Syndicate Columnist Jonah Goldberg
“Tape is a real man. Spiteful, persuasive, panicking, attacking first in anticipation of being hit, trying to lift his own fragile self-esteem by pushing others down.” Gary Wills wrote about Richard Nixon in the foreword to his 2017 book: “Nixon Agonist” Wills added, perhaps unjustly: “Nixon’s real tragedy is that he didn’t have what it takes to be a tragic hero. He’s a sad (almost heartbreaking) comedy.”
As I close out Donald Trump’s terrifying year, this passage comes to mind. Meanwhile, he replaced Nixon as the saddest figure in post-presidential politics. Despite its flaws, the Commission of January 6 succeeded in establishing an official record of his attempt to steal the presidency (narrated largely by his own aide). A special counsel is in charge of his case. His tax returns are open to all.
A week after the midterm elections were disastrous for his party and his power, he announced that he would run for president again.
Then he teased “Important Announcement” It turned out to be a series of digital trading cards, some of which appear to be nothing more than Photoshopped images from a Google search, with his face pasted on them. what i did “Amazing ART of my life and career!” Show him, among other things, as an astronaut, a sheriff, a superhero who shoots laser beams from his eyes (making even Russian state television laugh).
It can be reported that Trump was neither an astronaut nor a sheriff. If he had heat vision, Mike Pence would have been a pile of ash.
The contrast with Nixon after he took office is stark. In his exile Nixon wrote ten of his books, all of which were very serious, including his memoirs. He regained his reputation as a wise man who advised the president.
But that’s not the hard part. Surrounded by his loving family, his lifelong friends, and loyal aides, Nixon gave him the kind of support that politics doesn’t give him. His first and only wife was the love of his life. Ever since Nixon’s death, they have cherished his memory, and Nixon in his exile was revered not only by his friends but also by his enemies.
Trump, who is notoriously unfriendly, has admitted that he hasn’t been very helpful to his real friends. Trump likes to be surrounded by people who tell him what he wants to hear. What he wants to hear is, “You are amazing.” This is reportedly why he got along so well with the neo-Nazi chatter who praised him for his now-infamous dinner with the artist formerly known as Kanye West.
This is what makes Trump a pathetic figure.Wills titled his book “Nixon Agonist” — Reference to Milton’s poem “Samson Agonist” — because Nixon was a man of struggle inside and out, and he craved respect.
Trump isn’t just asking for respect. As the children say, he “dry” For Respect — Respect his strength and respect his “Very stable genius” His masculinity and of course his money. When Trump read my column in the New York Post in 2015 ridiculing Trump’s potential run, he said his aide Sam turned to his number. I tweeted. “Why don’t they respect me, Sam?”
Of course, there are people who look up to Mr. Trump, but most of them aren’t friends, they’re fans, and they’re the kind of people who don’t understand his trading card jokes. In 2016, he told an audience in New Hampshire: “As far as I’m concerned, I have no friends.” He said. “Do you know who my friend is? You are my friend.
Fans are generally the last people to tell you the hard truth. Worse for Trump: His definition of a fan is people he thinks he can do no wrong.
The main difference is that Nixon’s thirst for respect was tempered by a decidedly flawed mutual respect for the presidency, his party, his country, and those closest to him. escaped the ordeal of Trump was impeached, ran again, lost, tried to usurp the presidency, and was impeached again. He recently asked for a constitutional suspension to reappoint him because nothing would prevent him from respecting his self-respect.
Nixon’s struggles were complicated because he was complicated. Trump’s struggle is simple because he is simple. He is all but desires for fame, power, sex, and admiration, stripped of his inner life and unhindered by external attachments.
a secret tape “genuine” Nixon. You don’t need secret tapes to know Trump. Because the real Trump is always on display for those who look him in the eye. And finally, even his fans are exhausted by the spectacle.
Editor’s Note: Jonah Goldberg is Editor-in-Chief of The Dispatch, “Remnant” podcast. His Twitter handle is @JonahDispatch.