{"id":14483,"date":"2024-08-22T18:55:28","date_gmt":"2024-08-22T18:55:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/?p=14483"},"modified":"2024-08-22T18:55:29","modified_gmt":"2024-08-22T18:55:29","slug":"the-rnc-clarified-trumps-2024-persona-moderate-authoritarian-weirdo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/?p=14483","title":{"rendered":"The RNC clarified Trump\u2019s 2024 persona: Moderate authoritarian weirdo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“At the behest of Trump and his allies, the RNC approved a new GOP platform<\/a>, one free of calls for federal abortion bans or any explicit opposition to same-sex marriage. The Republicans\u2019 official agenda also forswears any cuts to Medicare and Social Security, including increases to the retirement age. All of these stances contradict longstanding conservative movement goals, and all three bring the Republican Party into closer<\/a>alignment<\/a> with public opinion<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Trump used some of the RNC\u2019s primetime speaking slots to signal sympathy for nonwhite voters, younger Americans, and union members. The biracial model and rapper Amber Rose gave a speech<\/a> that invited young, historically liberal voters to rethink their skepticism of Trump and his party. \u201cThe truth is that the media has lied to us about Donald Trump. I know this because for a long time I believed those lies,\u201d Rose declared, explaining that she eventually realized, \u201cDonald Trump and his supporters don\u2019t care if you\u2019re Black, white, gay, or straight. It\u2019s all love. And that\u2019s when it hit me. These are my people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The RNC\u2019s outreach to union voters was even more concerted. On the convention\u2019s first night, Teamsters president Sean O\u2019Brien enjoyed the most prominent speaking slot. The union leader did not actually endorse Trump and spent much of his address<\/a> on diatribes against corporate greed that received tepid support in the convention hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To all but the most attentive viewers, however, O\u2019Brien\u2019s status as the keynote speaker overshadowed the absence of a formal endorsement: By all appearances, the head of one of America\u2019s largest unions was vouching for Trump\u2019s commitment to workers\u2019 interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taken together, the RNC\u2019s four-day infomercial for Trump\u2019s GOP was far more professionally orchestrated and broadly accessible than its 2020 and 2016 predecessors, which often seemed to be made by and for Fox News addicts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet other aspects of the convention betrayed the strange, illiberal, and authoritarian character of Trump\u2019s politics. As well-managed as the Trump campaign has been to this point, it cannot escape the inherent liabilities of the man it\u2019s trying to sell.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Vance is among the most openly authoritarian<\/a> Republicans in Washington. He has said that he would have helped Trump overturn the 2020 election results,<\/a> raised money for January 6 rioters<\/a>, called on the DOJ to launch a criminal investigation<\/a> against an anti-Trump Washington Post columnist, touted plans for consolidating the president\u2019s authority<\/a> over the federal bureaucracy, and argued that Trump should simply defy any court orders that obstruct such a power grab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditionally, presidential candidates use their VP picks to assuage potential concerns that swing voters might have about them or balance out the ticket demographically. Vance\u2019s selection, by contrast, exacerbates Trump\u2019s biggest political liabilities: the perception that he is an authoritarian extremist whose election would threaten abortion rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, Trump picked him precisely because Vance\u2019s current ideology closely mirrors his own. According to the Atlantic\u2019s Tim Alberta<\/a>, the Trump campaign had initially planned to pick a milquetoast, unthreatening running mate, such as North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. But Trump was eventually persuaded that he needed a fellow true-believing populist to help him enact his most far-reaching ambitions.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The Republican nominee\u2019s acceptance speech was the longest ever given, meandering across 92 bizarre and tedious minutes<\/a>. This excess was a direct reflection of the authoritarian nature of Trump\u2019s candidacy. The nominee of a healthy democratic political party must balance their own narcissistic appetite for attention against the interests of the various constituencies they represent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having consolidated his personality cult\u2019s control of the GOP, Trump faced no such constraint. His speech did not stretch to marathon length because of its abundance of substantive content. Rather, it consumed so much time because Trump allowed himself to supplement nearly every passage with pointless and tiresome ad-libbing, after detailing his own narrowly averted assassination in painstaking detail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A less weird and authoritarian Republican nominee might have also drummed up panic about undocumented immigration. But they probably wouldn\u2019t have paused in the middle of such demagogy to ask the crowd, \u201cHas anyone seen The Silence of the Lambs<\/em>?\u201d and then say, incongruously, \u201cThe late, great Hannibal Lecter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s endless, self-indulgent rambling was alienating enough in and of itself. Even more unnerving was the spectacle of an increasingly bored crowd struggling to humor their dear leader with increasingly strained outbursts of enthusiasm.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.vox.com\/politics\/361751\/rnc-trump-speech-vance-2024<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“At the behest of Trump and his allies, the RNC approved a new GOP platform, one free of calls for federal abortion bans or any explicit opposition to same-sex marriage. The Republicans\u2019 official agenda also forswears any cuts to Medicare and Social Security, including increases to the retirement age. All of these stances contradict longstanding conservative movement goals, and all three bring the Republican Party into closer alignment with public opinion.
\nMeanwhile, Trump used some of the RNC\u2019s primetime speaking slots to signal sympathy for nonwhite voters, younger Americans, and union members. The biracial model and rapper Amber Rose gave a speech that invited young, historically liberal voters to rethink their skepticism of Trump and his party. \u201cThe truth is that the media has lied to us about Donald Trump. I know this because for a long time I believed those lies,\u201d Rose declared, explaining that she eventually realized, \u201cDonald Trump and his supporters don\u2019t care if you\u2019re Black, white, gay, or straight. It\u2019s all love. And that\u2019s when it hit me. These are my people.\u201d<\/p>\n

