Donald Trump gave one of his best and most conciliatory speeches of his political career after his win in the recent Iowa primaries—that might explain why the media would not cover it. Later, to answer an ad hoc ambush reporter’s question whether he would hold grudges, he emphatically said he did not.
Yet after his win in New Hampshire, Trump went ballistic at Nikki Haley’s earlier charges that he, rather than Joe Biden, was cognitively challenged, past his prime, and a perennial loser of popular votes.
In response, Trump shed his short-lived Iowa temperance. He went wholehog after Haley’s dress and her affectations and trashed her character. He tweeted that she was a “birdbrain,” and on and on.
For six years, observers have noted the disconnect between Trump’s stellar record of governance, his occasional sense of humor and even self-criticism—and his ad hominem venom that often turns off the 3-7 percent of the electorate in the suburbs who otherwise might vote for him.
Reasonable calls to tone it down by pundits, aides, and friends do not work with Trump, and perhaps for several understandable reasons.
One, Trump is reactive in his “they started it, I finish it” mode. His theory of deterrence is to be disproportionate in retort to eliminate future preemptive attacks. Almost all of Trump’s crudeness was in disproportionate response, sometimes even to minor offenses.
In such a world of Trump deterrence, if you do not relish a crude Trump, then don’t first talk about cutting off his head, blowing him up, stabbing him, shooting him, or lighting him on fire, or don’t spread lies like “Russian collusion,” “laptop disinformation,” or that the influence-selling Biden consortium was innocent of shaking down foreign interests for millions of dollars that were routed into the clan’s coffers.
To put it another way, remember how Barack Obama went ballistic over the yarns, often fueled by Trump himself, that he was born in Kenya (a mythos he himself fueled by allowing his book to be plugged as the work of a Kenyan-born, exotic-named author, e.g., “born in Kenya and raised in Indonesia and Hawaii.”).
But what would a prickly Obama have done had right-wing prosecutors, mirror images of a Letitia James, Alvin Bragg, Fani Willis, or Jack Smith, indicted him over his garnering and intentionally not reporting the names of major contributors in 2008 (rather than the federal election commission taking five years to fine Obama $375,000 for what was essentially campaign fraud).
What would Obama have said or done had a federal prosecutor indicted him for bribery, extortion, or tax fraud over the illegal Tony Rezko lot deal? What would have been his reaction to his “wingman.” Eric Holder’s, being jailed for his refusal to obey a congressional subpoena (such a transgression may well earn both Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro jail sentences).
Trump was pilloried for the Russian collusion farce. But the reality was that the 2015-17 Russian collusion conspiracy farce was discussed and greenlighted in the West Wing by a lame-duck but knowledgeable Obama, who unleashed his FBI, CIA, and DOJ to do whatever, legal or not, it took to stop Donald Trump.
Currently, Donald Trump was just fined $83.3 by a left-wing New York jury presided over by a left-wing judge in a suit filed by a left-wing writer who was funded by a left-wing Silicon Valley billionaire — all possible because a left-wing state legislator had recently lifted the statute of limitations on allegations of sexual assault to allow three-decade-old charges like E. Jean Carroll’s to be refiled.
So Trump blew up and charged out of the courtroom, lost his cool in the courtroom, and hurt any slight chance he had to escape such an outrageous and politicized fine.
But again, note the surreal nature of the suit. Carrol cannot remember even the year in which she and Trump, she claims, ended up in a department store dressing room.
She was mistaken about the dress she wore on the day of the assault.
Long after the alleged assault, she praised Trump’s Apprentice as her favorite TV show.
She created an app game called Damn Love, described as: “You’re shown two people who are madly in love. Your object is to break them up. Shown a pair of options, you choose the ones more likely to stir up shit, given each person’s personality and proclivities, and the quicker you can make them split, the more you increase your evilness and rise through the ranks.
Carroll’s narrative about being sexually assaulted in a department store dressing room is eerily almost the identical narrative of a 2012 “Law & Order: SVU” episode that focused on an alleged sexual assault in the lingerie dressing room of the very same Bergdorf Goodman department store.
Coincidence or inspiration?
And thus, to refute all the above, Trump was criminalized as a defamer and fined $83 million.Under such rules of evidence and damages, what would Joe Biden have had to pay when his former senatorial aide, Tara Reade, accused him of a sexual assault, only to be widely defamed by legions of Biden’s left-wing flacks?
So much of Trump’s rage is an understandable reaction to the sustained, unhinged venom of the media and left.
Two, Trump’s base, unlike his other supporters, does not differentiate between Trump’s solid governance and his volatile character. They see what he does and says not as antithetical but complementary. Trump, in the base’s view, gets things done precisely because he displays open, unfiltered contempt for the swamp, the bipartisan political class, the globalists, and the media.
