The beauty (and I'm using that word 'very' loosely) of Trump is that one can't really comment on him. You can expose him, you can look at his tax returns, break into his e-mail account, interview every woman he may or may not harmed, go through his business records, and re-visit his older quotes, and you will get zilch. Because we already know all the answer to all above. Trump doesn't have the higher moral ground, so therefore, he does not have to follow any moral code, except his over-the-top egoism. There are no rules in his world, because such nouns have no meaning in his life. He's a combination of a good James Bond Sean Connery era villain and a character out of an Alfred Jarry work of fiction. In other words, he's a mess, and he does not give a damn. He does whatever he does, because he can.
In a way, he is like a reflection off a mirror. You want to read these things in and on him, but that is virtually impossible. At times, I think he clearly wants to lose the election. He has the ability to say the most ridiculous things at the right time (for him of course). His recent comment on Russia should search and locate more of Clinton's e-mails is almost DADA like, in that he is only reflecting on the fear of the Democratic Party world and throwing it back like Nero as he lights his interiors to start the big fire.
To be honest, he himself is not that interesting. What's interesting is how such a figure can single handily destroy the Republican Party. It's not an issue of money, but more of a talent he is, to surf on the surface, and somehow makes it profound to his audience and enemies. And Trump, not only desires love, but also hatred. To him, it's equal, and a win-win situation. He is for sure, thin-skinned, when it comes to criticizing him, but he looks at the bigger picture, which is, people are talking about him. The thing is, and this is a true oddity, you can't really make fun of him. Because no matter how outrageous the parody is, he's way beyond the parody. Or, when one makes a speech against him, it comes off just plain, compared to a Trump performance. And make no mistake, he's a performer like any politician, but he is actually more of a genius type than say Clinton, who is just normal.
Normal is OK. If we are honest with ourselves, we actually crave normalcy. To get up in the morning, and make it to the evening, that is what we all crave and want to happen. Trump hates that. If he can throw in a wrench at a machinery part, so it will break down - that makes him happy. The fact that the Democratic Party likes to dig a deep hole in the ground, and put their heads inside that hole - with respect to the ills of the world, Trump doesn't care to do that route. He adores destruction. Trump sensually embraces chaos. Call him names, make fun of him, it's all a sense of beauty and entitlement for Trump. The highest of the high is to get a piece of property, build something on it, and then stamp it with your name on the top floor. So everyone can marvel that building, as it is. Which is a self-portrait of Donald Trump. And of course, there is nothing but interior rot and decay within that structure, but who will notice that?
He doesn't have an ounce of deepness and or a sense of irony (or perhaps he does, we will never know). But like Shakespeare's work, we can look into the world that these characters' make, and see perhaps a vision of who we are. So in a nutty way, I'm grateful for Trump destroying one-by-one the other contestants in the Republican race, because one, he exposed their hypocrisy. These others, think exactly like him, but Trump's genius was to expose his thoughts without any filtering. So, what we have is a monster of sorts, but one that is clearly visible. The danger is, not him specifically, but the fact that there are other monsters lurking in the shadows.
I have gone on and on about the drone issue. But think about it. We have a presidency that uses the drone on a regular basis. He himself has shown fears of future presidents misusing the drone system. And he, himself has killed many. One can argue he killed the bad guys, or even perhaps people who deserve to die - but that is a form of judge, jury, and executioner. If you like Obama's approach, and if that is fine with you, then great. But if the drone system under the eyes and heart of someone like Clinton or Trump - will you be OK with that as well? And not to be a buzz-kill, if we can operate drones, then we have to presume others can as well. I walk around my neighborhood, and I often see amateur drones in the air. Annoying things, to hear and see when you walk among a beautiful landscape. Then one starts to think what can be attached to these machines. Cameras, and the unthinkable.
It seems that we are quite pleased with a well-intended speech. The beauty of a velvet voice embracing our battered emotions, is not a bad thing at all. It's a seductive device, because that is basically what a speech is supposed to do - especially in the public space - which is not really a pubic space, but we are allowed to enter, mingle, and listen, and then leave and wander into the evening. If it's a really good speech, we can forget all the bad things, except fear. Because we do need the fear to motivate ourselves. It is a sexual instinct of sorts. We desire things that we can't have, but we can fantasize and almost taste its fruit. To taste fear, is like eating Trump alive. If we can munch on him quickly, we hope that will feed the fear, or at least, contain it for awhile. On the other hand, Trump still doesn't care. Win or lose, it's the ride that is important to him.
The Democratic Party, and I have to imagine the Republican Party, it's the win that is the goal and the great importance. For the first time in my existence, we are facing a gentleman (ha) who cares not at all what we think of him, just as long as we have Trump coming out of our collective mouths. If the political parties lose, they will consistently find blame somewhere else, beyond their mistakes or lack of vision. The rotten thing, is that now the pandora's box is opened, there will be more Trumps on the horizon.
- Tosh Berman
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