YOU TELL ME
There are three possible explanations for this Michael Moore piece: First, that it is all true; Second, that it is a piece of ONION-style satire; and Third, that Michael Moore doesn't know what he is taking about. I confess I haven't a clue which is right. You tell me.
I've expected for some time that he'd bow out before the election, claiming that the fix was in, and that the whole process was tainted. He'd then whip his supporters into a frenzy with a vile cocktail of a Dolchstosslegende and glorious Lost Cause narrative. His goal was never to be President. He just wanted to increase his fame. Which is all he's ever wanted.
ReplyDeleteHaving his own TV show seems like a petty thing now. He'd probably want his own TV network - pure fascism and Trump University style scams broadcast 24/7.
I'm confident that Mr. Moore is not a satirist here. The suggestion that Trump - the con man, the grifter, the snake - is principally focused on monetizing his candidacy seems plausible. The particulars offered are pretty slim. Here's another version, along similar lines, that seems at least as plausible.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/06/donald-trump-tv-network
At some point before or during the convention those who run the Republican Party must have considered the possibility that Trump's campaign was pure self-promotion for, say, his own 24 hour TV reality show, etc. and not a serious political campaign and must have sat down with Trump and asked him about that. The Republicans are disagreeable and greedy, but they are not stupid and throughout the years they have shown that they are very cunning and astute.
ReplyDeleteNow could Trump have fooled these Republican political operators whose life has been based on fooling others? It's possible, but it's hard to beat the pros at poker.
So I'd say that Moore is wrong and that Trump has been vetted by the Republican political pros and probably also by the FBI and CIA at this point.
Like Paul, I'm confident it's not the second of your possibilities. Either of the others is plausible, though.
ReplyDeleteWhat about the possibility that Moore is just baiting/trolling Trump? I don't know if that was meant to be covered by the second possibility, but I can easily see Moore doing something like that. He may suspect it, as many have, but not have any direct evidence. True or not, though, we can easily imagine it getting under Trump's skin and riling him up. Perhaps this is what Moore is hoping for...
ReplyDeleteThe Republican presidential primaries seem to be the game to play if you are a political hack either looking to sell books or get speaking or TV gigs, or if you are a brain surgeon or pizza empire king looking for some kind of second act. Think Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain, Rick Santorum. In that field Trump has been far and away the most interesting and I'm sure he knew he could be. As for actually doing politics or governing, it's like a ton of homework. And we have seen this act before: Sarah Palin. Once she lost with McCain, she quit her post (too much stress) and became a half-governor. Needing more celebrity for her TV show, she made a run in 2012, starting out with all the bells and whistles and as soon as the heavy-lifting kicked in, she bailed again. I think Moore is on the money.
ReplyDeleteI've been wondering what he'll do or others will do to him when he loses.
ReplyDeleteAt the very least, Trump has to be ambivalent about putting his holdings in a blind trust for several years and settling into a 16-hour-a-day job, and that ambivalence alone could cause his more unhinged moments.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I want to thank you for your blog, you remind me of some college profs I had back in the 60's… Occasional comments have been made about the 33% of Germans that gave Herr Hitler a foot in the door, both my parents and I had first hand experience with how that turned out. Trump is not the real issue here. Daniel Goldhagen wrote 'Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust' over 20 years ago. One of my life goals has been to better understand how this kind of nightmare finds traction amongst a 'civilized' people. With the clearly unprovoked wars the US began in 2003 ( not to mention manifest destiny, SE Asia, Chile,Iran, Central America, etc, etc) it became clear that given the right combination of factors it is almost inevitable. Fear and ignorance are powerful motivators. Trump is actually doing us a YUUUGE favor in that he has put a spotlight on his fellow travelers and the rest of us. As Pogo said, 'we have met the enemy and he is us'. I think Moore gets this and he is busy stirring the pot for our general benefit. I would vote a bit of all three, and add that it doesn't really matter. What does matter is how many people are willing to do the unglamorous work of getting out the vote and all that that entails, without being concerned if many people notice or care. Our children and grandchildren live in the world we show them and as Mr Rogers kept saying, ' watch the helpers'.
ReplyDeleteMichael Moore was very recently telling people that DJT is going to WIN. Maybe just to scare young people into working harder for Clinton. So this is a pretty sharp change in message from "be very afraid" to "Trump is no threat at all". But fun to write, no doubt.
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