California. As a Jew, as each Passover approaches my Rabis have spoken time and again about the lessons we must learn from the Passover story. The most significant I am told is the lesson we must never forget, that we ALL were slaves in Egypt once. The Haggadah doesn't differentiate between Jews and gentiles, is speaks of ALL of us. It's inclusive. We are reminded that we ALL fled, murder, oppression, rape, and degradation.
So when the President went on and on about how there was no room, we are out of space for all those fleeing the same things the Haggadah speaks of during our Passover service I was appalled by the applause. How could some of my fellow Jews, especially this time of year, be so heartless, be so forgetting of their own history. It seems those once enslaved have now turned in to the taskmasters. Shame on them for forgetting so quickly. What a shanda.
10
While reading this apt analysis, I was reminded of the creepy pseudo religious art promoting Trump in memes, photographs, and sometimes on canvas.
A folk hero? Yes. Idolatry is another term that fits.
4
What Trump did was use his false self-made wealth and independence to convince an aging middle class, who had been fleeced by the Republicans, that he had their backs. He claimed that with the knowledge he did not have that he could do things he had no idea about and that was enough to convince the uninformed voter that only he could fix what they saw was a mess created by crooked politicians who catered to dregs of society at their expense. Now he is saying he is still the man they voted for but is hindered by his enemies. Now he is saying, vote for me again and together, with the power you give me, we will rid the country of our enemies, hire loyal people who will properly carry out my dictates, and together will make the middle class wealthy again. Don't be fooled, this want-a-be dictator is not Robin Hood in disguise, he is a con-man who will take you to the cleaners.
2
Marvelous piece, Charles Blow. You really nailed it.
I would also add Billy The Kid to your list.
2
Trump is a carnival con man, but he’s not working alone. His con of the aging, working population is materially assisted by Fox, local right-wing radio, and online purveyors of rightist absolutism. Without these support systems, he would not have the sway he currently does, and his core of supporters would be smaller.
Still, even with these media mavens yelling their faces red, he has never climbed above a 45% approval rating since 20 minutes after his inauguration. (See https://fivethirtyeight.com/) He may have achieved folk status for the shows he puts on for the minority of voters, but most people are not buying the schtick. Since March 2017, a majority of Americans have consistently disapproved of Trump. (Op. cit.)
Perhaps sticking with facts that are demonstrable is a better way to counter him.
5
Charles is right to use the term cult. I've been saying that the 35% who will stay with him regardless are under some mind control. They must defend and protect the cult leader. We'd be wise to seek out ideas from those who've been in cults and who bring people out of cults as to how to work with those who fall into the hands of such a person. Just ridding him from the White House is not enough. That 35% will yearn for another leader in power and at some point we'll have another 2016 election.
2
I am glad to see that Blow has finally figured it out. The folk hero relates to people regardless of their affiliation. The attack articles only strengthen the base. Unfortunately, the current Democratic, cast of thousands, of hopefuls do not have a clue. Four more years of chaos is inevitable if a Democratic candidate that can relate does not step forward.
1
The writer has it backwards. People like Trump's Presidency because he is not beholden to the cults that have been running the country.
2
I am not sure Trump is a 'folk hero' so much as he is a cartoon character.
For all of his incompetence, he has nurtured and curated his public persona impeccably. His supporters seem unable to discern the difference between what Trump is and what he wants to be seen as.
3
Excellent Mr Blow, very perceptive and seemingly correct.
See the link from Wikipedia leading to a rather long list of folk heroes, from past to present.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_folk_heroes
They are of different types and characteristics and it is hard to generalize about them, but the analysis in the op-ed here fits.
2
Mr. Blow,your comments are perhaps the best explanation of Trump I have heard, but the fact that, knowing this he was elected and may be re-elected is horrifying. When a large part of the electorate simply doesn't care, it may mean the end of the United States we knew.
"Those whom the Gods would destroy, the first make mad.
4
I agree with your last paragraph Mr. Blow. Trump is a ego maniac, rabble rousing demagogue.
The lure of a person like that has been strong throughout history from the first one Alcibiades in classical Greece to one of the last Chavez in Venz.
The way you defeat them is not to do what the Hillary wing (and your wing) did in the last election, ie run a identity obsessed, never met a war, Wall Street banker, trade agreement, elect me president because I am a woman and condemn present day men for five million yrs. of existence.
If you do that in 2020, you will give Trump the best chances of re election.
Nominate a candidate, male, female, back, white, young, old that can address the issues that Trump demagogued like immigration, loss of blue collar jobs etc. but still maintain progressive values.
You want an example of that? Pres. Obama.
He served two terms and Hillary was beaten by an ego maniac demagogue and relegated to the dust heap of history, exactly the wrong candidate at the wrong time,
4
Well put! I have often said that Louisiana voters expect their politicians to be corrupt, they only ask to be entertained in return. Edwards followed Huey and Earl Long as lovable rogues. The tragedy, of course, is in the end their supporters are the ones who are bilked.
1
Mr Blow is correct in observing that the "folk hero" model is universally valid from the bayous of Louisiana to the sources of the Yangtze, but misses the more interesting point, which is that the much-maligned Chinese media have liberally celebrated Brenton Harrison Tarrant, while the allegedly "free" Western media find both his manifesto and his video blocked.
This is a typical comment:
“This is a rare act of resistance from a white man. We need to find a way to prolong this and encourage white men to apply for all kinds of honors for the gunman, including a Nobel peace prize.”
https://qz.com/1575028/new-zealand-shooter-finds-fans-in-islamophobic-corners-of-chinas-internet/
So much for freedom of speech in the West - so thank you, China!
1
Mr. Blow, this piece appeals to your liberal, progressive base. Taint so.....
The election of 2016 was a rejection of the left’s
program: economic redistributionism, pseudo-egalitarianism, a total disregard for what is constitutional and a near-total ignorance of what is not, open borders, a worship of everything that is not western and a loathing of everything, a desire to have a third world majority in the United States, the contention that confiscatory taxation for social programs is the innate right of government, and deafening the populace with endless cries for economic, social, and cultural, and gender equality....and, of course, diversity.
The left should have expected that a lot of people were nauseated, but it continues with increased fervor.
Incidentally, if the votes of welfare recipients were subtracted from Mrs. Clinton’s total, what would the
percentages have been?
Trump’s persona and showmanship are interesting,
but what got him elected and what will get him re-elected is a huge and visceral anger toward the overreach of the left.
3
@J.Jones
This is what happens when you drink too much coffee and have too much time on your hands.
1
@J.Jones
It sounds to me as though you think you should be living in the wild west, with no government and not a care in the world for your neighbours or the rest of the world. But you live in society, and government and the social programs that come with it are needed to keep things running. How else do you have roads, for instance?
And what on Earth is wrong with "cries for economic, social, and cultural, and gender equality....and, of course, diversity?' These are all laudable goals.
1
Folk "legend," but Trump is no hero. The poison he spreads becomes more toxic by the day. He is an arsonist, hate is his gasoline, and we are the kindling.
2
Many of the tyrants of the 20th century also had folk hero status . Trump is also helped by a tendency of the mainstream media and even his opponents to call him out . We are afraid to look reality in the face and absorb how dangerous this man is . An example is the reticence to talk about his mental heath and historical parallels with Fascism and Nazism . Yet , not for lack of trying , he is not going to destroy our Democracy . There are two reasons for this . The first is the strength of our institutions . The second are his own shortcomings like his lack of intelligence and bizarre unhinged behavior . He will pass into History as an aberration .
1
I once thought of our Quisling president as an aberration, an occasionally possible unavoidable negative aspect of living in a democracy. Simply get most of the fools on your side and you’ll get elected an incompetent leader. However, in most cases the voters soon figure out they have elected a loser, but in the worse cases only after these pretend leaders aided by their fifth columns have done great harm. However, now to my assessment I have added that our current Bizarro president actually lives in an alternate Kafkaesque universe. A universe which he, and he alone can run to his liking and profit. One where wrong is right and hate and lies conquer all and ignorance rules. When, as is now occurring, true expertise, science and an understanding of the vulnerability of our world to human exploitation goes unappreciated; it will cost us all,fools, elites, smarties and dummies dearly, and none of our many deities will save us. 2020, 2020 , 2020 or kiss it all goodbye.
5
"Anti-Trump forces must stop operating as if they are doing battle with a liar; they are doing battle with what his supporters have fashioned into a legend. How does one fight a fiction, a fantasy? That’s the question. Its answer is the path to America’s salvation."
I think the answer is to stop fighting the legend. Stop talking impeachment, stop talking traitor, stop taking about all his hideous attributes. Instead, talk about what he's not doing for people - the tax cut that wasn't, for example. Talk about what a Democrat (generic here) can do.
4
Charles -
Trump's supporters are not like most folks, they are seriously deranged ideologues and quite dangerous.
I'm positive that those people in the seats at Trump's rallies are in accordance with the highest percentage of possible sociopaths at one gathering.
Take a closer look.
3
There is a difference between a lovable rogue and a rogue. Donald Trump is not a bad boy with a heart of gold. To judge him by his actions he has no heart. To judge him by his words he is a racist, a xenophobe, and a bigot. The danger to our democracy is not that his followers tolerate his bad behavior, but that they relish it. Trump is not their bigger-than-life legend; he is their role model.
4
Hard for me to wrap my head around the idea of folk hero yet I must. The takeaway from this article is don’t obsess over Trump for his cult will dig in deeper.
A folk hero to the followers but let’s not forget he still needs more than 40% (his base) to be re-elected. Dems have the numbers on their side. Just put a dynamic duo ticket together and speak to us.
Use the term the other side or opponent when highlighting policy differences. Never use the word Trump as a noun or verb. Stop using the word Trump altogether. Starve the beast!
4
Your description of Mr. Trump as a folk hero is no doubt true and there have been many less law abiding folk heroes in our history.
The big difference between those folk heroes and Mr. Trump is that he is trying to dismantle our democracy with all his antics. There is no way that he should be either allowed or be encouraged to do that. He is neither a mythological being, nor a Brer Rabbit like character. He is a threat to our democracy.
That should never be forgotten.
1
I always look forward to reading Mr Blow and listening to him on Don Lemmon's CNN nightly program. The element left out of this analysis is the simple fact of "Entertainment". His followers attend his religious rallies to be entertained by seeing Trump perform and con them into thinking he's one of them.
I come from that crowd but long ago opted for trying to think rationally about what I'm being told especially from politicians. All this wishful thinking that somehow, someway, you can convert these True Believers to seeing through Trump's lies and con jobs is a waste of time.
2
@Gert
Remember "Elmer Gantry"?
I understand all the reasoning in this writing and I always find Mr Blow an exceptional commentator right to the point. But I take exception this time around.
There is one thing missing in his analyses because as often: love for ones own life giver has a bind spot, most always does, and here is overlooking a fatal flaw and this is "intelligence" in the truest sense: open to the world and the inevitable changes, always curious to learn, never standing still even in old age, never judging but still in the deepest core knowing between right and wrong, decency and cruelty...
He might be a folk hero to these people, but they are also voters and El Chapo, John Dillinger & all never ended up being in charge of a whole country and "the leader of the "free" world" because of them. And, as never before, the US constitution failed utterly so far, in it's "check and balance" concept.
So, no, he might be a folk hero to his admirer but because of this minority this country is close to the abyss.
As a philosopher said: Even the Gods battle in vain against stupidity !
2
I love your notion that Trump is a member of the astral league of folk heroes. Keep up the good work. MAGA.
"Trump’s supporters don’t see his lying or corruption..."
You so blithely and reflexively accuse the President of corruption.
