Everything about Donald Trump, whether we look at the man himself, what he says, or what his supporters say, comes down not to hope, but to anger. Anger against immigrants working hard, anger against globalization and progress, anger against blacks not knowing their place. Political analysts for months have discussed what the source of that anger is and whether it is primarily racial prejudice or economic grievances.
Regardless of the reason, the fact is that even after winning in 2016, Trump has continued to be an angry man. And he continued that attack on Friday at an Alabama rally by insulting peaceful NFL protestors, before following that up by declaring on Twitter that NFL players who dared to protest the flag should be promptly fired.
But the fact that Trump continues to be angry says a great deal about his presidency. Successful people are not angry. And if Trump had succeeded in any of his legislative goals, he would not have needed to be angry at that Friday Alabama rally. He could have talked about the supposedly great things he accomplished by winning and proudly declared that he was a great President.
However, nothing has been accomplished. And so Trump must continue to be angry and rile up the crowd of red hats, hoping that they will care about the NFL than North Korea or Robert Mueller. But that same anger showcases Trump’s weakness.
Dealing with the Backlash
In fact, Trump’s anger is proving to be his own undoing as the backlash to his grandstanding makes clear. As journalist Matthew Yglesias smartly pointed out on Twitter, conservatives had won in regard to Colin Kaepernick. He was out of the league, the hubbub over his protests was dying down, and everything would have worked out fine if Trump had actually focused on important political issues.
But because Trump cannot keep his mouth shut and insulted Kaepernick so blatantly, athletes who have opposed Kaepernick or would have preferred to stay out of politics are taking a stand against Trump. Ray Lewis, who has visibly stated his opposition to both Kaepernick’s protest and Black Lives Matter, kneeled on Sunday according to USA Today. A MLB athlete kneeled for the first time on Saturday as ESPN reports, and the Oakland A’s instantly released a statement of support.
But while Mr. Yglesias may correctly point out that the backlash may produce a conservative defeat from the jaws of victory, this does carry the assumption that Trump cares about conservatism or anything other than his own self-gratification. By making those outrageous statements to those cheering red hats on Friday, Trump was loved. By an ever shrinking portion of the American people who grow ever more radical, but still a portion.
And to Trump, government policies and culture wars are secondary to his desire to be cheered by an adoring crowd. And if the way towards adoration is to grow continually more insane and angry, then that is what Trump will do.
It is not like he is going to try something like passing a bill. That is just crazy talk.