Stockholm syndrome
I admit I was never sure why Barack Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize so early in his administration, but at least he didn't spend four years encouraging violence, spewing racism and misogyny and trying to dismantle the engines of government and democracy. Trump has done all that and worse, and he covets the prize more than a date with a fifteen-year-old baton twirler. This week a far-right parliamentarian, a sort of Norwegian Steve King, apparently nominated him for bringing about peace between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Which is a perfectly good thing, though far from the solution to the problems of the Middle East, especially as he encourages the Netanyahu government to built illegal settlements in Palestine. Besides, didn't Kushner allegedly broker this deal? Anyway, it ain't happening. Not after they read Bob Woodward's account of Defense Secretary Mattis sleeping with his clothes on because he thought a nuclear war with North Korea was imminent.
The campaign couldn't wait to share the news about the "Noble Peace Prize," so there was much hilarity. Trump, however, was already in orbit, blithely comparing his incompetence and inactivity in the face of a pandemic to -- wait for it -- Churchill's leadership in World War II. It was the usual blend of lies, racism, more lies, incoherence, hair jokes, a ringing endorsement of John James for governor of Michigan (he's running for the Senate), a ringing endorsement of TiVo (he just found out about it), and the big finish:
"This wackjob that wrote the book [to whom he gave eighteen interviews and his personal phone number], he said, 'Well, Trump knew a little bit.' They wanted me to come out and scream, 'People are dying, we're dying.' No, no, we did it just the right way. We have to be calm...We have to lead. When Hitler was bombing, I don't know if you know this, when Hitler was bombing London, Churchill, great leader, would oftentimes go to a roof in London and speak, and he always spoke with calmness....No, we did it the right way and we've done a job like nobody."
It's like listening to your grandfather talk about the Alamo. He's never read a book, never been to Texas, but he once saw the John Wayne movie and he's conflated it with True Grit or Stagecoach and he holds forth at dinner unaware that people are rolling their eyes and stifling laughter. In this case Trump is confusing Churchill with Edward R. Murrow broadcasting from the Air Ministry roof. Churchill had his own bunker for use during air raids, just as Trump has one for peaceful demonstrations while he waits for the Apache helicopters. He never minimized the sufferings of Londoners, and sometimes visited bombed-out neighborhoods just as Trump never goes near anybody with "the sniffles," much less full-blown covid. Offering people "blood, toil, tears and sweat" and promising to "fight on the beaches" is a long way from pretending the war would just go away like a miracle. People were indeed dying. Churchill didn't "scream" but he didn't lie. To be fair he did mispronounce "Naaawzees," which is practically the same as calling the pandemic "kung flu," I guess. But one thing he didn't call the Nazis was "very fine people."
This country is not on the verge of a second civil war because of Trump's calmness and leadership. Rather, it's his baseless ranting about "caravans" of immigrants bringing murderers and rapists to the southern border, his encouragement of armed rightzi thugs, his insistence that any election he loses is "rigged," his hatred of a free press, his subservience to Putin and reliance on Russian election fuckery, his overt racism, his destruction of even the postal system, and his total indifference to over 190,000 deaths. To name a few.
If we order a chocolate "Noble" medal, wrap it in gold foil and get Jabba the Rush to hang it on his neck, will he go away?
The campaign couldn't wait to share the news about the "Noble Peace Prize," so there was much hilarity. Trump, however, was already in orbit, blithely comparing his incompetence and inactivity in the face of a pandemic to -- wait for it -- Churchill's leadership in World War II. It was the usual blend of lies, racism, more lies, incoherence, hair jokes, a ringing endorsement of John James for governor of Michigan (he's running for the Senate), a ringing endorsement of TiVo (he just found out about it), and the big finish:
"This wackjob that wrote the book [to whom he gave eighteen interviews and his personal phone number], he said, 'Well, Trump knew a little bit.' They wanted me to come out and scream, 'People are dying, we're dying.' No, no, we did it just the right way. We have to be calm...We have to lead. When Hitler was bombing, I don't know if you know this, when Hitler was bombing London, Churchill, great leader, would oftentimes go to a roof in London and speak, and he always spoke with calmness....No, we did it the right way and we've done a job like nobody."
It's like listening to your grandfather talk about the Alamo. He's never read a book, never been to Texas, but he once saw the John Wayne movie and he's conflated it with True Grit or Stagecoach and he holds forth at dinner unaware that people are rolling their eyes and stifling laughter. In this case Trump is confusing Churchill with Edward R. Murrow broadcasting from the Air Ministry roof. Churchill had his own bunker for use during air raids, just as Trump has one for peaceful demonstrations while he waits for the Apache helicopters. He never minimized the sufferings of Londoners, and sometimes visited bombed-out neighborhoods just as Trump never goes near anybody with "the sniffles," much less full-blown covid. Offering people "blood, toil, tears and sweat" and promising to "fight on the beaches" is a long way from pretending the war would just go away like a miracle. People were indeed dying. Churchill didn't "scream" but he didn't lie. To be fair he did mispronounce "Naaawzees," which is practically the same as calling the pandemic "kung flu," I guess. But one thing he didn't call the Nazis was "very fine people."
This country is not on the verge of a second civil war because of Trump's calmness and leadership. Rather, it's his baseless ranting about "caravans" of immigrants bringing murderers and rapists to the southern border, his encouragement of armed rightzi thugs, his insistence that any election he loses is "rigged," his hatred of a free press, his subservience to Putin and reliance on Russian election fuckery, his overt racism, his destruction of even the postal system, and his total indifference to over 190,000 deaths. To name a few.
If we order a chocolate "Noble" medal, wrap it in gold foil and get Jabba the Rush to hang it on his neck, will he go away?
posted by Buttermilk Sky at 2:15 PM
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