Yet, you have no idea what corruption he has practiced. You have no evidence of corruption. You have no evidence of a crime. Yet you continue on caterwauling.
And, after we just watched a multi-year circus act of Democrats making completely false charges in a corrupt plot to rig an election and when that didn't work, to attempt a coup. What could be more corrupt than that?
While the Liberal diehards seem to have included the logic vaccine in their health care regime, the rest of the country sees what is going on.
It is virtually impossible, at this point in time, for Democrats to accuse, without any evidence at all, others of corruption and be believed.
As the traitors that attempted to rig an election and then attempt a coup against a sitting President are brought to trial, the country will see clearly just who the corrupt ones are.
3
Trump began a legend - supposed self-made business genius (every word of which is false).
Now they’re trying to make him “Trump as Myth” - as godlike. Look at the Cabinet meetings where his toadies take turns - extolling the wondrous one, miracle maker, divine ruler which it is their greatest joy to serve - as in a temple.
If we can ever recover from this, that would be a miracle!
3
It is a little hard to accept a moral lesson about "America's salvation" from the mainstream press today, especially from columnists like Charles Blow.
For two-and-a-half years, Blow and the establishment he represents doggedly pursued a narrative about how an election was stolen from America. Yet throughout that period the press certainly knew that narrative was false. Probably 1000 reporters across the media spectrum worked full time for two years to uncover evidence of that collusion, and like Robert Mueller, found nothing. So they knew they were peddling a lie, yet continued to do so, no matter how much their actions ripped this nation apart, because they had arrogated to themselves the moral right to impose judgment on and depose a politician they detested, and who they believed America should detest also.
Mr. Blow, you have no moral standing to lecture America after that performance.
4
@Chuck French aka Hannity.
So, Charles, how do you beat a folk hero or demagogue? Any ideas, because that is what we need to do, definitively!
Becoming a folk hero worked for most of the great monsters of history, Napoleon for example. Still, the phrase that should be the undoing of Trump supporters, is "He's like us." Blow's article didn't engage that phrase.
@Michael Fried
But they’re right. Mr. Blow didn’t miss anything. He is like them. “He’s like us” isn’t going to be his undoing. They like being vulgar and not worrying about being politically correct. Just like him. Economic and cultural elites have no respect for him. His cult followers believe those elites have contempt for them, too. The elites don’t watch professional sports but Trump does, and so does the cult. The elites go to the opera and the ballet, and Trump doesn’t. Neither do many of his cult followers. Trump is a racist. 52% of his cult followers tell Pew that they think black people are either stupid or lazy. They, like their cult leader, are racists. So when they say, “He’s like us,“ they know exactly what they’re talking about. In all the important ways, he is like them. If he is also shafting them economically, they’ll close their eyes and ears. They don’t care about getting shafted because they’re angry, and he expresses their anger by being — yes, just like them.
This is an insightful column. Trump is a folk hero not despite his policies but BECAUSE OF his policies. NYT readers were so surprised by the 2016 election and still "don't get it."
The "racist" tag just won't stick. I have been a strong supporter of civil rights for blacks since 1964. I did not vote for Trump. Trump's support has nothing to do with racism or with "white" nationalism. What Dems call white nationalism is more accurately described as majorities resenting attacks on their Country and culture-nothing to do with race. Trump won and is gaining ground with middle class whites, blacks and hispanics because:
-the corrupt Clintons had exceeded their "15 minutes of fame" and stayed too long at the fair;
-broadside attacks by Dems on the Country the middle classes of all races love, because it has been good to them;
-the failure of both parties to enfore the borders;
-the hollowing out of our industrial states;
-the lack of respect by Coastal elites for the heartland;
-the stupid Iran deal; and
-the stupid Paris Climate Change deal.
Not much has changed. To win in 2020, the Dems must:
1. nominate Buttigieg or Klobachar;
2. support the re-industrialization of our Country; and
3. emphasize border security.
If Dems do not change their tune on border security, nothing else will matter-just look at Europe if you don't believe that.
2
One major category of folk hero is the defender of the common people against the oppression or corruption of the established power structure. Members of this category of folk hero often, but not necessarily, live outside the law in some way. --Wikipedia
Thanks for this article, Mr. Blow. Your personal story regarding your momma gave me pause. My father who voted every year until his death voted for Trump. Not because he wanted to make America Great Again but because Trump was a man. He was not . "that woman."
2
The answer to your question is spelled out earlier in your article: when (not if) the base learns that Trump is betraying them, they will turn on him. Edwards kept winning not just because he was popular but because he really did make people's lives better. Trump just makes them worse, and some of them (soybrean farmers, for starters) are starting to carch on.
Edwards was never cruel, either. Trump is, and while we love a rake, we detest a bully.
2
The article is correct but doesn’t explain WHY Trump is a cult figure. What I keep hearing over and over again from acquaintances who are Trumpians, even well educated ones, is the issue with “political correctness” gone amuck in the country. They finally feel like they no longer have to be ashamed when the culture is constantly trying to shame them for the country’s past, or for thinking things you are not supposed to think. Trump gives them permission. It’s like a marriage gone sour when one party tries to bring the other party into compliance by making them feel bad. It doesn’t ever work. Trump has unleashed these people and no amount of trying to reason with them will ever work.
2
The direction we are headed in is Oligarchic Fascism. As the pattern of decline of all previous great civilizations before, we are witnessing the rise of the Kakistocracy. Many people are getting very comfortable with the discarding of civility in our politics and our daily interactions with our fellow citizens. Anyone thinking that this country is immune to the horrors and atrocities we've seen perpetrated in other parts of the world isn't paying very close attention.
3
Sadly, this article is inaccurate. Trump's supporters actually like what the President has achieved - ie tax reform, bringing the issue of immigration to the forefront, standing up for our greatest ally - Israel, a thriving economy with low unemployment, and nominating two conservative supreme court justices. Yes, Trump is vile, inflammatory and may be a crook but that isn't of upmost importance to his supporters. Obama is a righteous man but policy wise, he was disastrous and one such example is Syria. Trump, while unrighteous, has done excellent things policy wise according to his supporters. The democrats need to beat him in a policy debate and let go of this other nonsense.
2
Much as I detest DJT and his band of criminals, there is an element that I can see that people like. You are right, he is the outsider, the rabble rouser, the grifter, the charlatan, but those characteristics appeal to a wide swath of people, and not just Americans. Throughout history there have been even worse individuals that have grabbed the imagination of a populace. But it's one thing to look at him as a character in a cautionary fable, quite another to have him as president. I'd be so happy if he would just go back to being a TV performer, and not be responsible for 340 million Americans.
3
We may take some comfort in the fact that only a minority of voters support Trump. And to a large degree, they only support him for his unique ability to inject chaos into Washington. He's a clown and they know it.
And we may take some comfort in realizing that America has already survived worse than the Trump administration.
My hope is that as time passes Trump's lame reality show act will impress fewer and fewer voters. But the Democrats need to offer a candidate that can inspire average, working class Independents - like Obama did.
(Check out mayor Pete)
1
Folk hero? Sorry, I don't see it. A more accurate read would be that his supporters view him as a kind of white savior. In other words, race and fear of losing a white majority is the thing that allows people to support such an unlikeable, morally and ethically corrupt person. And with the media's obsession with Trump, its ability to ignore his blatantly kleptocratic administration because of ratings, and indeed articles like these that seek to elevate Trump to folk hero status, the fact that he is still a historically unpopular president speaks volumes.
"I think it is a mistake to believe that Trump’s supporters don’t see his lying or corruption. They do. But, to them, it is all part of the show and the lore."
Charles almost has it right. Almost.
As long as Trump keeps his part of the bargain with the various groups that make up his base, he'll retain their loyalty while they continue to turn a blind eye and hold their collective noses.
The ultra-conservative religious crowd has gotten most of what they wanted with the two Supreme Court justices Trump got through and all of the judges McConnell has been ramming through for him. All the rollbacks done by DeVos also qualify as wins for the ultra-religious. Pompeo making statements like Trump is here because God put him there also scores points for the evangelicals who are into the apocalypse.
The oligarchy has gotten all it could ever want and more through the Tax Scam Bill and all the rollbacks.
Then, there's David Duke and his crowd. Trump has been working really hard to keep them pleased from day 1.
What does that say about those who've voted with Republicans all this time?
Jim Crow has come back, with a vengeance!
---
Things Trump Did While You Weren’t Looking [2019]
https://wp.me/p2KJ3H-3h2
6
You will NEVER convince a true Trump supporter of their folly.
NEVER.
You can talk to them until you are blue in the face. They love it! It just gives them more opportunity to discuss their favorite subjects: themselves and their cult hero. Facts and reasons do not and never will resonate.
The only option is to outvote them. Sitting home and fuming does nothing. Waiting for the perfect candidate that checks all your boxes is self defeating. Running into the arms of a hopeless and hapless third party candidate is absolutely pointless.
VOTE.
10
So trump is the alter-ego of many Old Testament, intolerant, bigots?
It is my experience that if the average trump supporter had any knowledge of American political history, they could be called "reactionary".
But it seems they are operating rudderless guided by prejudice alone.
1
Excellent article!
One can attack Trump by ignoring the degenerate buffoon and focussing on the lies. In fact sometimes people are not aware but quickly come around when you provide good information and link it to outcomes they care about.
For example by accident I discovered many Trump supporters (and some non-supporters) think coal is pure carbon that the only emission if CO2. Listing the heavy metals and the damage they cause to the living and to the fetus puts a new light on the "moral midget", as I call Trump.
It helps using what they call "politically incorrect" terms such as "midget". Sociolinguists have reported a few stigmatized markers of a dialect give the misperception of fluency. Using stigmatized a dialect gives the perception of belonging in a certain group and helps when you state that no one who loves their kids could ever support the liar.
It is interesting to see the reaction. Sometimes they remember hearing how harmful coal is to the miners. This is a deflection. One can validate it: "yes it is true coal harms the miners and the surrounding communities that drink poisoned water" but insist that the poisoned air from coal is just as bad for their kids thousands of miles away from the mines. It is the reason that the rates of retardation and autism are higher close to power plants.
Whoever loves coal hates their children. This drives a wedge and shakes the faith. Enough wedges can bring an earthquake to bring down the ugly degenerate.
2
One more example, lest we forgetful: John Gotti
1
Charles, thanks for the insight. I agree.
I have heard it said that Trump supporters are somewhat in on the Trump con: they know he is a liar, a cheat and a thief, but they believe he is also guided by some higher honesty in that he is attacking the establishment.
That is fine as well so far as it goes. There is a lot not like about the establishment: the disgusting amount of pandering to special interests to get money for campaigns, the hyperpartisanism, the inability to address massive problems hurting average Americans, the cynicism of career politicians like Mitch McConnell, the gerrymandering, and on and on.
I get it.
But if you are going to attack the establishment and destroy it, theoretically you should have some idea how to replace and improve it.
And that is one of the many ways in which Trump and his supporters fall very short - they are just destroyers. Destruction is easy. Building is hard. It is always easy to point out deficiencies. Trump was prodigious critic of Obama e.g. "Obama golfs to much." Only to then turnaround and set new presidential records for time on the golf course and watching t.v.
Lastly, the obvious hole in you comparison to the monkey king is that there is nothing fundamentally good inside Trump. There is only a giant black hole that demands to be filled by more. More big macs, women, power, money, adulation, media coverage.
Our only saving grace is that Trump is heroically incompetent.
5
@Al Miller
Well, one might consider that Blow gives a diagnosis and it is up to someone else (us?) to find the cure?
