In this way, the political and moral problem of Trump—his nullity as a human being— turns into a literary problem: How do you write about a character that has no consistency, complexity, or mystery? It is a problem that has bedeviled journalists since Trump first announced for President: you can never get to the bottom of Trump because he is all surface.
Why did it never trouble them before he announced for President? It isn't as if he was a newcomer on the scene. Journalists have been covering him for decades. He had a hit TV show. And it was journalists who gave his Presidential run scads of free publicity. Why? Because they were sure that if he got the nomination, Mrs. Clinton would win the election easily. When that didn't happen, they started lamenting "the culture that produced Trump," which happens to be the same culture that produced them.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe political cartoonists do it best. Witness:
ReplyDeletehttp://cdn2.spiegel.de/images/image-1237289-860_poster_16x9-wnnc-1237289.jpg
Well, I guess if anyone knows how to classify people as subhuman, it's certainly the Germans.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, Jeff, knowledge of history seems to be lacking in large swathes of the American public. When my daughter went to Montana as an exchange student ca. 10 years ago, she was asked by fellow high schoolers if Hitler was still in power.
ReplyDeleteWhat does that anecdote have to do with German cartoonists and magazine readers cracking up over literally declaring someone subhuman? I say this as no fan of the president, and as someone who didn't vote for him: Cartoons like that one do no damage to their target, but they do chip away at the humanity of those who make them and cackle over them.
ReplyDelete