Even on Saturday, a while before midnight, Trump didn’t rest by stirring the pot.At 11:09 pm, just 15 minutes after posting a Twitter mourning the death of his younger brother, he retwented a message urging abandonment.of the peoples he represents as president.” Leave the Democratic peoples,” the message said.Let them rot.
Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post, pointing to the message that the president circulated around the world, asked a moderate question: “Have we lost our ability to be shocked?”
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The answer, of course, is “probably.”
At first glance, there is nothing to compare to this in American tradition.A president-in-Office with a message that encourages others to leave cities in their own country?The country by one explanation or another, but for a president to publicly express his contempt for urban spaces—before the election, nothing less—is extraordinary.
That said, the backlash likely toned down into a giant component due to the broader pattern. As we have recently discussed, Trump’s tenure has left little doubt that he sees himself not as a leader of a nation, but as the main organizer of Like-minded Supporters.
In early June, for example, after weeks of national racial justice protests, Trump ignored the aides who suggested the president at least review to calm a troubled nation.NBC News reported at the time that the Republican had used an undeniable number four word to light the protesters and their cause: “These are not my constituents.”
A month later, the Washington Post reported that the president was “insensitive” to advisers who tried to convince him to “address the reality” of the coronavirus pandemic. Only one thing struck a chord: “Senior advisers began presenting Trump with maps and knowledge that spikes in coronavirus cases appear among” our people “in the Republican states, said a senior management official.
This approach, the Post added, “seemed to resonate.”
In theory, Trump takes a look at the polls and the popular vote, recognizes the limit of his base, and takes steps to convince skeptics, but in practice, he doesn’t care: the president prefers to forget about the citizens of his own country who stubbornly refuse.to appreciate his perceived genius.
There is no defense for such a posture. American presidents have a duty to care about all their constituents, not just those they see as political allies.
But Trump is a kind of leader: one that might well replace his name as president of the Red States of America.
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