I am not a journalist, so I do not have to just report on what I hear or see. This false god scenario is appalling, it is not why our country was established, not why people fight for a republic where a vote meant you had a responsibility to know who and why you vote for someone. The days of mindless lollowing are over. There are consequences for acting like a lemming, it is the loss of our democracy.
2
Charles,
Great take on Trump as a "hero" and it does work on several levels. Your examples likely had many of us saying, oh yeah... And HIS "faithful" and loyal followers remind me of some in school who jumped in with the class clown/trouble maker in causing havoc and woe for the Sub-the rest of us knew there'd be reckoning later... I especially liked your inclusion of this quote:
"But we know that there is fundamental good within him. He is the misbehaving child who only needs a firm hand and a sense of purpose to come good.” You tease us. We know 45's purpose. Goodness never existed in this evil "man". He wrecks, destroys, and divides for fun as that is his nature. I agree with many here that his hero status will remain among his deplorable followers (HRC was right on this), while the majority saw long ago that this hero was, is, and will always be a ZERO.
1
There's a classic sociological study of why duped people stick with the criminal who scammed them, and it was written in the 1960s: When Prophecy Fails, by Festibger et al.
It's a big blow to the ego to admit that one has been conned, so the dupe doubles down and intensifies his belief in the prophecy/promise.
But in the current situation, that analysis above carries us only too far. As the author of Dying of Whiteness points out, klump's followers are also strongly motivated by resentment and malice, even if they themselves suffer harm. The best analogy is to quote a joke from Leo Rosten's The Joys of Yiddish:
A djinn offers a peasant three wishes. The catch? His neighbor gets double. The resentful/malicious peasant thinks hard and finally asks for the following: to lose one eye, one leg, and one arm.
2
Can you give me an example of Trump's lies like Clinton and Obama did on matters of some consequences? What is the corruption you are accusing Trump did?
2
I cannot give you examples if you don’t consider North Korea. Isis, medicare, health care, economy, education, disaster response, use of executive privilege, following campaign finance laws, NATO, tax laws, and so on issues of national consequence.
2
Every note in this column rings true - except: there is no 'fundamental good' in Donald Trump. Not one bit.
How do we battle this malevolent shapeshifting piece of fiction? With humor about his lack of intelligence and his graceless bullying: 'Donald - this is getting boring - let's get the teleprompter hooked up for you so you have some new lines.' And when Trump stalks the Democratic nominee on the debate stage - the nominee should put out an arm and guide him back to his podium, and pat him on the hand for good measure, like we would do with any addled, lost person.
3
Mr. Blow may well be right in every respect about the flock. Institutional Republicans, the Congress or members of the Cabinet, Fox News, and religious conservatives are craven not infatuated. The empty vessel runneth over for those busily trashing the environment, demonizing immigrants, lying about things large and small to provide shade or cover for Trump.
I want to believe their excesses of judgment will arrive at a day of reckoning, but making the press, FBI and Justice Department the enemies of the public as a means of holding power is sickening.
1
Interesting perspective. This folk hero doesn't have to fight the establishment, though. There is nothing quite so establishment as a lying, racist, misogynistic real estate developer who rode in on his dad's money. He defies social norms, not the establishment, which he personifies. His supporters want this Monkey King because he represents the revival of so many old ways and good old days.
1
In the end, who cares what his base thinks or has made of this lying, amoral grifter? There are more of us than there are of them. All we have to do is turn out and vote. It's that simple.
2
No doubt Trump is an immoral, rude, oaf. Immigration is the number one issue for most Trump voters, and he was the only candidate on either side who focused on it. The left is in favor of open borders. Unless another candidate addresses it to the satisfaction of a majority of the country, we will have another Trump turn. Howard Schultz just came out in favor of enforcing our immigration laws. He is obviously looking at polling data and knows this is the number one issue. His bet is that a moderate who enforces the border has a chance.
Blow's column ignores the policy reasons why people might support Trump. Ignore policy at your peril. Attacking Trump on his personal failings is not going to cut it.
2
Look at the ridiculous bubble you people live in. Tens of millions of people simply went to their local polling station and voted for an individual they preferred more than Hillary Clinton.
Trump got skewered for waffling on the question of accepting the results of the election, but it is the press and coastal liberals who are in the "resistance". Unlike WW2 the worst punishment you partisans face is having to wait til 2020 to vote. Hats of to the Least Generation.
1
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.
What a brilliant anslysis! This truly does explain the inexplicable, the fact that good people seem to revert Trump. The only way to fight Trump is to get Everyone to Vote against him. Meanwhile, Mitch McConnell probably saw this early on and knew that his callously racist and pro-rich dreams had come true.
That the people who are virtuous in their personal lives would condone and celebrate the actions of someone who is the exact opposite of them is a contradiction that actually suggests a split personality of alarming proportion.
No group better exemplifies this mental instability then the Evangelicals. The bible is crystal clear that one should walk in the path of Christ in their life. How in anyway is this consistent with Trumps life story.
Trumps smirking devilish grin tells you have to know of the major slight of hand he has pulled off.
Not a folk hero but a national disgrace.
3
Have you ever seen a WWWF match? It's Mr. Villain versus Captain America. The antihero zealously breaks all the rules without compunction. Captain America protests the grotesque assaults on decency and the gross violations of hallowed norms. The bad one mocks his perfect opponent with the most puerile epithets, while the emotive mob, who never swim beyond the cognitive shallows, giddily cheer the One who avenges their collective humiliation by the effete and lithe “pretty boy”. The nastier and more roguish the villain, the more excited and enthralled his base of fans become. He is their avenging devil, their High Plains Drifter.
It’s a waste time trying to reach Trump supporters. They are never going to leave him. Trump has empowered the worst of humanity – cruelty, anger, hate, greed, bigotry, and victimhood. There’s no logic – it’s all emotion. Trumpers don’t seek information or policy. They feel validated and finally in charge.
Leave the Trumpers in the past where they belong and work around them. Fortunately, they are the minority.
A large number of us that voted for Trump think he is a liar, con man and blowhard....we just thought he was the better "bad choice". We just used the same logic that those that kept voting for Ted Kennedy, LBJ, Bill Clinton and various mayors of Chicago used. When a political figure supports most of our positions we tend to give them a pass on almost everything else. Jimmy Carter has and had the best personal character of any President in my lifetime but you would be hard pressed to find a worst President.
2
Mr. Blow, you've nailed it. I have a friend who is a sweet man. He's a logger who gives free firewood to older folks, has pride in his work, and is honest. Yet he is a Trump supporter. When I said that Trump was a liar, a cheat, and a conman, his response was "He couldn't have gotten this far if he wasn't." Then he proceeded to tell me we need the wall.
Trump as folk hero? Well, maybe, if one insists on according that status to criminals and scoundrels. El Chapo may have become a folk hero because of his munificence to those who supported him, but what has Trump done for his base? On the contrary, could it be that Trump exemplifies and enacts with impunity certain qualities that his base would most like to act out in their lives?
This is the best analysis of D. Trump I have read as it explains why so many stick with him, even though he is a NYC elite from a place where no one thinks of him as anything but a grifter. Those rallies now make sense to me where before I just couldn't figure what was going on. Folk heroes are not upstanding, church going, law abiding citizens and are usually criminals going back to Robin Hood (although his motives were a bit more admirable than self-love.) As a kid I was more taken with the Wicked Queen than with Snow White. Trump is our Wicked King looking in the mirror and seeing his 32 year old self thinking he is the fairest in the land. Too bad his mirror doesn't talk back and that he has a poison apple for the rest of America to eat.
1
I think this analysis is only part of the explanation. Certainly, some DO see his flaws, and support him all the same; but, an ignorant, immature, finger-pointing, hate-filled, person will not see trump's flaws because he has convinced them that he is “one of their own.” This was not hard for him to do; because, aside from his wealth, and power, he is.
Trump is a legend for one simple reason: he's oblivious to elitist criticism and does not flinch in the face of any attacks, even if they are justified. This contrasts with other national Republicans, who tuck their tails and wimp away at the slightest hint of mainstream media disagreement, even if fallacious.
Yes, thank you. The Dems inept response started with their nomination of Hillary Clinton and has continued via their appeals to reason with an unreasonable audience. Will they continue their useless flailing in 2020? We'll find out soon enough.
You cite Bonnie and Clyde, Dillinger, and the Sundance Kid. Remember how they ended up? Lead poisoning.
Trump said he could shoot someone and get away with it, but he may be under the misapprehension that he can't be shot, or if he is he'll survive...
Could it be possible that they voted for Trump because they hated the thought of having the Clintons back in the White House?
This column is a trenchant explanation of Trumpism and similar phenomena. They hate and fear women, gays, minorities, immigrants, the 21st century, and the rest of us, all or some in combination. For this they will overlook adultery, mendacity, irrationality, and every other abomination, believing that Trump can stymie the arc of history. Most of them will carry their ideas to the grave, and they can only be outnumbered.
I am tempted to lose compassion and return their hatred, as I am an imperfect person. I find it clarifying to remember that they are hurting themselves and their children’s future. But let us try not to take comfort in this, for both vengeance and Trumpism hurt us all.
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Might it be the case that Mr. Blow's mother overlooked poor personal behavior in a politician because she supported him for his policies? That would be a very ressonable thing to do.
Trump's a legend . . . in his own mind.
A tip of the cap to Charles for his impressive Monkey King entry in the Explain Trump Derby. And there is no tariff on Chinese folklore yet.
A recent New Yorker article on “The Making of the Fox News White House” quoted a former Federal Communications Commission official who said Trump saw a circus in progress and stepped right up to be ringmaster.
More sober analysis was offered in the Wall Street Journal last fall. David Gelernter, a Yale professor moonlighting as a tribune of the common man, said Trump is “a typical American — except exaggerated” and unconstrained.
Closer to home, a previous commenter noted that Trump is enshrined in the pro wrestling Hall of Fame, possibly our only president so honored.
While not having been to a Tump rally, I figure the wrestling show I went to at Boston Garden in 1985 makes up for it. It was my privilege to witness the greatest exemplar of American values at that turn in history, Hulk Hogan. I will not forget the ecstasy, the loudest cheering I’ve ever heard, the women shrieking, the Vietnamese lad in the Hulkamania T-shirt who silently raised his fists to the heavens as Hulk Hogan administered justice in its most brutal form.
Youths stormed the police barricades, wanting nothing more than to touch Hogan. Fights broke out in the stands...
This I will tell you: It will take a champion like we’ve never seen before to dethrone Donald J. Trump in 2020.
And may he receive the same reward that Edwin Edwards received, and soon.
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Thank you Mr. Blow. For the first time ever your column has ruined my morning coffee !
Yep, you put Trump right up there with Trump’s hero Mike Tyson.
I hope the similarities of Trump with Edwards extend to his ending up in federal prison. Soon.
1
The difference between Trump and the Monkey King is that I have not seen any evidence that there is fundamental goodness in him.
First off, as Paul Henreid said to Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, welcome back to the fight, Mr. Blow. This time I know our side will win.
Second, your usage of the criminals turned folk heroes like Dillinger and Bonnie and Clyde is flawed because all of them had one thing in common.
They all went to prison, or worse, were killed.
Such a fate (prison) awaits Putin's Poodle.
Maybe not now, but in the future.
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Thirty percent of Americans will never let go of their fantasy their Trump god will magically transport them back to the 1950s when white skin guaranteed privileged status, their faith he will wall out, ship away and otherwise marginalize those of color who threaten that privilege. Their need to believe he can and will restore their rightful place in the world will prevent any mortal weakness, any fall from grace, any failure to deliver on any other score from diminishing his role as their savior.