His 24/7 bellicosity, MAGA diehards feel, ensures he will always be hated by the media and establishment—and thus not compromised even if he wished to be. In other words, for MAGA, whom a president is despised by is more important than by whom he is liked. For the base, the role of a mercurial and disruptive Clinton Eastwood gunslinger is preferable to that of a jolly Roy Rodgers crooner.
Three, Trump is seen as the MAGA rabid pit bull, who, from time to time, is to be unleashed and pointed in the proper direction. For those who were smeared collectively and nonstop by Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, or a late John McCain variously as clingers, deplorables, irredeemables, racists, sexists, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic, chumps, dregs, semi-fascists, hobbits, bizarros, and crazies—and as smelly and toothless by the media—Trump is their payback.
Has a Rachel Maddow, Joy Reid, or Adam Schiff ever apologized to the nation for daily lying to the American people that the Biden family was never compromised by or profited from Hunter Biden’s skullduggery, that Christopher Steele’s dossier was authentic, that Hunter’s laptop was cooked up in Moscow, or that COVID sprung from a bat or pangolin?
So for the Trump voter, those nightly, serial lies had more deleterious consequences for the nation than a leaked Trump private conversation in which he supposedly said Haiti was a “sh-thole” country.
All of the above may explain, though not defend, what appears to the bicoastal elite and even many Trump supporters as irrational, if not self-destructive, behavior.
However, why Trump does what he does still does not address the central question of 2024—what is now in Trump’s own self-interest—and the country’s?
Before answering that question, most would object that it does not matter. Trump cannot help himself even if he tried, as if Heraclitus was right that a man’s nature is his fate (ἦθος ἀνθρώπῳ δαίμων, often loosely translated as “character is destiny”).
Yet there are reasons to suggest that Trump, in fact, could scale back the ad hominem invective.
One, in the past, he has been magnanimous and certainly did not go after enemies or subvert the levers of government in the manner of the Obama administration that weaponized the DOJ and had West Wing meetings, where the Steele dossier and Hillary Clinton’s subterfuge were openly condoned, if not abetted.
Two, the 2024 election is different from both 2016 and 2020. There is no longer a COVID ruse to change voting laws or conduct a surrogate campaign.
Instead, the left is open now about its intentions to put Biden on ice in his basement, outsource the campaign to handlers and the media, count on billions from big tech and finance to ensure 70 percent of swing state balloting is not on Election Day, and blast Trump as a January 6 insurrectionary and murderer of women in need of abortions.
They will seek to keep him off the ballot in dozens of states and coordinate four prosecutions to jail him during the campaign season. The near billion dollars infused into the election to alter voting laws in 2020 will be seen as child’s play in 2024.
More importantly, the country is imploding in 2024 in a way it was not in 2020, when there was still a border, deterrence abroad, coherent energy policies, deterrent police, and a semblance of the rule of law.
Now there is simply no margin of error.
To be elected, Trump will have to win the popular vote by at least 4-5 percent. What’s more, the error/rejection rate on mail-in/early balloting in most states will be a fraction of what it had been pre-COVID. 2020 taught us that the more purple states are flooded with massive non-election ballots under 2020 altered ballot rules, the more the normal rejection percent of unsubstantiated or illegal ballots declines.
Trump has an enormous responsibility in 2024 to stay calm, reach out, and get even rather than mad.
Why? For millions, he is now seen as the last and only obstacle to what more than half of America believes is the sustained, left-wing attempt to turn the nation into something unrecognizable—an imploding country of open borders, with two million illegal entries per year, racial separatism and tribal chauvinism, the end of deterrence abroad, soaring crime and homelessness, $35 trillion in debt with $2 trillion annual deficits, wars on natural gas and oil, and warping of the administrative state and the law to punish enemies and reward friends.
In sum, Trump should ignore Haley and his old vulture critics in the media and on the left as much as he can.
He must concentrate on the disaster of the Biden administration and reiterate nonstop the agendas of 2025 that will save us from tottering on the brink. That forbearance demands that he speak and campaign in the only way that can win the election: unite the Republican Party, the conservative movement, the MAGA base, independents, disaffected Democrats, minorities, and even Never Trumpers into an eleventh-hour coalition to stop the revolution in our midst before it consumes us all.
You do not “tweet” on Truth Social. What a stupid expression.
You came here just to say that?
My Lord, Fred. Is that all you got from reading the column. Vacuousness abounds.
Who cares, Fred?
Exactly.
FYI, the term “tweet” has become synonymous with “post”, just as “kleenex” is with “tissue”.
