Trump Playbook

Donald Trump was back in his element this past weekend. He was getting the kind of attention that he so desperately needs. If there is one thing that Trump loves, it is to be in front of an adoring crowd that loves every word that comes out of his mouth. It doesn’t matter if everything that he says is the truth or how “vicious” the tone of his words may sound. Mr. Trump appeared at a campaign-style rally over the weekend in Pennsylvania to stomp for GOP senatorial candidate Mehmet (Dr.) Oz and gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano, both of whom are not faring so well for the Republicans voters, as the midterms moved ever so closely. The crowd came to see Trump speak and it couldn’t have come sooner, as the raid at Mar-a-Lago continues to rule the news landscape. This wasn’t one of Trump’s typical speeches in that he needs to change the narrative from his legal troubles with DOJ concerning his taking of sensitive classified documents from the White House, this speech took on the tone of someone who wants his loyal supporters to follow him no matter what. The words that Trump used could have been said by someone who is a dictator and will see others as their enemy to their survival. Trump zeroed in on President Joe Biden saying, that he is “an enemy of the state”, meaning America not just Pennsylvania. Trump meant America because he said that Biden’s speech “vilified” 75 million citizens (his 2020 voters) in a “divisive, hateful” way, casting them as a threat to democracy. By calling President Biden an enemy of the state, Trump is doing what authoritarians do in countries under iron rule, is to call out those who seek change and freedom from a regime that suppresses its citizens. Only this time, Biden has not taken away anyone’s rights, but perhaps Trump is sending a message to his supporters telling them what he would do to those that he deems as “an enemy” of the state. Trump also reminded his supporters of just how “vicious and monstrous” the FBI and DOJ are when they are “controlled by radical left scoundrels/lawyers along with the media, who tell them what to do. Dictators, once they are in power, often go after those who argue for individual freedoms and they always will control what the citizens hear/see through a state run media apparatus.

It is somewhat amazing that Mr. Trump and many of his supporters who pride themselves on the “law and order” values narrative, now see it being against individual freedom when their leader’s home was raided for a legally, legitimate purpose. They don’t want to accept the fact that Mr. Trump had in his possession highly sensitive documents that are important to national security, another value that they embrace, going out of the window because Trump says that he was treated wrong. They somehow are forgetting that if it was one of them, they would be in jail, while Trump would be somewhere off to play golf. One shouldn’t be surprised if Trump has another rally before November, as this is where he will get renewed energy, as sooner or later, he will face some charges and the only person who can save him will be a judge. Speaking of judges, a federal judge in Florida appointed by Trump has granted his request to have a special master go through some documents that Trump says are “executive-privilege” and “personal papers” that should not be made public. That is a setback that DOJ was prepared for, knowing that some judges appointed by a Democrat or Republican president, rule to their political philosophy. That’s why control of the Senate is important to the president of the same party, in that they control the make of the federal judiciary.

For now, Mr. Trump will continue to use the bully pulpit to get his message across to his supporters. Though there are many within the Republican party who would hope that Trump would speak less. That won’t happen. He will always want to have the last word. He needs to have people to believe in him. He wants to convince people that he “is for the little man” and that he will always have their back. He will continue to ask them to send him money, to as he just said about President Biden, that Biden is the enemy of the state and a threat to democracy. Perhaps one day, Mr. Trump will tell “the state” why he had the documents at his home for so long and why he didn’t give them all back, keeping his personal papers. Maybe he will tell the state and those in law enforcement why the FBI is the “very real threat” to American freedom just because they raided his home. Maybe he will tell the state that no one else will know what it means to be raided by the feds anymore once he is in control of the state. Power and control. That is what Mr. Trump wants to have back. As they say, this is America and anything is possible. Remember, the world is watching. So is God.