You may well be right that people who’ve wrapped themselves up their whole lives in moral righteousness, need some sort of evil relief valve and Trump sadly happens to be the demented “Monkey King” for us all. I wish your observations though would shine some light on how we might rid ourselves of this pox on our house, but “if wishes were horses” as the saying goes.
For me, this just validates why I’ve never been comfortable around people who indulge themselves in morally condemning everyone only to have some twisted quirk or deviance they keep hidden. Now that their deviance has been made public at least it’s easier to avoid them.
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I agree that Trump has achieved a kind of essential cult figure status, and to (too) many he's the physical embodiement of the fight against Evil. From the Alex Jones' viewers to the, perhaps millions of Americans who follow QAnon, the Trump cult cannot be underestimated. However it has its limits. Despite the frightening amount of people who believe in chemtrails, the flat earth conspiracy, Obama's secret program that made gay frogs (Alex Jones), which is disturbingly in the millions, a pathology America must reckon with, they make up, in aggregate, not a majority. About 30 percent of the population makes up the core of this coalition of the paranoid. Far too many. Ergo, this American is in self imposed exile.
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Blow, in comparing Edwards to Trump, leaves out a critical factor. Edwards appointed more blacks and women to high positions in his administration than had his predecessors.
Trump greatly favors fellow white folks.
Outside of his hometown of Badriguato, Sinaloa, Mexico, Mexicans have no love for El Chapo.
In his hometown he is revered as a folk hero, he is broadly hated for his cruelty and ruthless murders of so many. Mexicans don't adore bloodthirsty criminals.
Based on my own speculation and common sense, I take as fact that some percentage of the base that got Trump elected won't repeat their mistake in 2020.
Trump has not only failed to accomplish many of his promises--Mexico will pay for the wall, health care for everyone right after taking office--and his deepening insanity--my father was born in Germany--make him badly damaged goods today.
2
It could be said thst El Chapo -Bonny and Clyde and Edwards were products of their harsh environments -and they all (including The Monkey king had redeeming Robin Hoodesque qualities.
Trump is completely devoid of any redeeming qualities -He is inately just a shrewd sociopath who entered a world class grifter training academy when he was five.
Graduated with honors at 16. AND went on to get a Doctorate and then a Post Doctorate in lying and cheating.
He is not courageous or committed to anything! (like the folk heroes you describe)
Your mom would have seen him make fun of a crippled man and that would have been that.
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Trump is hardly folksy and he’s the farthest from a hero.
The eye hath nor seen, nor the ear heard, the devastation of democracy which is slapping us the face.
Trump is merely the perfect fit for a suit tailor made by the GOP over many years. Once a proud and viable political party, it has devolved to a sad twisted parody of its former self .. barely resembling anything other than a bunch of rapacious ideologues .. and worse, much worse.
Namely, what animates the Trump electorate more than anything is pure truculence and spite, not just from fear of white cultural displacement, but for its own sake. His electorate revels in it. Viewed as a public health crisis, it is a contagion with ~70 million hosts. How do you eradicate that?
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Thank you for stating the obvious about Trump's place among those who support him. He has become their 'hero', even 'savior' to many; he will save them from the elite who disparage them, who laugh at them, who berate them in their comments in the NY Times. How can we beat him, how can we remove the emperor's clothes? You tell us in your comments: the only way to beat the folk hero is when they see how he has betrayed or turned on those who support him. Writing lofty article about how horrible and stupid he is and commenting on the stupidity of those who vote for or support him is doomed not only to failure but to reinforcing his folk hero status. Beat him through narratives/stories of those whom he has betrayed. Not political analyses and policy betrayals; but stories of real people who have been supporters but who have suffered from his policies on taxes, on health care, or education. This may be the slow route initially but it may gain momentum as the stories begin to shine back on the lives of those who support him: as more people realize they too have been betrayed and how he has turned on them.Perhaps more and more stories will emerge until they become the 'lite in the darkness' espoused by a writer in this comments column.
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Charles,
Perhaps you don't understand that the constant demonizing of President Trump reinforces the opinion of many that our media sources have gone off the deep end. Here's a thought for you, try to ignore the President for two weeks. At the end that time, he will have done something so foolish that you and your peers will have every right to lambaste him.
"But we know that there is fundamental good within him."
Aye, there's the rub. Trump has the ethos of an insect: neither good nor bad, just a grab bag of instincts and appetites.
Eventually, ,that has to wear thin, even on the gullible.
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Three words Chuck, Hope & Change. #45 is no different than #44, #43, #42 or #41. Trump was elected b/c we got tired of the last one, so don’t get so wrapped up into the motivation of the voters. Your real concern should be w/the Dems moving so far left w/their ‘purity standards’ that not only will Trump be re-elected but Nicki Haley could easily win in ‘24 & ‘28. Btw, your Mom sounds like a fine American.
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A folk hero confirms and exemplifies the aspirations of the common folk. Trump has tapped directly into a feeling of American entitlement and superiority held by a group who identify America narrowly. He reflects their disdain for “others”, who are the elite, the Muslim, the off-white. Most is just useful hyperbole but it resonates and amplifies in the folk that uplift him.
Perhaps then the key is to identify the aspects of entitlement and superiority which are thought to be under attack and to show them in relation to Trump. If the elite might be after their money, show how Trump has given the elite more. If the Muslim’s are going to impose Shariah law, show how Trump’s judges are forcing their religion on all. If immigrants are stealing jobs, show how the green economy would be making more.
He promised infrastructure, he promised healthcare, he promised better everything because he was wise and would apply his business acumen to government. He has failed, in many cases he has not even bothered to try.
When he promises the same in 2020 we must be ready to mock him and to show how the promises can be met.
We need a hero - to unmask the villain - to reunite America from the many to one.
1
Folk hero, or cult leader.
Maybe a little of each.
I’m certain that many of the followers of Jim Jones found him to appear a hero, and that certainly didn’t make him one, by any means.
1
I take Mr. Blow at his word about his own mother. Who would know better? I do not, however, project such personal virtue upon Trump supporters. Look at Trump's rallies. Look at Charlottesville. Look at the foreign thugs and autocrats who use Trump as a shield for their own self-serving brutality.
These are not just plain good folks in thrall to their folk hero. They are enablers, no less corrupt than he, just less effective.
But Charles, you miss the point, to be an admirer of Dishonest Donald, you also have to be dishonest. His supporters want to be able to act like he does, to insult the leaders of foreign countries, they believe those countries are stealing our money, because they want to believe it.
They see his lies as just rhetoric meant to demean the opposition. It is no different than when we were grade school kids, someone would start a rumor about another kid he or she did not like, and it became believable because it was repeated enough times. Like conspiracy theories there is just a glimmer of possibility to give them probability. It is the same for anti science theories such as the vaccine causes autism beliefs. Scientific fact brought to doubt, the swindlers claims do just that for those who want their doubts given some support. That it comes from a lying, wife cheating, con man does not give them a moments thought, they too are dishonest with themselves, they do not like the world as it is and their version fits their sense of life, how they have taught themselves what they think it should be.
Besides that, those stories about their savior are obviously by those other lying cheating liberal Socialists, Marxists to bring down their potentate, they "KNOW" he is their savior, releasing them from the yoke of their own incompetent meaningless lives.
Not in the least. He’s no folk hero to us. Indeed, he is no kind of hero to us, but we are supporters. We, and tens of millions like us, will re-elect him, first, to flummox and flash the finger at liberals, opinion columnists and hollywood hypocrites, and second because his policies are the correct ones for these times. The fatigued and fatalistic left may go on about the business of marginalizing themselves into a 400 electoral vote landslide loss, by all means. Election night at CNN will be a party in our houses.
@Mary
Mary,
Your hero is a man who bragged about grabbing women's genitals without their consent. Sexual assault, in other words. If you can support him in spite of this, god help you.
Win, lose, impeach, resign, convicted, or president-for-life, Trump is never going away. Get used to it. Whoever is next has his/her work cut out to erase the orange stain on the White House.
Several days ago my town's newspaper published a letter from a local who described the Obama administration as the most corrupt in the history of our nation.
There is nothing you can do for someone that far gone.
3
At the state or local level, a corrupt,lying or official lacking in moral standards can do much less damage than a U.S. president. As the major leader of the world it is a shame that so many still support and even admire his lack of professionalism,ignore or believe his lies, and don’t understand how he has debased the office of the presidency. Should he be re-elected ,his incompetence would continue and the damage done hard to repair.
I wonder if people that are otherwise moral and good people in their own lives secretly wish that they could be like the corrupt “folk hero”. They see how the corrupt “hero” lives a wonton life and gets away with it while they lead a repressed unhappy life and feel unable to enjoy life. So they live their life vicariously through the scoundrel that is causing havoc to everyone else.
Another brilliant piece by Charles Blow. One thing that makes Dangerous Donald different is that he commands the most potent military force the world has ever known. None of the people mentioned in Blow’s piece had such awesome power available on a whim. When (not if) Trump starts a war that kills millions of innocent people, will The Deplorables still applaud?
2
„But we know that there is fundamental good within him.“
sorry but in trump‘s case we definitely do not know that...
I would use the term "demagogue" of course to describe Trump whose instincts tell him to appeal to the "dark side" in his supporters (xenophobia, racism, ultra-nationalism, misogyny, etc.). Narcissistic sociopaths love their sycophantic followers and they love back. When times turn bad after a giddy high they turn on their superman whose power they once admired but then come to despise. For the sake of America this needs to come sooner than later.
Great point except for one thing. It exempts Trump supporters from racism, bigotry, and xenophobia. While those may not fit all Trump voters, there are certainly a goodly number of his fans who cheer those world views in him and express them themselves. Your mom may hold strong values (and be more than a little judgmental in them), and simply give her favorite politicians a pass. However, we should not assume that all who cheer Trump do so while deploring his lying, racism etc.
Belief overcomes facts and data.
Not just a folk hero. With the help of his allies in Israel, he has convinced the evangelicals that he is the reincarnation of a Biblical king, Cyrus of Persia, and thus his soul has God's favor. Who cares about democracy? Trump's supporters think that he is the ruler of the U.S. by divine right.
The notorious criminal sociopath, Al Capone, was another “folk hero” who was also favorably viewed in his particular historical period by many Americans. His prolonged legal unaccountability, of course, was eventually halted by tenacious federal authorities with a successful conviction, then incarceration, for income tax evasion. How is our present “legend” to be pursued? He already is, by an esteemed federal institution called the SDNY, who most likely will get its own elusive personality. Perhaps for income related fraud also. MAGA.
The truth is that President Trump is a modern day Father Coughlin.
2
So what your saying is; The Democratic Presidential candidate who winds will be the political equivalent of Marvin the Martian, "This makes me very angry, very angry indeed" .
Waiting for the pictures of trump in a long white flowing robe to appear in evangelical churches next to Christ's picture (blond hair, blue eyed, white skin), knocking on the door, up by the altar. They are elevating him to god-king against the teaching of the Ten Commandments, #1: "Have no other gods before Me". So far they are breaking all the Ten Commandments listed in The Holy Bible. Or maybe they don't read the Old Testament anymore?
1
The only way to fight the kind of faith-blind ignorance in society that leads to an entire class's support of a crude, pathetic demagogue like trump, is to improve education in science, biology, history, civics, math, sociology for all kids. Otherwise the critical thinking skills so necessary to making good decisions, and necessary for immunity against demagoguery, are lost for another generation. I am not holding out hope for the USA. Republicans have been attacking public education with great effect for so many years now. It's showing up in the crassness, racism and addiction to Fox-style propaganda that a large portion of America is infected with, without any mental tools to ward it off.