All bleach is not clorox, all deliveries are not fedex, all soft drinks are not coke. Some things were so ubiquitious it defines the practice it promoted
So many American Mice I mean Men! If only they would have had a dad like Trump . Sometimes dads have to be the assholes instead of best friends,unfortunately for Trump the best friend dad is the majority so Kids Rule!
Man, you hit the nail on the head with that one. God has blessed you with wisdom!
Beautifully written and so true!
1. E.Jean Carroll’s accusation may very well be a fantasy of hers like she referenced in her TV interview.
2. Trump could use a great speech writer you would make an excellent one.
3. We definitely need to see more of the demeanor displayed during the Fox News townhall and during his speech following his win in Iowa. Trump had the Fake News, Biden Administration and the pundants petrified following these appearances.
4. Nikki is purposely pushing his buttons.
Correct on all points.
Trump is Trump, and his rage is MY rage. Quit taking every opportunity to dump on the man. Where is Pompeo, the likely traitor, these days? Busy plotting the next coup for our ruling junta, I presume.
Correct. Trumps need to pound the message. Biden says we must save democracy by pushing a one party system. On its face so obviously ridiculous.
Correct. Trump needs to pound the message. Biden says we must save democracy by pushing a one party system. On its face so obviously ridiculous.
I do agree with you, but I am more inclined now to overlook his outbursts because of the gross injustices he is enduring.
Excellent article but believe President should not cower but should exhibit the confidence of King David. Trump currently enjoys many of King David’s qualities as he confronted Goliath. Boldness is necessary to confront the giant! The liberal press has terrified the American people into thinking they are to small; making us timid as the giant roars. They tell us everyday that we don’t have a chance, as we wake up to the fact that most news outlets are bought and paid for propaganda. We understand but doubt what is observed by every American that our government has compromised by a hostile, war-mongering, hedonistic tribe that rules Washington, DC. The American people are fed up with the bull, we the people are need of a champion. Donald Trump has proven his boldness by charging toward the battlefield unafraid of the consequences. He has embolden the timid to charge to the battlefield, look how many governors have dispatched their National Guard troops to the border. Trump will take that giant’s sword to remove It’s ugly head!
I tend to agree.
If he is taken off the board, then he becomes an American martyr.
We hope that does not happen, but anything is possible when the Left is threatened.
Cowering in the face of their intimidation only strengthens their evil manueverings.
I agree. Trump should pick his battles and focus on his agenda vs. that of Biden & Co. Trump’s the tip of the spear and has an obligation not to squander that support and widen it for a return to normal; otherwise, we face 4 more years of Obama’s shadow government with the continued Balkanization of our country. This election is a call-to-arms to turn out the vote.
On election day we then get to see the huge Trump leads dissolve by the next morning.
Have we done anything to combat this foregone conclusion?
I think not. When it comes to election manipulation, Republicans are still in kindergarten.
This has nothing to do with Trump’s message or demeanor.
Dozens of falsely convicted “insurrectionists” are rotting in our jails and nobody is doing anything about it. They are guilty of peacefully sauntering around the Capitol. So much for believing in our elected conservative representatives.
If one is a supporter of Trump, one takes the whole package…mean tweets and all. He is the real deal, NOT some puppet who can not walk, talk, or stay awake more than 2 hours at a time. Go, Trump!! Save our country from the Dems who are destroying it.
The above article reads, in part:
• “…Donald Trump was just fined $83.3 by a left-wing…”, and
• “…Roy Rodgers crooner”.
I believe that it should correctly read:
• “…Donald Trump was just fined $83.3 million by a left-wing…”, and
• “…Roy Rogers crooner”, respectively.
Also, “Clinton Eastwood”, while not incorrect, the individual is more commonly known as: “Clint Eastwood”.
Thank you.
Hello Karen, how’s your mother?🎶
Damned Google and its thought correcting AI!
Love of language and attention to detail are valuable traits I’m sure the three of us share…I’ve also brought to Victor’s attention he has a poor editor and even worse podcast co-hosts but to no avail…He seems to value undeserved loyalty more than Trump does…Hopefully he’ll listen to a foreigner this time…
To A CANADIAN READER, most of VDH’s articles are enduring. I make copy of his article and file them to my to read file. Years later, when I read it again, it is still refreshing and meaningful, because VDH’s words are truth. Therefore, I think it is important to keep the fact straight. I have made a copy of this article and inserted the correction you made.
Thank you.
For the love of God and Country, I hope he gets the message and takes it to heart!
