If you attack Trump directly or indirectly by attacking his political agenda, he’ll counterattack at a time and in a manner of his own choosing. They’ll be chosen tactically to attain the objective of one of his strategies.
Trump chose to attack media enemies early and often, like CNN and MSNBC. He had to in order to deflate their anti-Trump narratives. Recently, he’s attacked those who’ve called him racist. Al Sharpton called him a racist on July 14: “The president is a racist. That’s it. No doubt in my mind.” On July 12, he said that Trump had won by playing the race card. On July 27, he enlarged his attack, accusing Trump of being “diametrically opposed to the voting rights and gender rights and LGBTQ rights and civil rights of people like Donald Trump is.”
Trump struck back today, July 29: “I have known Al for 25 years. Went to fights with him & Don King, always got along well. He ‘loved Trump!’ He would ask me for favors often. Al is a con man, a troublemaker, always looking for a score. Just doing his thing. Must have intimidated Comcast/NBC. Hates Whites & Cops!”
This is mild. A more detailed attack is here.
Rep. Elijah Cummings attacked border patrol agents, whom Trump has defended. Trump counterattacked by criticizing the Baltimore district that Cummings represents, and this simultaneously undercut the Squad’s criticisms of the border facilities and ICE.
Trump cannot govern and achieve his agenda without putting these people in their place. He has to counterattack them.
His opposition among Democrats, Republicans, deep state and media are counterattacking his counterattacks by accusing him of taking the low road, being racist, dividing the country, lowering his office’s prestige, and even committing misdemeanors. This is old hat. They’ve been doing this for three years.
What’s new is that Trump has now chosen this time to attack the Squad, Cummings and Sharpton. He is breaking down the color bar. People of color who hold political positions are certainly not angels. They are not sacrosanct. They are accountable. Trump is not giving them a pass because of their skin, because of the civil rights movement or because of the history of the races in America.
Trump is attacking political correctness. It has been something of a taboo to attack the political views or competence or ethical standing of a person of color with political influence. The result would be that the attacker is called a racist. Poor white Uncle Joe Biden needed only to say that he worked with Southern Democrats way back when in order to be taken down a few notches in a cunning and pre-planned ambush by Kamala Harris. Has Trump changed the game? Has Trump given Biden an opportunity to attack Harris with a free hand?
It seems that Trump is taking apart the political house of the Democrats stick by stick. He is dismantling their identity politics before their eyes. This strategy is predicated on separating the masses, currently formed into racial, ethnic and other blocs, from their leaders whose appeal rests on these characteristics. The masses may be more disillusioned with their Democratic leaders than they are given credit for.
1:45 pm on July 29, 2019