Only a hot mic where Trump articulates his actual loathing for these people would convince them of the massive fraud he has perpetrated. They still believe, against all evidence, that he sides with them, that despite his wealth, he's one of them at heart. Trump must express his mirth and wonderment at this state of affairs to someone; why would this be the one thing he can keep bottled up?
1
Just remember that Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker were shot to death by the police in 1934 and El Chapo is off to the Alcatraz of the Rockies to spend 23 hours a day inside a cell.
Folk heroes don't last. Real heroes vote them out of office.
Fabulous column, Mr. Blow. The other piece of the trump phenomenon is the dystopian legend of white supremacy. I am white but I have believed for a long time that Republican voters can be explained by racism at the heart of their politics. tRump is the outcome of this legend.
But one question....what pray tell is the good in this being whose soul barely seems human? He is pure evil and sickness to me.
Close.
Trump is more a myth than a folk hero.
There's no good in him like with the Monkey king.
And folk heroes actually DO something, not just self-promote with daddy's money.
Trump just talks himself up, conning from con to con all his life till he finds himself so openly in the spotlight that he will soon have nowhere to run.
Exposure. Sunlight. Disinfect.
1
I've never agreed more with an opinion piece. The more we object to the outrageous, immoral, ugly behavior the more Trumpists will harden their support behind Trump. If there is a solution, it has to be how much harm Trump is doing to our children and grandchildren.
A frontal,personal attack, no matter how logical, will not undermine the core support.
People are easily led. The irrational love of their folk hero will not improve their lives financially as their health coverage diminishes and their food costs more because no one will pick or process it since the immigrants who did the hardest work are being deported. The cult followers will watch planet Earth burn up, flooding coastal cities. They will follow their hero, like lemmings, into the sea.
Unfortunately, we have both a Demagogue and a folk hero at the same time. Yet the folk group is small by voting standards. So we must deal with a shady criminal and mob boss on the one hand while recognizing that a sub group of Americans support him with all of his obvious faults. To go after the criminal and mob boss can alienate the folk group making them even stronger. But if we try to placate the folk group, we miss the opportunity to address his complete incompetence as a president. Perhaps it is required that we attend to the criminal side of this cheat of a president regardless of his followers. If we do not get him out of office soon, the damage to our government and country may be permanent, if that has not already occurred.
Yep. Robin Hood was, first and foremost, a thief.
And, with his schtick of claiming to rob the rich and give to "the poor"--minus, of course, the skim-off-the-top to keep his men well supplied with mead (they were "merry" weren't they?) and meals--he would, these days, have been a Democrat.
Lord Acton offered a lesser-known observation: "Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority, still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority."
The more Trump erases Obama from history, the greater, in the minds of many, he will become. If, in 2020, Trump is successful in protecting the country from accession by a Democratic president, his greatness will be assured.
1
Charles, there are some not-so-subtle differences among "Bad Boy," "Folk Hero," and "Cult Leader." Many times, "Bad Boys" have some character with a bit of spark, liven up organizations, and are mostly harmless, despite their bluster. To most people, "Folk Heroes" are not outlaws or criminals. Rather, those people are simply notorious "legends." Perhaps better examples of "Folk Heroes" are Patrick Henry, Eliot Ness, Theodore Roosevelt, and Susan B. Anthony. And then, we come to "Cult Leaders," which is really what you're talking about. Without exception, "Cult Leaders" ultimately bring shame, harm, and grief to their flocks. In many cases, the ultimate pain has been death.
Sorry, but Donald Trump is no "Folk Hero." Rather, he's a "Cult Leader" who hasn't harmed enough of his followers yet. However, when he does so, a critical point will be reached whereby the majority of his cultists feel personal shame, harm, and grief. And then, he'll be quickly gone.
4
It's a big jump from "Trump is a folk hero to his followers..." to "Trump is a folk hero." The common perception outside of the 39% who have drunk the Kool-Aid is that he's a dangerous, inept, probably compromised, almost certainly crooked con man and grifter.
The Democratic nominee in 2020 has to convey s/he is a decent, honorable, capable, experienced, calm human being who is focused on making the lives of Americans better. We have a number of great choices.
1
Folklorist Linda Degh wrote a number of articles defining the "legend conduit." The conduit operates like an accelerator of imformation by greatly expanding the depiction of a person or an action. Trump, like Berlusconi, Franco, Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde, etc., is characterized in this conduit in grandiose positive and grandiose negative legends, These narratives grow with each telling (or post) and they ultimately create a fictional (and I mean fictional) ubermensch. Trump's twitter posts provide a case study in legend formation and sustenance. He learned a long time ago that truth has nothing to do with success. What matters is constantly hitting public attention with symbols that can be carried by believers and non-believers equally. The more outrageous and personally aggrandizing the symbol, the more effectively the legend conduit will pass it along and embellish it. To counter the legend, one of the most effective tools is humor. Saturday Night Live, Michael Moore, and AOC in Congress pose such a real threat to the Trump popular mythology because they get behind the facade of the legend to exploit its absurdity and hatred. We need more outrageous comedic challenges to Trump and his cabal. Faux Fox News, Trump Clowns with Pie on their Faces, Comedia del Arte Bladder Bags Slapping Mitch Lookalikes in the Kisser. We need Teatro Campesinos in every community puncturing the mindful mendacity of this legendary huckster.
237
@Robert McCarl III Exactly, and I would enjoy such comedic portrayals. I hope they bring them. Hope you're enjoying Coram - such a gorgeous spot!
12
@Robert McCarl III I agree completely, all of the late-night shows are what keep me sane and (thankfully) continue to remind me that there is some hope because I/we can laugh while we understand the true absurdity of dt. The brilliant and brave comedians (and getting people to vote) will save Democracy.
10
@Robert McCarl III
Your comment is spot-on. My only caveat is your faith in critique through humor. I'm certainly not the only person who believed that sharp, smart critiques in The Daily Show etc. would make so clear the absurdity of a Trump presidency that it couldn't happen.
And now here we are.
14
The only way to beat Trump is to just let this all play out and allow him to destroy the country. Only when his base is sitting among the rubble of their lives will they gain the insight that perhaps they backed the wrong horse. And even then...
4
@Occams razor
I’m 74. Let him destroy what’s left of my life??? What’s left of this beleaguered nation?
If that the future, we elders need to flee.
1
@TheraP
Vancouver's a nice place to retire. Expensive, but nice.
Don’t worry. They will die out eventually for lack of health care, lack of education, and inability to get a job.
Nah Charles !
Do not elevate trump to folk hero status or even suggest it.
He is simply chaos incarnate.
And his ID is stronger than his ego.
Hence cruelty to the extreme and cultish appeal.
Bob Dylan is a folk hero.
Howard Zinn is a folk hero
Muddy Waters is a folk hero.
Joni Mitchell is a folk hero.
James Baldwin is a folk hero.
No president should be given that status.
1
People want to believe in themselves and their country. In some mysterious way, DJT inspires that—— With DJT as president they don’t have to be ashamed of being white, or of not being able to understand complex issues.
If Democrats could only find a candidate that can inspire all of us to be proud to be Americans, even white guys, and to feel hope in their future. we may be able to save the country. It isn’t going to be easy.
2
Charles, you're on to something.
Yes, he needs to be outed as a fraud. And it follows that focusing on the flaws—the faults large and small that his supporters tolerate or secretly admire—won't do any good at all, might even help him.
3
I despise Trump but I know people who voted for him - not because they admire him as a human being - but because his economic policies work for them.
28
@Barb They think his economic policies will work for them. So far those policies are hurting many Trump voters and having no effect on many others, but the folk hero effect is keeping them in line, so far;)
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@Barb You run around with CEO's and millionaires?
12
@Barb
Are you friends billionaires? If not I fail to see who else has experienced significant gain under Trump policies.
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"How does one fight a fiction, a fantasy? That’s the question. Its answer is the path to America’s salvation." I think you answered the question yourself, Charles, with your line, "The only vulnerability the folk hero has is an exposed betrayal of the folk." The resistance needs to focus on Trump's daily betrayal of regular people -- his attacks on health care, on social support, on our water and infrastructure. He hasn't lessened the gap between the haves and have-nots, he has widened it. Regular people are suffering under this administration, while the rich only get richer, and once the "folk" see that, Trump will no longer be a hero.
The only way to battle a folk hero is to fashion a folk hero of your own. I don’t see any candidate among the Democratic crop of presidential nominees. Nobody has that elusive quality that would elevate him or her to the status of a beloved archetype. Bernie Sanders comes closest. Need I mention that he is also a dangerous demagogue? Unfortunately when mythical characters start their battle, ordinary citizens should run for cover.
"How does one fight a fiction, a fantasy? That’s the question. Its answer is the path to America’s salvation." Wonderfully put!
I suggest that Democrats have idea contests to win in 2020.
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Here are some of my own suggestions for winning:
1) Try to show that history is on the side of democracy.
2) Use Leonard Cohen's "Democracy" song to suggest a new
democratic wave, in response to Trump's insane dictatorship.
(He sang, "Democracy is coming to the USA" back in 1992).
3) Mock Trump with simple gestures, such as his OK sign.
4) Show that Democratic candidates can also be interesting,
on a daily basis, with humor and Tweets, etc.
5) Find sound bites, pixs, etc to explain policies to ordinary folks.
I wonder what Charles Blow thinks about any of these ideas, etc.
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The progressive characterization of Trump voters is often ridiculous, and Mr. Blow's folk hero construct is another swing-and-miss. The reason that Trump gets support is not because of his flaws; it's despite them. Trump could have never won if Bush/Obama had not spent 16 years doing harm. Bush, the worst president we've ever had, took us from budget surpluses to deficits in the high hundreds of billions, wasted trillions and many lives in wars of choice, and fell asleep at the switch with both 9/11 and the 2008 economic melt-down. Obama promised the nation that he was a reasonable moderate; that was a lie as progressives were able to impose many far-left policies under his administration.
Why did Trump win in 2016? Because he actually (ironically) told the only truth that mattered: both parties were seen by tens of millions of Americans as bad for the country. For those of us who didn't vote for Trump, we assumed his flaws were obviously disqualifying. They evidently weren't compared to the alternative.
To win in 2020 requires a Dem candidate that is more moderate than the progressive wing of the party. Trump winning in 2016 was not about being a folk hero; it was about the country rejecting both parties' selfish extremism. If Dems nominate a socialist, an open-borders nihilist, or an identity politics virtue-signaler, Trump will win again in 2020. It's time for clear thinking.
1
Hillary Clinton would be President today if, at the televised "Trump stalking debate," she merely had turned around and asked him if he needed help finding the men's room. To beat Trump, the Democrats need a candidate ready and willing to deflate the "folk myth" to its face.
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"The rules don’t apply to the folk hero. "
Beautifully clarifying column, Mr. Blow. This insight could save the country, if we figure out how to deal with it.
2
I question whether or not the majority of Edwards or Trump voters are as morally rigorous as Charles Blow’s mother. She sounds remarkable to me. But I wouldn’t completely discard his hero worship argument, I’d broaden it and say there are moments in time that empower messianic leaders, and history strongly suggests those moments occur when people feel helpless and powerless. The powerful leader is the fixer, perhaps a hero, perhaps a scoundrel, but someone essentially disruptive, because the status quo has become unbearable.
In 2016, many voters, including democrats, saw Hillary Clinton as emblematic of the status quo, and while many of the conversations about her were specific to her personal style, that style had remoteness, and coolness, and smugness written all over it. Deserved or not, Clinton’s cool was no match for Trump’s hot(head) in 2016.
