“There was blood pouring everywhere. Yet, in a certain way, I felt very safe, because I had God on my side.”
Spoken by a deeply religious man? Thus spoke a psychotic liar invoking yet again the name of God whom he does not worship, if only he could continue fooling the Evangelicals and even the Catholics. It has been said many times that a politician is capable of saying anything for a vote or a donation. Donald J. Trump is the quintessential politician, except that most of them actually read or have someone read to them.
This was the apex of the Republican National Convention. Sometime in 2014 before Donald J. Trump had announced his bid for the Republican Presidential nomination which he was considering, he gave an interview to a very popular extremist right wing television “journalist” Bill O’Reilly. O’Reilly, perhaps inadvertently or endearingly called the businessman Donald J. Trump “a buffoon”. Trump was offended and reacted. O’Reilly stepped back.
Similarly in 2015 a young attorney from the hills of Ohio, professing a right wing ideology, J.D. Vance characterized the purported candidate for president from the Republican Party Donald J. Trump as an “American Hitler”. Six years later that same hillbilly, now running for the United States Senate approached then former president Donald J. Trump on bended knee and apologized for his earlier comments. Ohio was ostensibly Trump country and the hillbilly needed the votes of other hillbillies. His roommate from Yale Law School called Vance a hypocrite.
Not surprisingly, the circus in Milwaukee did not include Republican former President George W. Bush, Republican former Vice Presidents Dan Quayle, Dick Cheney or Mike Pence. It did include such luminaries in speaking roles as Jesse Ventura, Peter Navarro (straight out of prison), Donald Trump Jr., Lara Trump and Tucker Carlson. There were so many other clowns as speakers and in the stands that if the organizers had to pay them the RNC would have gone bankrupt. Steve Bannon was missing, but he was serving time.
Sitting in the wings, probably embarrassed but nevertheless at the RNC because they lack any element of integrity were Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham. And then there was Speaker Mike Johnson, not only speaking on behalf of the House of Representatives, but Evangelicals as well, who owes his position in the House to Donald Trump and had earlier dressed up ridiculously as Trump to show his support during Trump’s New York criminal trial.
And so for three and one half days the Republicans spoke of unity not only of their own party but of the country. Then and with no warning their their main spokesman with a bandaged covering his right ear as a symbol of the wounds he has suffered on their behalf destroyed any hope of unity with a 90-minute diatribe against anyone who is not loyal to him. And the hopeful gathered ate it up. God was in the hall and Donald J. Trump was His prophet, a convicted felon, who while married paid hush money to a porn actress, who boasted about the ability to grope members of the opposite sex, who in fact was found liable for damages for that type of offense, who has been twice divorced and does not know the difference between the truth and a lie. Yes, they ate it up.
Frankly speaking Trump’s performance at the RNC was as damaging to his candidacy at least among the normal voters, the principled Republicans, the independents, as that of President Biden at the debate. There was a major distinction, however. Yes, President Biden looked old at the debate. But, former president Donald Trump looked like a felon and a buffoon during his speech at the RNC. Bill O’Reilly was half right all along. He simply did not foresee the felon part.
July 20, 2024 Askold S. Lozynskyj