Is Trump Just That Good?
No One Else Went to Ohio
How many declared candidates are there for President of the US in all parties? Three or four? Trump is running and Nikki Haley is running. Here is why Nikki has no chance.
She listens to consultants.
Yesterday, Trump went to the beleaguered and ignored East Palestine, Ohio. He bought lunch for firefighters at McDonald’s. He got a guy to deliver water. He showed empathy.
Cynically, Trump only went there to benefit Trump. But, what if Nikki Haley had taken the initiative? Or, undeclared candidate Mike Pompeo? Tough for DeSantis to do anything since he hasn’t declared and is governor of another state but what about former VP Pence?
Where were they?
The one thing you have to give Trump is he is a natural. He operates on instinct and often he is right. When he’s wrong, he really screws up. In statistics that would be called “high variance”.
He certainly isn’t the most eloquent speaker. His accent from Queens can be grating. He’s a New Yorker through and through and some people like that and others certainly don’t.
Mayor Pete went out to dinner. He didn’t like it when he was met by a reporter but his jaws were clenched in silence when people like Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee and Judge Kavanaugh were accosted in a restaurant. He said, “I am a man of action and I won’t go until I can get action.” Trump didn’t have the full credit, power, and faith of the Federal government but only the power of persuasion. He was a man of action. Pete’s a consultant. They play with their own Army men in a quiet room by themselves a lot. President Biden went to Ukraine to give them a check and pick up one they owed his son Hunter. Only the Orange Man showed up. That’s 90% of life according to Woody Allen.
Hey, those rubes in Ohio didn’t vote for them so they don’t feel like they have to take care of them! I guess they don’t fall into the “all Americans” camp.
It’s more evidence of why Trump is a trailblazer to a new kind of politician. I remember watching him at the Iowa primaries giving free helicopter rides. No one else thought of doing that. Big Trump helicopter going around the Iowa fairgrounds. It was genius. Interesting to watch and compare and contrast him, someone who was in the private sector and got shit done, to everyone else who wasn’t.
At the same time, it’s time to pass the torch to the new generation. Unless they can only play video games while Rome burns.
BONUS MUSINGS
How come President Obama is having trouble scraping together all the dough to build the temple to himself on Lake Michigan? It’s illegally gotten parkland that was supposedly sacred in Chicago until he wanted it. The Machine moved mountains to make it happen and you know there aren’t any in Chicago. BUT, Joe Biden is able to raise millions for the Universities of Pennsylvania and Delaware from China, Saudi Arabia, and other countries. Maybe Obama is a fully depreciated asset? The only reason Michelle runs is to keep the gravy train going.
For hockey fans. Patrick Kane to the Vegas Golden Knights, book it. Great airport to get direct flights home from. 0% tax. Chance to win another cup. #88 jersey is open. Especially if they pick up a goalie.
My friend Scott sent me this and it’s kind of fascinating. Why? Because capitalism is like their music. Because a lot of concepts that seem easy are not intuitive. It’s really two diametrically opposed forces going against each other. Economics is a lot like that.
Have a great Thursday.
It does not surprise the seasoned Trump observer to find him where the action is -- he got elected to be the voice of the voiceless. He was the anti-GOPe and still is. He always went where the voices were silenced.
He was always the only guy in the room who could detect the aroma of bullshit and he told you, "I smell bullshit."
Remember when Trump chewed out the Germans at the United Nations over getting in bed with the Russians on NordStream I/II?
The German diplomats in the audience -- arrogant, self-importunated snobs -- all smirked and laughed at him. Who was right? Who was the only guy on the world stage who smelled the bullshit and called it out?
The calculus is, however, a bit more complex.
What Trump brings is ENERGY. He doesn't fall up stairs. He brings the mojo, the juju -- the juice. And, he lives in the middle of that moment. He isn't talking to aides. He's in the faces of the real people, engaged and listening. [That comes from hanging out on construction job sites.]
He may butcher a few words, but that is a feature, not a bug. He relates and sounds like a guy you can trust cause he isn't some picture perfect, rehearsed toady with mousse in his hair vomiting talking points. He's so genuine some times, it's scary.
Remember when he was informed of Ruth Bader Ginsberg's death. What did he say? He said, "Wow. I didn't know." No bullshit press release, just a genuine reaction. That's it, the guy is genuine.
When Mayor Pete shows up with his woke cologne, he will suck up all the energy and give everybody some McKenzie head. Nice little cute sentences with perfect diction, no rocks in the mouth Queens fussing. All empty and tasteless.
You ever seen Mayor Pete slap a guy on the back, point at him, and laugh with him? Nope. Because he's a robot in an empty suit.
Ever see Mayor Pete bring chow to the troops? McDonald's? Nope cause he doesn't relate to the real people, particularly those with blue collars.
In the real world, everybody is either an energy source or an energy sink. A sink is something that absorbs energy like in thermodynamics a heat sink sucks up heat. [I took thermo more than 50 years ago. Made an A in Admiral Seay's class. Still remember it like it was yesterday.]
When Trump leaves, he leaves the energy. When Mayor Pete leaves, he takes the energy, but he didn't bring any with him in the first place. He leaves people hollow and asking, "WTF just happened?"
When Trump leaves, he trails full bellies, hope, and empathy. Is it genuine? I think so. It's also perfectly natural. Not a bit of it is orchestrated. It's pure Trump. [As the other Jeff notes, sometimes that pure Trump is a little bitter.]
You can still be a leader and be in it to win it and be a bloody mensch. Trump's a mensch.
JLM
www.themusingsofthebigredcar.com
Obama, i think, really looks down on the political donor class. I really don't think he likes hanging around with them and really doesn't care all that much about that legacy like other politicians do. He would much rather hang out with hollywood types. Remember, his political life was incredibly short. He spent more time as an activist than he did as a US senator