I know there are many Democratic moderates and independents who worry that the Democratic candidate will simply be Trump-left, and they certainly fear the left more than the right. I think they should fear the center because candidates like Joe Biden suffer from the same “old order” flaws that sank Hillary Clinton, and will likely depress turnout across the country. Yes, HRC won the popular vote by 3,000,000, but reason says she should have won it by a multiple of ten million.
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
(W. B. Yeats
2
Interesting article. But it comes down to what you are anticipating to get for looking the other way.
America is headed for some very troubling times if Rule of Law is turned into nebulous tribal interpretations.
Just this weekend I happened to catch the Mooch on Pirro. He was complaining that folks like Sessions didn't have Trump's back. The AG having Trump's back is an example of such a nebulous interpretation at the highest level of Rule of Law.
1
It is difficult to view this president as intellectual enough to have studied American history enough to have picked Andrew Jackson as his hero. The difference between them is primarily that Jackson was a military hero as opposed to the current known TV personality. In other respects, the current failed president is just as cynical and cruel as Jackson, who fostered the resettling of Native Americans by death march, and attacked his enemies, i.e. running Congressman Davie Crockett out of office.
1
It’s not his fans that give Trump his power. They may stoke his ego, but it is the leaders and money men of the Republican Party that are his true enablers. There’s no great mystery about why.
1
FINALLY. Mr Blow, your brilliant article here finally explains to my heart why people I love and respect to the moon have embraced this monster. Maybe my head can stop hurting now over this thing that did not compute. So much is at stake ... may the answer to your last question, how do we fight a fiction/fantasy, be found! That will be in my prayers.
1
What would Bonnie & Clyde, Dillinger, Sundance have in common with t rump? A tabloid press ready and willing to make a dime off their stories. And make a dime they did.
Each of us has a dark spot somewhere in our depths that most of us try to control, even subdue; but there are those who give that spot room to blossom and grow, and many who see t rump as a hero are such people.
When he acts the bully his people get to be in his club, taking comfort in the fact that it is someone else getting bullied this time, not them.
3
It may be worthwhile to distinguish between the mythological and the folk hero.
Unlike the folk hero, who generally operates outside the existing power structure and for the benefit of the common good (even perhaps whose exploits are exaggerated), it might be said that the mythological exists only in the imagination, it is an illusion which mesmerises the people and functions principally for the purpose of feeding a narcissistic ego and fellow travelers.
Like the borg, the collective marches on and is driven by a sense of reverence, denial and unreality. As Hannah Arendt wrote: “One of the chief characteristics of modern masses is they do not trust their eyes and ears, but only their imaginations. What convinces masses are not facts, not even invented facts, but only the consistency of the illusion.”
There is no “fundamental good” within this mythical, and “unlike the misbehaving child who only needs a firm hand and a sense of purpose to come good,” this will not displace the persistency of the illusion. “How does one fight a fiction, a fantasy?” It may be ventured that the challenge is to fashion a more persuasive and consistent illusion based on reality.
Whether that or any other approach is possible in America today remains to be seen.
1
2018 has been the first year with the new tax law's effect. Many co-workers report this year, having lost all their typical deductions, that their customary $5K tax refund was instead a surprise check they had to write for $5K. A nasty $10,000 swing, in the wrong direction.
These are people who were in the thrall of their hero, leading the charge to "overhaul" taxes. People who were therefore completely blind to the (ugly) details at the time.
Is a vote for IQ45, a poke at the "libs" worth $40k every 4 years? I'm going to guess that price tag will register for some a little too high; that this year's tax experience, a harsh dose of reality, has, for some suburban homeowners in the NE at least, cracked the armor of this "legend".
I remember watching Trump take his turn at the first Republican debate and as I listened to his vulgarity and foolishness spew forth my immediate reaction was people will love this and I am looking at the next US president. Its not so much the Trump vs. Clinton that I remember or think about but Trump vs. his Republican primary contenders. Why did he beat all of them? Any Republican would have offered tax cuts, deregulation, conservative judges, etc. But what did Trump have beyond that?
Blow answers his own question on how to defeat the Folk Hero - show that he betrays the folk. Trump has been masterful in pandering to his base, but his tariffs and other policies hurt his people. He has yet to deliver on his two biggest campaign promises - the border wall (that Mexico would pay for) and repealing Obamacare. Edward Edwins for all his many transgressions was a true populist who cared for his people. Trump doesn't care about his base, he uses them as a base to power. As soon as the "folk" figure this out, he will be gone.
Just this morning I was interacting with a Trump supporter about his taxes. It's clear he could care less about revealing his taxes, and if they were exposed, about what's in them. If Trump is using the presidency to enrich himself, they don't care. If he's cheating on his taxes, they don't care. If he's the single most corrupt man in history, they don't care. He's one of them (they believe), and they'll defend him all the way.
Edwin Edwards was not avidly supported by a 24/7 cable news network like Fox News. The rapid dissemination of Donald Trump's messaging helps his allure.
Trump's supporters see him as the one who dares to stand up to the establishment; but what they don't realize is that Trump IS the establishment. He is a wolf in sheep's clothing and, gradually, his supporters will get wise and see that he is a fake.
Historically, folk heros are liberators, leaders of rebellion, revolutionaries. They have an end goal. But what's Trump's revolution all about, besides #winning? So far it looks like he's fighting for more power and for things he likes a lot, like McDonald's for the troops. He wants a white majority country, and for them to support him blindly while he destroys the environment for money, abuses and mocks minorities and immigrants, chips away at the stability of our democracy and the values of our country, and creates an increasingly more dangerous world with less allies, one that has encouraged a huge chasm of hatred to form between our friends and foes, thus allowing him even more power. The term 'folk hero' just doesn't seem quite right. 'Folk villain' perhaps?
With his worshipful followers, Trump could choose to promote positive policies that would benefit the country, as well as his base. If he did that, he would attract independents and even Democrats, expanding the number of adherents. Too bad he has instead used his considerable influence to advance the worst of the worst plutocratic policies and judges.
All of Mr Blow's article may be true, but Trump is going to win again and you can take it to the bank. He won last time against an incredibly weak candidate and he will win again against someone with policies that are election losers: free college, medicare for all, reparations, etc. This will be 1972 all over again.
In this way, anyone in power can be a folks hero, as people like to see how others get away with murder with impunity. Why? Maybe those moralists are not that nice as they like to make us believe...
At the end of the day, any bestial authoritarian had (some still do) it’s share of admirers and followers. It doesn’t mean there was any good in them, it only means that there are many people who wished they could do the same...
So Trump is very far from some American version of Robin Hood - just a cheat without honor who found a willing and amoral party in GOP to support his delusions, fraud and essential betrayal of the American dream.
A wardrobe of limited colors is not austere. Haven't you ever heard of the "grey, blue, black" rule? If you live in a New York apartment the size of a shoe box with only a bedroom and no closet, austere is practical. Every garment should work with every other garment. Preferably regardless of season. There's not a lot of room for greens, reds, yellows in this wardrobe.
I agree with your conclusion.
He is a "Marvel" cartoon character anti-hero come to life, and to his followers the more he acts out the more they love it. There are no expectations of boundaries, which is why Trump has to keep finding new ways of upping the ante with his outlandish behavior and actions.
And none of his people need to go to the movies or even buy Netflix for their entertainment, his show is free every day.
When he was elected, I believed then and still do that his base voted for him as a once in a lifetime chance at playing the ultimate practical joke on the rest of the country, that the idea of having this fool as president was just too irresistible to pass up.
They never expected him to do anything for them, they just wanted to see him break everything and laugh while he did it.
Don’t forget the Roadrunner and Wilee Coyote.
The thing is...we have given Trump all the power and now we wring our hands, wondering what to do about him. I think one way to counter him is to simply ignore him. If he wants to hate everybody who doesn't like him let him hate them. Just don't
listen to him or do anything he wants us to do.
I am a Trump supporter and in no way is he a folk hero. He is getting things done when he is not being hampered by the Democrats. He has created jobs, improved the economy, appointed Supreme Court justices who follow our constitution and is desperately trying to secure our borders and make healthcare more affordable.
The Democrats have been fighting him every step of the way. They despise him and do not want him to succeed at anything. In spite of this hindrance, he has succeeded with no help from the Democrats. His supporters are still with him because of his support for them. He is still with them and they are still with him. He has not disappointed and will continue making America great if only given the chance. Let's let him do the work he promised he would achieve. He is bound to be reelected as he is the only one listening and paying attention to the citizens.
1
The fact that 45 cannot be stopped is horrifying to me. We have some incredible minds, talent, thinkers, problem solvers, leaders and our country is at a loss as to how to stop this virus he is spreading in our country. It is unbelievable. He also has McConnell there who opens the door so 45 can destroy our democracy which is frightening. What can be done?
3
Charles, you been gone too long. I get your point, but Edwin Edwards is not a proper comparison. The main difference is that Edwin delivered, and not just for his... mostly... liberal coalition. (He was sadly allied with Big Oil, but called himself a "Jerry Brown Democrat" on most everything else.) He had field offices in largely black housing projects, but working class whites also loved him. His executive order outlawing discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation was way ahead of its time in the 70s and 80s, but he was also good for business despite his habit of accepting occasional bribes. But the main difference is that Edwin, despite being a machine pol, favored charm over venom and regarded rancor as a waste of time. He was a happy, fun loving guy who also seemed to want others to be happy too, regardless of race, ethnicity or religion. Yes, he was also a crook, but a mostly a minor crook of convenience, especially when he needed to pay a gambling debt. As crooks go, he was way smarter and kinder than the incessant toxic tweeter in the White House. As any Louisianian will tell you: Not all crooks are the same!
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@D E Bookhardt
Love that last line: "Not all crooks are the same". Perfect! Trump's actions are an existential threat to people, whether related to healthcare policy/undoing of ACA, environmental decision making or border, Israel or North Korea policies. So nice that you and others expand perspectives re: Charles Blow's excellent piece. Makes me thankful for the internet. Wouldn't it be nice to a have a run of the mill philanderer in chief again. Finally, as you and Charles Blow had noted, there are folk heroes, who, along with their fictive narratives, end up dead, behind bars and/or totally discredited. Trump's time will come.
8
@D E Bookhardt You are so right. Edwards definitely lined his own pockets, but he did genuinely try to make things better for the poor, in the same vein of another Louisiana folk hero, Huey P. Long. Trump has no interest in the poor or middle class and certainly has not implemented any policies to help them.
6
A great many of Trump's supporters have lost the ability to distinguish between actual reality and a "reality show" on TV, which is how Trump gained access into their affections. They now see themselves as participants in the first Reality Show Presidency, and the Nuremberg type Trump rallies they attend provide the vindication that they have a huge and devoted audience.
The truly hilarious part of this is that if they had ever worked in that industry like I have, they would understand that EVERYTHING they see on TV is fake, including those "reality" shows. They're scripted, and people audition. One friend almost made it to the top round of Survivor Show applicants, and the producers had already assigned him a character to play and a role to fulfill in the plot if he had been selected for the show. Reality shows are just a sneaky way that el cheapo producers try to get around paying SAG wages for professionals. It was originally and remains a union busting technique.
4
I agree with Charles. Trump has fashioned himself as an archetypal American “outlaw.” This is connected to the frontier myth, and with it, a license to battle evil forces... including belittling, starving, and even killing individuals and groups. Historically this mythic figure, whether it be a sherif, military general, super hero, or political figure, has often been connected to bad boy misogyny, racism, and nativism, all viewed with a certain romanticism. It’s not chance that Andrew Jackson’s painting is on this presidency’s wall. Morality has no place in this mythos; it creates its own rules and that part of its appeal. While that mythic archetype and all its reckless violence cannot be destroyed (unlike in novels/films like Lord of the Rings) this administration can be voted out of office.
