Even though it is only Wednesday it has already been quite a week for our man in the White House, Donald J. Trump. On Sunday he appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press," for an interview with journalist, Kristen Welker. They sat down together somewhere in Wisconsin on a farm. The building had a solid roof without any leaks but also had very little insulation. When heavy rain came and went both Welker and Trump had to raise their voices considerably to be heard over the noise. Whether that was a factor in what happened during the interview is up for speculation.
What we do know is that in the long history of Donald Trump's unhinged rants what we saw Sunday was quite possibly his most off the rails performance to date. In fact, off the rails doesn't really do it justice. Maybe we should go with off a cliff. How else can you describe it when the President of the United States tells the journalist interviewing him, "You're either crooked or stupid."
That's our Donald alright. When challenged, especially by a female, he comes back hard. The extended rant and abrupt end of the interview--Trump stormed out--led at least one wag to say that while Trump still likes the title of President, he no longer wants the duties of the office. He'd prefer to attend sporting events and plan grand memorials to himself. While we can't be sure of that, Sunday's interview showed us he is a man who has run completely out of patience. Out of patience with a war he started but can't finish. There wasn't a plan B because he couldn't conceive he would need one. Now, because the Iranians didn't cave in, every time he opens another door to end it, he finds a crouching tiger. Out of patience with an increasingly disillusioned electorate. Out of patience with the rising costs of everything. (It's tough to gaslight people when they are the ones buying groceries every week.) And certainly, out of patience with all these fucking questions. (Why won't these people just believe me anymore?)
It has been my personal belief Donald Trump's somewhat tenuous grip on reality truly started to slide away on election night, 2020. By early January 2021 we saw the first real manifestation of the insanity. A lot of people had told him no. His brain simply couldn't handle it. The lie about the election results became an all-consuming obsession. So much so, you could probably strap the old coot into a lie detector right now and he would pass it. Indeed, after all the questions about the war that isn't a war and the economy, the brakes on the crazy train didn't completely fail until Kristen Welker kept insisting there was no proof any election, including the most recent one in California, had been rigged.
when reminded no evidence had ever been presented in court, the President of the United States responded, "You have more evidence, there's more evidence than ever presented." To quote the TV character, Amy Farah Fowler, "It's hard to argue with street smarts like that."
Moments later, after a few more insults ("Your elections are crooked and you're crooked and Meet the Press is crooked.) Donald Trump stormed off the set as Kristen Welker whined, "But I flew all the way to Wisconsin to interview you."
Not to worry though. Donald Trump resurfaced on Monday in New York City. He was there to watch the New York Knicks play the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA finals.
To put this in a little historical perspective, the Knicks haven't appeared so therefore haven't hosted a finals game since 1999. The last time they won a championship since 1973. To say tickets to the game on Monday were the hottest thing in town was an understatement of epic proportions. Now, in comes Donald Trump, who moved out of New York years ago and quite honestly hasn't had anything nice to say about it since. In addition, unlike Barack Obama he has rarely if ever shown any interest in the sport.
Because of security concerns a Knick's street/watch party outside of Madison Square Garden was cancelled, denying fans without tickets a chance to get in on the action even if from the periphery. Then Garden officials announced security to get in the building would be so tight, fans should arrive two hours prior to the tipoff. Finally, thanks to Trump's caravan, traffic in Manhattan, especially around Madison Square Garden was snarled for hours.
When Trump and his party showed up in a private box, the whole bunch was roundly booed. The general consensus was the boos were equally divided between those who don't like Trump's politics and others who were simply pissed off at the inconvenience his presence caused. Long time Knicks super fan and film director, Spike Lee arrived wearing a Knicks jersey with the name, Pope Leo, across the back. ESPN personality, Stephen A. Smith, who is normally friendlier to Trump than many on the network said his attendance was, "Selfish and narcissistic."
Proving Smith was right, multiple reports say Donald Trump, while attending the biggest New York Knicks game in 27 years fell asleep during the middle of it. The game itself was a barn burner 115-111 loss for New York, their first since April. The next day, Knicks fans everywhere demanded Trump be banned from the Garden and all future Knicks playoff games. As one pointed out, "we won the first two. The only thing that changed was he was there." Game four is tonight. As far as anyone knows, Donald Trump won't be in the Garden.
Yes, the Master of Madness and Chaos has moved on. He is, no doubt, back in Washington preparing to appear at the super-duper display of muscle, sweat and violence the UFC fights promise to deliver on Sunday. One assumes this crowd won't boo him since it is restricted to military guests, donors, and fans of, not the New York Knicks, but Donald John Trump.
You know, the sort of crowd he likes best. People who won't try his patience with any questions.
(For those interested in double talk, half-truths, outright lies, and insanity, the entire transcript of the Kristen Welker-Donald Trump interview is available online thanks to the NBC News website.)
6-10-26
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