The RNC\u2019s outreach to union voters was even more concerted. On the convention\u2019s first night, Teamsters president Sean O\u2019Brien enjoyed the most prominent speaking slot. The union leader did not actually endorse Trump and spent much of his address on diatribes against corporate greed that received tepid support in the convention hall.<\/p>\n

To all but the most attentive viewers, however, O\u2019Brien\u2019s status as the keynote speaker overshadowed the absence of a formal endorsement: By all appearances, the head of one of America\u2019s largest unions was vouching for Trump\u2019s commitment to workers\u2019 interests.<\/p>\n

Taken together, the RNC\u2019s four-day infomercial for Trump\u2019s GOP was far more professionally orchestrated and broadly accessible than its 2020 and 2016 predecessors, which often seemed to be made by and for Fox News addicts.<\/p>\n

Yet other aspects of the convention betrayed the strange, illiberal, and authoritarian character of Trump\u2019s politics. As well-managed as the Trump campaign has been to this point, it cannot escape the inherent liabilities of the man it\u2019s trying to sell.”<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

“Vance is among the most openly authoritarian Republicans in Washington. He has said that he would have helped Trump overturn the 2020 election results, raised money for January 6 rioters, called on the DOJ to launch a criminal investigation against an anti-Trump Washington Post columnist, touted plans for consolidating the president\u2019s authority over the federal bureaucracy, and argued that Trump should simply defy any court orders that obstruct such a power grab.<\/p>\n

Traditionally, presidential candidates use their VP picks to assuage potential concerns that swing voters might have about them or balance out the ticket demographically. Vance\u2019s selection, by contrast, exacerbates Trump\u2019s biggest political liabilities: the perception that he is an authoritarian extremist whose election would threaten abortion rights.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Trump picked him precisely because Vance\u2019s current ideology closely mirrors his own. According to the Atlantic\u2019s Tim Alberta, the Trump campaign had initially planned to pick a milquetoast, unthreatening running mate, such as North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. But Trump was eventually persuaded that he needed a fellow true-believing populist to help him enact his most far-reaching ambitions.”<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

“The Republican nominee\u2019s acceptance speech was the longest ever given, meandering across 92 bizarre and tedious minutes. This excess was a direct reflection of the authoritarian nature of Trump\u2019s candidacy. The nominee of a healthy democratic political party must balance their own narcissistic appetite for attention against the interests of the various constituencies they represent.<\/p>\n

Having consolidated his personality cult\u2019s control of the GOP, Trump faced no such constraint. His speech did not stretch to marathon length because of its abundance of substantive content. Rather, it consumed so much time because Trump allowed himself to supplement nearly every passage with pointless and tiresome ad-libbing, after detailing his own narrowly averted assassination in painstaking detail.<\/p>\n

A less weird and authoritarian Republican nominee might have also drummed up panic about undocumented immigration. But they probably wouldn\u2019t have paused in the middle of such demagogy to ask the crowd, \u201cHas anyone seen The Silence of the Lambs?\u201d and then say, incongruously, \u201cThe late, great Hannibal Lecter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s endless, self-indulgent rambling was alienating enough in and of itself. Even more unnerving was the spectacle of an increasingly bored crowd struggling to humor their dear leader with increasingly strained outbursts of enthusiasm.”<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.vox.com\/politics\/361751\/rnc-trump-speech-vance-2024<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[1104,431,660,221,130,968,506,983,170,2081],"class_list":["post-14483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article-share","tag-authoritarianism","tag-democracy","tag-dictatorship","tag-donald-trump","tag-republican","tag-republican-party","tag-republicans","tag-rnc","tag-trump","tag-vance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14483"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14483\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14484,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14483\/revisions\/14484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}