1
He gets away with all the sins that his followers are too timid to commit.
4
Hard for me to wrap my head around the idea of folk hero yet I must. The takeaway from this article is don’t obsess over Trump for his cult will dig in deeper.
A folk hero to the followers but let’s not forget he still needs more than 40% (his base) to be re-elected. He has not endeared himself to those who still value leadership and principle over bumbling con acting. He has turned his back on us. And for us he is a cult leader ignoring our needs. The Dems have the numbers on their side. Just put a dynamic duo ticket together and speak to us. Ignore the Trump sideshows and don’t let the media drag you in. And speak softly and gently to the cult because they have very very thin skin. And the media loves to drag you in. Keep it simple and never speak of deplorables. For the real deplorable is the con man himself. He wants you to speak of him but don’t.
Use the term the other side or opponent when highlighting policy differences. Never use the word Trump as a noun or verb. Stop using the word Trump altogether. Starve the beast!
3
Let's not waste more time or effort trying to figure Trump out as if there's more to him than there is. There isn't. He's every bit as contemptible and dangerous -- not by intent (which requires a functioning brain with real knowledge)-- but by reptilian instinct and a mean-streak with a criminal absence of empathy or personal honor.
To label him a folk hero is to subject language to brutal debasement, just as Trump does live in person or via twitter.
He's an actor who played a version of Daddy Warbucks on network television. He played a fake tycoon with fake apprentices vying to win his fake approval in a fake contest.
He's no more a folk hero than other game show hosts such as Snoop Dogg, Pat Sajak or Drew Carey, who millions watch and imagine they know, like and trust.
An elderly aunt who watches Jeopardy speaks of Alex Trebek as if he was a close family friend. Alex can do no wrong, is smarter than Einstein, and glowing with chivalry and integrity.
Alex, Snoop, Pat (a climate denier my aunt says warmly) and Drew aren't folk heroes. They're TV shills chosen by focus groups because they're good at being blank slates for people to project their fantasies.
Trump is to his fans a sharp stick in the eye of liberal, socialist Americans who live in Sodom and Gomorrah (i.e., Democrat). They don't care about his unkept promises. As long as he riles, pokes and provokes the other side to apoplexy, he's their man.
He's a fake folk hero like he's a fake president.
8
Trump can be called out and exposed but only by someone candidate who knows the street game of stand and deliver and can think on his/her feet and sting offhand.
That person can turn Trump's trash talk on him so that he is revealed for who he is. Obama could do it; he'd make Trump look bad and maybe even speechless for once.
As yet I don't see that person in the running. The young Alexandria could take him down.
1
There is no evidence of "fundamental good" in Donald Trump. This alone negates his status as a legend.
2
A 'folk hero' is just somebody who does what others wish they could - but lack the courage, or resources, to break from their own trodden paths. Which is why gangster shows (e.g., 'The Sopranos') are so popular. Whhen DJT said he could shoot people on 5th Avenue and his supporters would still back him is correct. American 'Exceptionalism' indeed.
Blow writes that his mother and many like here "would die rather than vote red."
Then he wonders how she could support the blue guy. What other choice did she have?
She might well disapprove of his behavior, but it was him or the Republicans.
It needn't be an assumption that he is a folk hero. It could just as well be biting the bullet. Did she approve of any of those things about him?
Blow fails to understand that Trump can be the same way for many of those who voted for him. Bad, but not worse.
Blow fails to see that, because he simply can't get his head around the idea that Hillary was not good, and that those very like her now are not the better choice for Democrats. That is why he can't understand those who voted against her, rather than for Trump.
Well observed. Bill Clinton's nickname, Slick Willie, suggests a similar relationship between a leader and his supporters.
The original Slick Willie was known as the gentleman bank robber. Sure he was robbing banks, but he was kind to the customers while doing so. And given that this was during a period of banks foreclosing on family farms etc., his criminality could be interpreted as heroic.
Similarly, Pres. Bill Clinton always seemed to one step ahead of the law. "Slick Willie" makes sense when supporters understand that while the law may be legitimate, its agents, Slick Willie's accusers and prosecutors, were not.
The way to expose the fiction and the fantasy of Trump is to explode his myth. Release his taxes. Release the full Mueller Report. Release the transcripts of his meetings with Putin. Expose Trump for the fraud that he is.
3
Trump is indeed a folk hero. He absolutely pleases his supporters here in Ohio that I know. His Facebook supporters are rabid, nasty, and ugly in their posts of support for anything that he says or does. I'm afraid I am a pessimist. I am not sure that it will make a difference who the Democrats run against him in 2020, I'm afraid he will get another term in the White House either on his own folk hero status or with help from the same power that put him in office in 2016. Those who love him--always will. Nothing he can say or do or anything any court can prove against him will sway this support or change their votes.
2
The answer is contained in what you're saying: Ongoing, focused elimination of the magic by revealing what he really brings his "followers." In detail. Breaking the spell.
1
Trump won, not because he is good, but you Democrat (Not only Hillary ）are worse.
However Democrat never think so and do everything to smear him and his team member good or bad. That why he will keep winning...
It is time to do some self-examination, which will benefit the party and the country.
What a thoughtful article. This makes a whole lot of sense.
1
Maybe Democrats need their own folk hero. Who fits the bill? Fight fire with fire.
Interesting take on this, thank you. A thought: Trump adorers loathe HRC for what they perceive as her corruption, her condoning of sexual harassment, her treasonous acts, her cozying up to corporate America - i.e., all of the things that Trump is not only accused of, but demonstrably guilty of. Yet in HRC's case, they're disqualifying.
Might indicate that it's not the "destructive and deadly ways" of Trump that these sycophants admire, but maybe just that he doesn't deny them.
Not sure what that means, other than it creates problems for us all going forward.
2
Let's face it: People who voted for Trump are just holding on by their fingertips hoping that their leader will bring back the good-oldtime paying jobs in coal fields, auto plants, factories, etc., etc. All those jobs are gone and will never come back. Trump, their delusional leader, has joined the other inmates in the asylum.
1
Excellent article. Spot on.
Folk hero? Please. I think those who believe it really wish they could be like him. The wealth and it’s trappings. The remorseless mocking of others he disagrees with. Even the lies. He should wear a fibbit (not a misspelling) to make sure he tells the minimum daily requirement of falsehoods.
He’s more a pied piper. The rats are already in his administration. Hopefully when the real campaign begins, those same people will realize he’s going to reach into their homes and pockets and take away whatever they have left. Healthcare. Security. Clean air. Clean water.
And then they’ll vote for the candidate who can truly be a president for all Americans. I pray for that.
1
Fitting that I just watched The Highwaymen, observing this very thing. 20,000 people attended Bonnie Parker’s funeral. 15,000 attended Clyde’s.
I will repeat it again— Trump is not the problem, his people are. When he is gone we will still have to deal with them.
2
The British Council's take on the Monkey King does sound a lot like our president, right up to the part about "fundamental good within him." That's where the similarities vanish. Where's the fundamental good in outraging our allies, partners and finest friends? Where's the good in giving comfort to bigotry? Or in savaging our natural environment? Or in fostering a cult of greed and corruption in America? The Monkey King would be fresh air.
1
Well, his dad was already a folk anti-hero. Woodie Guthrie wrote a song about him.
“All other swindlers upon earth are nothing to the self-swindlers, and with such pretences did I cheat myself. Surely a curious thing. That I should innocently take a bad half-crown of somebody else's manufacture, is reasonable enough; but that I should knowingly reckon the spurious coin of my own make, as good money!”
— Charles Dickens, ‘Great Expectations’
1
The danger in this folk hero concept is the long term damage created by those non folk hero people who bask in and abuse the leaders power to inflict damage.
Think of those who are appointed as lifetime federal judges, those public officials are bending public policy to abuse immigrants, those common people who now openly practice racism, religious intolerance , sexual discrimination , because they believe it’s now appropriate to act out their folk hero’s worst traits.
Luckily ( hopefully) folk here do meet their demise: Capone (syphillis ), Dillinger and Bonnie and Clyde a hail of gunfire.
What are the numbers of disaffected Trump voters? We need to hear more from them if only to answer the question is there a cure for Trump Derangement Syndrome or is the disease fatal?
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Folk hero, legend? That's not even close.
Mr. Trump's behaviour resembles the knaveries of the Olympians and that's exactly what his followers are looking for: a divine power . The old Christian God does no longer agrees with them.
Interesting theory. But what we really need in order to understand the Trump phenomenon is for someone, anthropologist, sociologist or journalist, to embed himself in a non-white supremacist Trump community. Move to deep red county and enlist in pro-Trump political groups. Then write a fair minded study. Might be a good idea for a young journalist or PhD thesis in political science or sociology.
Good article, informative and we learn something about author's roots "down home," in La. But I would contend that Edwards was a Johnny-come-lately to the south's pantheon of populist folk heroes, that the most noteworthy was "The Kingfisher," Huey P. Long who, I maintain, might have gone on to live a long life had he not posed a threat to FDR for the presidency--my theory, and was gunned down by a Manchurian candidate, a Dr. Weiss, and who knows who else was behind the rub out?Long posed a threat to FDR just as decades later George Wallace posed a threat to RN's re election, and suffered a near assassination as a result!But I digress.Author is less judgemental here, and therefore more interesting to read! We do worship Trump--even though my applications to be part of the team were not even answered, but just as Gen.Massu asked French Algeria enthusiasts in 1950's "Si vous n'avez pas De Gaulle, vous avez qui," I would say that if we don't have Trump to defend us "petits blancs," we have whom and answer is no one. Like him or not, Trump has "it."But Mr. Blow has written an article worthy of interest and bravo!
I think something very basic and very bad is happening and trump is just an ugly symptom. listening to the radio yesterday I heard a man speak very convincingly about the way in which homo sapiens were able to succeed and populate the earth where other primitive forms of "man" had not...... through the ability of Homo sapiens to cooperate with each other in large numbers. this is a unique quality. what we are seeing now is the decline of cooperation amongst the human species. this is most prominent in conservative thought but liberals, especially rich liberals, have fallen prey to this corruption of our species as well. if we cannot turn this around we are looking the de-civilization of the planet.
The “folk heroes” are supported because they take care of...or put great effort into taking care of...or have a track record of taking care of the responsibilities they were elected to take care of in the first place.
Trump was elected to do 3 primary things, thumb his nose and ridicule political correctness, deliver a tax cut, and close national entry points for Muslims and Latin Americans...all three foul aspirations IMO...but nevertheless the core of what he ran on.
I do not believe one is not deplorable if one does deplorable things. We are responsible for. the influence we exert—even if it is just a vote. As much as you must have loved your mother and found her adulation of Edwin Edwards irreconcilable with her apparent saintliness, to me she is just a pathetic woman. Her quirks seem more like confirmation of her lack of a rudder than an anomaly in an otherwise benign character. Sorry. Because she raised a rock-solid, dead-eye doyen of rectitude. To all appearances, my mother-in-law is the sweetest, most generous, kindest woman I have ever met, but she watches Fox News and wouldn’t desert Trump or the Republican Party if you burned her at the stake. I think her personality was skewed by something in her childhood. I would prefer not to be around her than accept her fey sweetness.
I keep searching for an answer as to why people turn a blind eye to the lies and other absurdities that come from that man. I can't say his name because it angers me so much and I hate to start the day that way! Thank you for providing some rational clarification and putting a name to the obsessive compulsiveness of his followers. Monkey King...what a great title.
I do not remember ever reading an editorial on these pages headed “Why So Many Americans Like Trump.” An unforgivable oversight. Just assemble a cross section of Trump supporters and publish a transcript of what they have to say about him. Close to half of America are strangers to these pages.
