Earlier this week Donald Trump found himself in a position he hates to be in — sat across from a journalist who actually wants to ask questions about his policies. Unlike his appearance in Pennsylvania, he wasn’t able to dance his way out of answering this time.
It was time for the former president to face the music as Bloomberg Editor-In-Chief John Micklethwait proceeded to grill him on his policies as well as the Jan 6. Capitol riots. Over the course of the interview it became blatantly obvious that Trump had absolutely no idea what he was talking about and that his policies amounted to a black hole of nothingness. This prompted a classic tantrum in which he accused Micklethwait of being wrong and biased.
Trump can’t stay on topic
Trump proceeded to give rambling answers to the questions, frequently going off topic and avoiding some entirely. Tragically, this is nothing new, as he often changes the topic to something he can easily pin the blame on. For example, his favorite scapegoat right now is immigrants. They’re an easy target and Trump knows all he has to do is whip his followers into a frenzy with some outlandish statement about Haitian immigrants eating people’s pets and his supporters will lap up every word.
He pulled the same technique when asked how deportations would effect the job market. Instead he pivoted to crime, ranting about migrants and murder rates with no real data to back up his claim. Micklethwait pointed out that crime rates had actually gone down under Biden but it fell on deaf ears.
Now, I know we’re all so used to this by now that it just seems normal. But I’m here to say it’s not. The stuff this man comes out with is completely unhinged and you have to wonder if that black hole in Trump’s policies has migrated to his brain. If you knocked on his head do you think there’d be an echo?
The Republican candidate sees his speaking style as more tactical, referring to his frequent tangents as “the weave.” Regardless, Micklethwait did not weave along, constantly bringing Trump back to the topic of discussion rather than allowing him to worm his way out of giving an answer.
Trump has a tantrum
Not being able to avoid questions revealed just how bad Trump’s policies would be for the American people. When asked to address a report from the Wall Street Journal which estimated Trump’s tariffs and other proposals would raise national debt by $7 trillion he simply accused the outlet of being wrong before turning on Micklethwait and berating him too, “They’ve been wrong about everything, and so have you by the way, you’ve been wrong.”
I’m sure, in Trump’s mind, simply saying somebody is wrong is enough to make it true. But in the adult world you have to back up your claims, otherwise you just come across childish and immature. Insults and tantrums are usually what Trump falls back on when he can’t answer a question. He’ll often play the victim too, accusing the media of being out to get him, which is exactly what he did when Micklethwait pressed him on the Jan 6. Capitol riots, accusing the interviewer of being biased.
All in all it was a pretty dismal interview for Trump — his policies are built on nothing but lies. When you really boil down Trump’s ideas there’s nothing there, and he can try and hide it by going off on tangents and dancing like an oaf onstage, but the truth is he has nothing of substance to offer.