Well written as always. Trump needs to be bold as King David was with Goliath, humble just enough but not yielding to corrupt Philippine press nor use dementia King Saul’s armour provided by Davos pedophilia. And should announce his intention to execute these villains, along with drug dealers that have sold lethal drugs to more than one victim. He has already embolden governors to send troops to the open border to confront the Philippines. He’ll gather his men of valor, to scatter the evil Hoard in Washington. He’ll elevate the constitution, and replace those corrupt Pharisees with men of valor. Then our nation will prosper again and the world will rejoice?
I hope you shared this with him.
The enemy knows his weakness and they prod him constantly until he responds and they get their sound bite which is taken out of context. Then they repeat and play the sound bite over and over and over. Why does Trump keep falling for it?
There is another reason Trump supporters overlook or even do not care about Trump’s supposedly caustic/boorish behavior and “mean” tweets. Stack a mean tweet or derogatory name calling against the destruction from an open border, bad energy policy, inflation, trans/child mutilation, foreign wars, crime, DEI, BLM, Antifa, stolen elections, Russia hoax, Hunter laptop from hell, and the list goes on. I’ll take a mean tweet 8 days/week.
Yes.
I agree on his demeanor. I also agree on his brilliant qualities as POTUS. I wish he would stay above the fray. Always act, and be, PRESIDENTIAL. I will vote for him for the 3rd time as I truly believe he is the only one available to make the changes to our country we need. Strangely, the entire country seems awake to the border problem, finally. I live in Houston, we see it every single day. It is a disaster. He is not perfect, but I think he is the perfect man for this thankless job. Our politics are insane, I’m certain you will agree. Too much money being spent seeking reelection, too little time doing good work for the citizens. Victor, I listen to every interview you give with much attention. Maybe you should run?
My motto for some time now has been “Trump or Tougher” when it comes to selecting republican candidates. The Left has shown they will go to any length to persecute Trump, his allies, his electorate, and any other conservative candidates.
I’m not sure the country can afford to have President Trump divide his focus on getting even with the huge number of crises awaiting him. Having said that, I hope he will at least appoint an AG who will support him and approach the law from a conservative point of view.
If possible, he should form a commission to research and implement laws/rules/norms to shore up the powers and boundaries of the three branches of government. A bipartisan commission made up of members from each branch of government would be best with a stated agenda to place barriers and consequences for persons engaging in lawfare, political corruption, and election interference.
President Trump may well represent our last opportunity to turn back to the founding principles of our nation. If he fails to win the 2024 election we may well see a revolution or civil war. I just don’t see “We The People” choosing to go down without a fight.
I think most of us want strong, direct and meaningful retribution.
Else, the behavior of the left will never change.
If they are allowed to cheat, lie and unfairly prosecute then our country has no chance of healing.
Without vigorous deterrence, this sh*t show will continue.
Victor, what do you think of the advice Newt Gingrich offered in his January 25th opinion piece in the Epochtimes.com? It is entitled “The Longest General Election”.
Newt gave a prescription for a Trump landslide victory, using a sandwich as a model. He demonstrated great political insights, as usual.
I only hope Trump follows his advice.
Thanks for the comment. I am an Epoch Times subscriber but overlooked the Gingrinch article so I had to search for it.
If Trump would take the sandwich advice: “Ideally, each layer would get roughly equal time and focus. President Biden will be painfully trapped between Trump’s success in the past—and his promise of a better future” and incorporate it into every rally speech, I believe he would garner the largest number of votes in US history, possibly upwards of 110million. If that happens it would be impossible for the democrats to steal the 2024 election without tripping all over themselves and committing overt criminal acts.
Sadly, republicans provide a candidate who runs on issues. Democrats go after votes and manage the electoral process and those processes remain in place since the last presidential election. That is why the dems don’t really care who they run and if it is Biden or Michelle or Newsome, the process is what will lead to their victory. Like Biden said, “Polls don’t vote.” Republicans can lead in all the polls they like, but unless they get a serious grass roots campaign to go after individual voters they will lose again.
Yup.
Completely agreed.
Unless the Democrats pull a switcheroo on who they’re running, (switch Biden* out for Michelle Obama for example), and lacking any unforseen develpments in 2024, the election is Trump’s to lose, not Biden’s* to win. Trump’s temper unrestrained is one way he can manufacture an “unforseen development” where he loses.
Not that Trump’s anger should never be unleashed. Done sparingly and tactically, Trump’s temper can be another asset.
Excellent article! So appreciate your insight and perspective in these uncertain times. You truly need to be Trump’s campaign/political advisor! While I can’t blame him for his anger and frustration with the bogus court cases, he needs to stay focused on strategies that will help get him elected, ignore Haley, and go after Biden’s failed policies and unite the Republican Party.
