Wind Beneath His Wings

 

Seconds after.
T-Shirts were quickly available in China bearing this emblem.

 

 A very interesting piece in the New Statesman [19-25 July, 2024,] by Katie Stallard with the sub-title

Ardent admirer.

Mystifying.

Don Junior toes the line. 

America peers into the abyss appeared on cue! Written soon after the worst sniper in the world narrowly missed Trump’s head and pierced his outer ear at a Republican campaign rally in Pennsylvania on 13 July. This intervention was unplanned but morphed into amazingly effective and spontaneous political theatre and I marvelled at the man; he didn’t collapse to the ground but rather descended to his knees, quickly rising defiantly to his full height [with help from his FBI minders], with a bright blue sky above and a billowing American flag conveniently nearby, holding up his fist and mouthing, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” Stunned by the near-miss assassination attempt, underlined by the dramatic blood trickle down Trump’s face, the crowd went wild with worship. Cynics might briefly wonder if Trump had paid the sniper in a dramatic publicity campaign manoeuvre because the result was electrifying. Within nanoseconds Trump, the supreme narcissist bred for nothing but to take whatever he wanted in life, and with 34 felony counts [among others] of falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments to a porn star, was utterly transformed in the eyes of the crowd. He became a preacher; a prophet; a saviour. The man without morals or standards, was confirmed as leader of a cult saluted by millions of adoring followers.

Mark Watts' cartoon in New Statesman
Stallard article.

“Trump’s political skill has long been his instinctive grasp of the potency of resentment".  [New Statesman Stallard article on Trump.] This billionaire son of a wealthy family with few apparent intellectual skills, presents himself as the underdog fighting for the downtrodden masses against the deep state. “I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution.” This language seems to say a lot about the American audiences too; surely no British audience could have heard such nonsense without wretching! And these audiences are not crackpot splinter groups with axes to grind; they are average citizens who seem to see nothing strange about Trump’s bizarre ‘saviour’ claims; indeed, who revel in his promises and admire him genuinely and deeply. They clearly do not notice, or intuit, his questionable behaviour or his worrying, even menacing, character. As suggested in The Daily Beast: “ For Trump, facts don’t matter, slogans suffice, truth is irrelevant.” But the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, popularly elected holder in a very important political arena, said, ”He is indomitable.” Roger Marshall, a Republican senator from Kansas, in otherwise apparent sound mind, gushed, “God is not through with Donald Trump yet. He’s here to lead us, and we’re here to put wind beneath his wings.” This mixture of grievance and fervent quasi-religious belief is potent and frightening while being undeniably powerful.

J.D. Vance
Born into an impoverished family
in Ohio; wrote best-selling
Hillbilly Elegy.
Successful career as investment
banker; became a Senator; now
Republican Vice-Presidential candidate
the least qualified ever.
In 2016 described Trump as like Hitler
and as a reprehensible idiot.
His opinion has now moved  into  line with
that of Trump whom he now admires
and aspires to emulate.
This is a man in transition.

Admittedly, I do not entirely understand the American electoral system. There is a popular vote and the electoral college. Hilary Clinton won two million more people’s votes than the Donald in 2019 but lost in the electoral college count. Opinions I have read suggest that a relatively few hundred thousand votes will decide the ‘24 election in just three swing states; Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. I remain puzzled but then, Britain has its own electoral systemic problems too! The current political U.S. landscape suggests Trump has almost equal voter numbers of those who worship and those who detest. And he does raise strong feelings on both sides. But America is a violent country contrary to Joe Biden’s opinion and there are more guns than people. His appointment of J.D. Vance as his vice-presidential pick, does not bode well for a peaceful atmosphere; Vance, by nature and action, inclined to Trumpian pronouncements, will surely enthuse and extend the M.A.G.A movement. Does he share the malign vengeance inclinations of the man himself? Possibly, but I would not be surprised if he manages to deepen the malevolent divide in American society which already benefits his boss. Certainly, if Harris wins, as the Grown-ups hope, the transition will not be without incident!