Donald Trump's myth is coming unglued: How did the supposed master dealmaker become a ...
THURSDAY, JUN 29, 2017 08:00 AM EDT
Donald Trump’s myth is coming unglued: How did the supposed master dealmaker become a spectacularly incompetent president?
As a media celebrity, Trump constructed a masterful persona. It was never real, and now it's deeply dangerous
HEATHER DIGBY PARTON
Last year on the campaign trail, Donald Trump made a lot of promises, almost always adding that he planned to fulfill them “quickly.” He would say, “We will defeat ISIS and we will do it very, very quickly,” or “We’re disrespected right now all over the world. But that will change very, very quickly.” (He was right about that one. It changed very quickly, but not for the better.)
Just before the election in November he said this:
< I will ask Congress to convene a special session so we can repeal and replace and it will be such an honor for me, for you and for everybody in this country, because Obamacare has to be replaced. And we will do it and we will do it very, very quickly. >
No one understood why Trump would need to convene a special session of Congress but it sounded very forceful and “strong” (another word he uses constantly). He got so grandiose in his promises to act quickly that at one point he pledged to get nearly his entire agenda done on the very first day.
What his followers truly loved about him, of course, was that he was saying out loud all the politically incorrect things they felt inhibited from saying in polite company, for fear of someone thinking they aren’t nice people. His candidacy, especially the rallies, provided one gigantic safe space for people to cheer for things that liberals hate. But when you asked people why they thought he would make a good president, it was always because he was a successful businessman who knew how to get things done.
Trump’s entire pitch was based on his supposedly legendary ability to negotiate. He flogged “The Art of the Deal” like it was the Bible, signing it on rope lines for his adoring fans and constantly calling it the bestselling business book of all time. This was the myth underlying his reality TV “Apprentice” persona, which was inspired by the book.
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http://www.salon.com/2017/06/29/donald-trumps-myth-is-coming-unglued-how-did-the-supposed-master-dealmaker-become-a-spectacularly-incompetent-president/