I absolutely agree! Trump has an outstanding chance of winning this election. I wish he would focus on Biden, how he and his cabinet are destroying our country, and what he’s going to do to make the USA great again! He needs to continually remind people how his policies helped minorities and other accomplishments. The good he did at times gets drowned out by useless attacks on others. Let the ridiculous lawfare play itself out and know that we see the injustices taking place. We need him back in the WH to fix the mess this administration has made! If he wants to garner the votes of those undecideds and independents, show them how presidential he can be!! I think the majority of Americans are behind him, and a lot of those are silent voters. But, they need to see a calm, positive, intelligent , and determined President Trump, not rants and ravings about Haley’s dress!
So true. We need him to get us out of this disastrous administration. So he needs to rally all Americans with his leadership and his charm. I defend him constantly when he does character attacks which a lot of times if he just talked about how he and we patriot Americans can make our country great and safe again. Unite us.
Unite us, unite the clan.
Wow, that sums it up brilliantly! Can Trump rise? Will civilization survive? (OK, that latter question may be overstated, but I really think that’s what may ultimately be at stake in 2024.)
Excellent article, as usual, but I have to say the one thing I DO like about Trump’s predisposition, at any time, to “go off”, is that it scares the crap out of China, North Korea and Russia, all of whom made sure to tow the line when Trump was in office.
VDH is brilliant, as usual!
Absolutely correct Victor and well said. While I sympathize with President Trump he must keep his “eyes on the prize” and win back the presidency. You have laid out the best path for him to do just that.
While I usually agree with Mr. Hanson, I feel this editorial needs counterarguments that challenge the notion that his aggressive rhetoric is reactive and necessary as an effective form of deterrence. Instead, it undermines the dignity and unifying role of the presidency. The comparisons made with other political figures like Barack Obama are oversimplifications that detract from objectively assessing each individual’s actions. The possibility of Trump changing his approach for the 2024 election is seen as unlikely, given his consistent behavior and any such change might be perceived as insincere. Lastly, the idea of Trump being the sole defense against a left-wing overhaul of America is challenged as an oversimplification of the complex and balanced nature of American politics. These counterpoints underscore the importance of civility, accountability, and unity in political leadership, questioning the effectiveness of Trump’s approach to the broader interests of the country.
Well said as always!
Through decades of party leaders such as George H Bush, George W Bush, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell etc., the republican base has long endured the painful, predictable proclivity of its elected leaders to abandon not only the campaign promises that won them their positions but also those people in the base who worked for and elected them. Whether conscious and planned, or, unconscious and situationally developed, these Vichy republicans slowly and steadily, in the final breakdown, effectively worked with their democrat colleagues largely advancing the latter’s objectives while excoriating their own base. This is evidenced readily by their abandonment of campaign commitments, for example regarding the number of illegal immigrants in our country and the dangerously bloated national debt, and, the debasement of Trump supporters by people such as Liz Cheney or Chris Christie. I think it follows naturally that this politically forsaken group would nearly irreversibly bond with a leader such as Trump, who while not always artfully, does always unflinchingly articulate a vision of restoring some power to the faithful citizen and disbursing it from the unaccountable leviathin of technocrats and the permanent political class. That said, I agree it would be better for his agenda if he refrained from some of his sometimes vindictive attacks. Though far worse attacks are made against him, he is strangely held to a higher standard.
Donald J Trump and I were both born with the same birth defect. Neither of us has a filter between our brain and our mouth. My mother always lamented that every thought that passed through my brain fell out of my mouth, as it does with Trump. Frankly, I like that about us, but it can have some repercussions. When my circuitous career path took me into sales, I quickly learned that it was not a good idea to insult the person that would make the purchasing decision. I found a solution. My favorite customer said that he loved to watch me patiently listen to nonsense from some jerk and then respond, “That’s very interesting,” with my lips while my eyes were shouting, “B—S—.”
Please, President Trump, follow the advice of VDH when you speak. All of your supporters can read your eyes loud and clear.
But what if Trump can no longer control himself?
A leader’s fate rests with their ability to articulate truth. A nation’s fate rests with it’s willingness to accept truth. Waiting for the Messiah is passe.
Nikki’s objectionable slurs against Trump will soon be entirely forgotten. Trump’s blasting her for them is unnecessary – better to be nice to her and blast Bidden instead.
This is a well-written post, but I’m having trouble seeing the consistency between Trump’s actions regarding Comey and the author’s call to ‘stay calm and get even’. It feels like a hand-wringing approach that glosses over the actual scandal and neglects the very real possibility that Trump may have acted out of self-preservation and spite.