“Nobody likes me – must be
my personality”
(Yep, but only half right
- you figure it out)
Trump when asked about the absence of Dr. Anthony Fauci
bemoaned about his own low approval ratings and compared his popularity to Fauci’s
saying in part (July 28): “Nobody likes me.”
(And, he said that with
a straight face no less).
His statement implies that it was his personality
people didn’t like all the while administration's health experts mostly still receive
accolades while he is accused of ignoring and denying the raging public health
crisis.
CNN
and others said about that: That's
only one answer, Mr. President – read on:
In a week that saw a devastating global pandemic worsen, a record economic meltdown
confirmed, and an all-out bid to stoke racial tensions for political gain
deepen, Trump is finding himself more and more the odd man out: absent and
detached from the leadership of either party, locked in antique cultural
battles, and increasingly unpopular among voters.
But, by Friday (July 30), Trump’s own blunt assessment
of his popularity seemed to have manifested in a litany of other (a few listed
here) ways:
Even his staunchest Republican allies flatly rejected his
suggestion that November's voting be delayed, some actually laughing at what,
by most accounts, was a serious (if toothless) proposal from the President to
undermine the election.
The nation's civic
leadership, including three of Trump's four living predecessors,
gathered without him in Atlanta to honor the late Rep. John Lewis, making the
sitting president's absence conspicuous if unsurprising.
Stimulus talks on Capitol Hill have proceeded almost
entirely without his participation, and have been notable mainly for the
disarray they have exposed among Republicans, many of whom were unpleasantly
surprised to learn the President's demand for a new FBI building was included
in the final proposal.
In a closed door hearing on
Friday, intelligence officials working in Trump's own
administration discounted the possibility of foreign countries mass-producing
fake ballots to interfere in the November elections — a claim Trump seemed to
be making simultaneously from the Cabinet Room.
And the concerted push by Trump to delegitimize mail-in ballots is
raising alarm bells among Republican operatives, who are worried the
President's demand for in-person voting will mainly serve to dampen turnout
among his own supporters.
Trump's attempts to regain
standing have only exacerbated the divorce and led to worries he is weighing
down his party's ability to move forward.
Long dismissive of the Washington
establishment, Trump has shown little concern at how his moves are forcing
allies into awkward positions or alienating himself from longstanding norms.
Far from a mere differences
of his personality and his own example of saying nobody likes me statement, Trump this week suggested a President actively isolating himself in his own
bubble of conspiracy theories and questionable science, with fewer and fewer
people willing to step inside to join him.
In an attempt to boost his mood,
Trump's advisers scrambled to assemble a scaled-down political event on a
baking Florida tarmac on Friday, where Trump addressed a mostly mask-less crowd
standing inches from one another. Other events in the state that Trump had
scheduled for Saturday were canceled as a storm approached.
Trump has voiced versions of nobody likes me for the past several months, those people said,
describing an in-the-dumps president brought low by a pandemic he feels he has
little ability to control.
Speaking Thursday, Trump
appeared resigned to the fact that coronavirus case counts will continue
spiking, and said it's probably not anyone's fault, least of all his, saying: “That's
just the way it is.”
Top Republicans, many of whom
have given up hope that Trump will offer anything resembling a coherent
national plan to contain the virus, have long decided to promote mask-wearing
and social distancing without taking a lead from Trump. One of those who didn't, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), found out he had coronavirus
from a test administrated at the White House.
Instead of avoiding the
question or denying knowledge about Trump's tweet suggesting an
election delay – a tactic they've fallen back on before when the President
dispatches something inconvenient or embarrassing – nearly every Republican
this week rejected the idea out of hand.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) an
informal staunch adviser to the President said: “I don't think that's a particularly good
idea.”
Sen. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
said: “I read it. I laughed. I thought my gosh this is going to consume a lot
of people. I long ago stopped being surprised by the things the president does
that other presidents wouldn't have done, but I also understand why he does it
and why his base enjoys it so much.”
The move appeared to some
another break from a President whose interests in politics generally don't
extend beyond his own self-interest.
While his absence from the
Lewis funeral on Thursday (July 29) was not a surprise given the animosity
between the two men, it also reflected Trump's general impatience for the
rituals of politics that do not revolve around him.
Denied traditional routes of
affirmation, Trump has begun looking elsewhere. Basically, he is frustrated
that his once-favorite television channel Fox News now is willing to interview
Democrats, he has adopted the hard-right *OAN
as his preferred venue and spoke to the outlet's CEO this week about
hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malarial that he insists works to prevent
coronavirus.
*OAN in a snapshot: One America
News Network (OANN), also
known as One America News (OAN), is a fair right, cable
channel founded by the Robert Herring Jr. family with HQ in San Diego – it
was launched July 4, 2013 and has news bureaus in Washing DC and NYC.
Its political talk shows have a conservative perspective, and the
channel has described itself as one of the “greatest supporters of President
Donald Trump,” and Trump himself has promoted the network frequently.
OAN is also prominent for promoting falsehoods and conspiracy
theories.
Even amid attempts by his
aides to shift his focus back to the pandemic, Trump continues to hear from a
wide range of associates who are undermining the administration's health
experts and questioning their approach to the pandemic.
A group of doctors who have
promoted hydroxychloroquine and cast doubt on the decision to enforce lockdowns
to contain the virus were invited to the White House for a meeting with Vice
President Mike Pence on Wednesday, even though a video of a press conference
they delivered was removed from social media for violating rules against misinformation.
My 2 cents: So, Mr. President, still wonder why nobody likes you?
Self-evident isn’t it?
I can’t add anything else to this rundown other that
what I have said a thousand times before: Donald J. Trump in out of his league,
in way over his head, and totally incorrigible.
Thanks for stopping by.
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