Elon Musk recently made the decision to host a two-hour-long, DDoS-compromised interview on X with none other than Donald Trump, whose dissonant coattails have found far too many a rider at this point.
In the interview, Trump dished out all the Trump-coded sentiments we’ve come to expect from him — attacks on his opponents, questionable-at-best policy ramblings, gross fibs, grosser anecdotes, and going above and beyond to spread as much hate and insincerity as possible.
Among those aforementioned fibs was one about the very interview itself. As pointed out by one Brian Krassenstein on X, Trump displayed a pretty severe lack of insight into the nuts and bolts of X viewership, congratulating Musk on pulling 60 million listeners when only 1.1 million were actually listening at the time.
Krassenstein later pointed out that 2.1 million people in total listened to this particular rendezvous, and while it’s true that analytics may likely show a much higher number, there’s no way Trump could have known of such a number, and it almost certainly didn’t climb as high as 60 million.
This will no doubt go on to be one of the many soundbites that Democrats will latch onto in another attempt to prove how stupid Trump is, but to what end?
Folks, it is not outrageous to assume that Trump knows exactly what he’s doing by saying all the outlandish nonsense that he does. This is not a man who is interested in truth, compassion, unity, or anything of the sort. Who might that sort of man attract? Voters who, by way of severe insecurity in their own lives and identities, have no interest in truth, compassion, unity, or anything of the sort.
Anyone who listens — genuinely listens — to most everything Trump has said and done since he first entered the scene as a Republican can see him for who he is: a deeply traumatized, mean-spirited, opportunistic liar who could not care less about anything but more power. He says everything he does precisely because he knows that Democrats are going to make fun of it, and by making fun of it, compassion is further forsaken in the whole political equation, and subsequently pushes MAGAs further into his sphere of influence; where else might they feel safe otherwise? Trump’s aggressive nature, after all, is precisely what they’re drawn to. What better way to find security in one’s insecurity than by having a leader who seeks to invalidate anyone who isn’t himself or the people under his umbrella? You can’t be insecure about yourself if your existence is the only legitimate one.
Trump’s commitment to preying on the insecurities of his voters cannot and should not ever be justified, but it’s precisely for this reason that Democrats also need to stop laughing at every blatantly false thing he says or disreputable thing he does, and then patting themselves on the back for opposing behavior that anyone in their right mind would oppose. The danger he poses is real and needs to be addressed as such; it’s not enough to be satisfied with being right.
And we need to talk to each other; really talk to each other with the goal of understanding one another. If MAGAs don’t listen, that’s one thing, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us need to throw away our own commitment to compassion before (God forbid) it’s no longer an option.
Published: Aug 13, 2024 01:01 pm