Nobody ever went broke betting against the facile nature of the American voter.
What is that thing that can counter delusion? Truth? Good luck, they will call it "fake news".
Perhaps one can ask his supporters:
Can Trump do any wrong?
If NO, then is Trump God?
If Trump shot someone (an innocent person, bystander etc) do you think that's wrong?
Would you still vote for him?
Thank you, and welcome back. I read this essay 4 times, and you make sense. Part of my family thinks DT he has done nothing wrong and he is doing great things. But I see none of that, and feel like I am being scammed every day he is president, bellowing at his “rallies” and every story he dreams up. And I don’t understand what the allure is. Why people believe his sales pitch. Cuz that is what he is - deep down, a used car salesman selling a cream puff to s wanna believe customer
Most penetrating analysis I've read from Mr. Blow. He needs to extrapolate from this column and analyze the effect that being a media personality has on the political process. Reagan, Schwartzenegger (sp?), the SNL actor who was elected from Minnesota, Trump, the dangerous current Lt. Gov of Texas...all got their chops in media. Is there something there that builds the ability to play the role Blow outlines?
Report on the base who attend his mass meetings. Ask each one of them one simple question: why the 1st World War? and see what you hear, write it down and publish it.
you do it by running someone who honestly stands for the people's interests...just as we could have done in 2016. Bernie Sanders would steal his thunder. The American oligarchy needs to end, but a staged temper tantrum is only making it worse.
Who knew there were SO many Archie Bunkers in America ? Before the monstrosity took office I had figured there were plenty. But this many ? And now they're emboldened in their narrow minded quest for "The Good Old Days" by their heroes:Trump, Fox News and hate radio. The struggle against American fascism is ongoing and will be with us for a very long time.
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Gore Vidal was a sociopath, be was correct in one sense. We truly are the "United States of Amnesia."
First off, the author's mother, who I assume to be elderly, believes that Republicans, "abide and court racists." I find this strange, as it was the Democrats who put into place the racist system under which she lived during her early life. Democrats harassed her and discouraged her from voting or pursuing education, but she chooses to believe otherwise. Be that as it may.
Secondly, I have never seen a more cultist devotion than that of those who supported Barack Obama. Even today, his supporters can't admit that his administration was not, "scandal free," and have laughably even tried to give him credit the economic success of the Trump administration.
I recently spent five days playing golf with two Trumpist friends. One asked me if I thought we were near civil war. "That's certainly what Putin would like", I thought. These friends discounted any accusations of criminality, simply declaring they want Trump to be "their Leader". They are otherwise bright people, so their fealty was spooky. Civil War? We should all step back a bit...the genocides in Yugoslavia and Uganda were neighbor against neighbor and were as ugly as people get.
Rule 1 of the Con. Nobody wants to admit they've been conned to themselves or to others. Nothing is quite as humiliating as being a taken.
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A true folk hero would normally be defined by some area of exceptional competence. As president, Trump is an incompetent bumbler whose only area of competence is an ability to rage against all facets of the status quo, even the institutions whose mission is to keep us safe. If that qualifies him as a folk hero, he is one of the best.
This is a great column. Your last paragraph is perfect!
To all those on here commenting and trying to how deplorable, mean spirited etc most of these trump supporters are and so why bother understanding them I think are missing Mr Blows point.
I believe the point is, though these people harbor those sentiments - how is it they can support a man like trump who, though he echoes all those things they want to hear, embodies so many things they find repulsive. What makes trump THE ONE for the, in spite of all his obvious traits that they find so horrible in anyone else. Perhaps , Mr Blow is correct and it not all the things we have all said over and over again, but that they have elevated him beyond the normal bounds of what we judge. He is their Monkey King.
Starve his media coverage. Get him off the front page. Since he changes his mind on the big issues every few days, let those views run their course for a week or two or more and them bring them off the back pages to the front page--that is if they are still in motion.
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Trump’s appeal is to the conscious or unconscious racist attitudes amongst us. Anyone who has felt slighted or has perceived something negative happening to them through a racial lens, is fully devoted to the man no matter what he does or doesn’t do. It may not occur to them that harm has come to their lives regardless of race, especially as it concerns the economic challenges posed by banks, etc. to the middle class. That’s why it’s so important to defeat Trump at the ballot box. And to address how economic problems result in real, ongoing problems to the middle class.
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Mr. Blow, you and I have much in common, especially when it comes to mothers: strong Southern women of firm conviction and unbending morals. And I’ve long shared your view that Trump is a Jessie James figure to his followers. So I do take some hope from the fact that my Momma has come to hate the man, for his low character and wicked, spiteful ways. She even now wears red on occasion. But not to church.
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@expat
My mom is 93 and has age related dementia yet she watches CNN all day and even she can see and detests Trump, not even fully understanding his policies. She just can't stand the man.
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@expat
It really didn't work out that well for Jesse James.
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Thomas Frank and others have written about the disconnect between the Democratic Party and the American middle class. Yes there are too many Stephen Millers behind trump,to many special interests that are not interested in the common good but only their pocketbooks ,but on the outskirts of trump supporters there are a number of voters who really have been left behind. The Democrats have become a party of well educated technocrats who are educationally,socially and economically separated from the middle class. did Clinton really “feel your pain “? In order to win votes Democrats moved closer to the right. Democrats have lost their New Deal fervor on the national and state level. Hopefully the next democratic candidate can reach out to these “outskirt” voters and convince them that trump is nothing more than a con man. Hillary could not. In part because she was an old school democrat.
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I think the only way to overcome the folk hero is to stop giving him so much oxygen. I can only speak for myself but I would continue my subscriptions to NYT and WAPO and others if the reporting would shift its focus away from Trump and focus on investigating the "peripheral" stuff like judicial appointments and the awfulness perpetrated by the cabinet employees. Offer an alternative version of the narrative and stop allowing him to define it. TV network news could also stop wringing their hands over every thing he says or tweets. I know it's all for ratings but geez! I would bet there's a lot of us out there hungry for other news. And if the news isn't Trump bashing maybe some folks who tend to lean red just might read it.
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@Westy Not gonna happen. The NYT, WAPO, and all of the other legacy media companies have been making money hand over fist whipping up hysteria about Trump. He's spectacular for ratings and clicks, and until that changes, they're going to keep debasing themselves by churning out as much anti-Trump content as possible.
I’ve stopped discussing trump with my conservative friends, even the ones who are willing to calmly engage. Using a principle I vaguely recall from Psych 100, I’ve concluded that for any criticism I make, they feel compelled to defend, which only further solidifies their support on that issue.
This is why 2020 Democratic candidates should ignore trump, focus on the issues, and dare I say, educate the public about such basic things as the separation of powers, in simple language. Consider airing such educational commercials on Fox and local radio stations in red geographic areas. It could be approached in an historical context, explaining why the founding fathers made the choices they did.
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@Louisa Glasson: Trump's entire mob doubles down all the way down.
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Folk hero is almost right, however this is a vast over simplification of a rather complex issue.
Some people voted for Trump because they see him as the chemotherapy for fixing a cancer in their government that has grown unchecked for decades. Their core grievances may be varied, but they see a system where politicians primary concern is the next election and every single person says what they need to get elected then comes up with an excuse why any responsible adult who has to govern can't possibly do those things they promised. The primary concern here is political correctness, and an overbearing Force that seeks groupthink and eradicate individuals thinking as individuals. This group of people may not even like Trump that much, but as long as they see the cancer, they will continue to support him.
The religious voters may not see Trump as one of them, but as the gladiator they need to put in the ring to fight the other monsters working to remove their belief system. Most have no illusion about Trump as a paragon of virtue. They however can look into Scripture and remember that King David had his faults, but on the whole he loved his people, and God chose David in spite of all his flaws. Once these people believe Trump is their King David, they will vote for him.
Humans are flawed people, while it is true that ultimately we are driven by economic self interest, voting against a perceived existential threat can trump material greed or morality.
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It is a cult, a la Jim Jones of Jonestown. Remember that one? Forget quaint notions like logic, reason, facts. Such things don't enter in. Took me a long time to figure this out because my own mind doesn't operate this way, but I think that best explains it. The best short summary, in a direct quote, is from Maryland Rep Jamie Raskin: "You have to think of the Trump phenomenon as a religious cult surrounding an organized crime family." That's just the starting point. Stalin died in 1953 but there are still lots of people in Russia who have the same reverence for him as what we're talking about here, so this kind of adoration runs deep, defying even death. I believe that if one of these days Trump should succumb, say, to his love of cheeseburgers, his cult will go on worshiping him even then. Truly remarkable.
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But what I don't understand is when a town's water supply is being contaminated by Trump's policies that affect one's own children and a mother still says that she supports him. This I cannot comprehend.
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@Louis. Let's say he is a very good con-man, or better still, cult leader who can make people drink poison kool aid while saying "trust me" I am the only one who can solve your problems.
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Let’s consider the fates of two American folk hero’s; Jessie James and Will Rogers. They were both appreciated in their day and now they are long since in their graves. What remains today is that James carried a gun, committed crimes and was betrayed by a friend, while Rogers carried a sharp wit, gave us clever aphorisms and was betrayed by bad luck. Of course, movies were made of James and so far as I know, none for Rogers, but movie baddies are the often the best roles. However, James is buried in his grave and he and the model of his gun forgotten. Rogers is also buried but his wit and cleverness lives on today. Which legacy would you want?
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Charles, you have answered you’re own question, “How does one fight a fiction, a fantasy? It’s answer is the path to America’s salvation.” As you said, your mother,”...would die rather than vote red.” So Trump supporters,”...would rather die than vote...” BLUE. The “answer” you seek lies within us! Forget trying to convince them. “Anti-Trump forces must...” step forward and vote him out of office! That’s how we achieve “salvation”.
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This editorial brought to mind Agent K's assessment of the human situation, from Men In Black:
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals, and you know it."
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I generally vote Republican. I live in the south. I do not know any white racists. I also do not live in a bubble. Sadly, racism will always exist in many forms but as a country we are headed in the right direction. The issue is not so much one of racism as one of politics that can be far too eager to play the race card to get what it wants.
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@Confused
Some questions:
You "generally vote Republican." OK, why?
Can you judge a candidate by his or her personal qualities and not whether he or she has a D or R next to their name?
Seeing that Newt Gingrich is the father of polarizing politics and pulling the Republicans to the right. how does this current crop of Republicans differ from the pre-Gingrich Republicans? Additionally, are the current crop of Republicans more or less attractive to you than their pre-Gingrich predecessors?
By what measurable standard do you think this country is headed in the right direction?
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@Confused. Bravo. For critics like Mr. Blow to exist, the prevalence of wide-spread, institutional and deeply ingrained racism must also exist. We mustn't even consider whether Mr. Blow's principle assumption is, in fact, not entirely true. To even consider that possibility poses an existential threat to Mr. Blow and others just like him.
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@Confused What "issue"?
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Blow hits the nail on the head here. This is exactly what we are dealing with. A monkey king. . . ruling over a banana republic.
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An accurate and prescient analysis of both the American Electorate and the challenge facing those of us on the progressive, forward-thinking side of the ledger. Thank you Mr. Blow.
If one doubts the fact that defeating Trumpism is more than just defeating "Trump, the man". . . consider the advice Vernon Jordan was reported to have offered in response to questions of whether Hillary Clinton could defeat Barack Obama in the Democratic Primary:
"It's hard to run against a Movement".
We are fighting against a movement - albeit an evil, vile and rearward facing ideology, but a movement nonetheless. We have much work to do.
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