Commentary
Let Me Get My Shoes
- by Joe Mandese @mp_joemandese, July 15, 2024
It probably won't register in the annals of presidential quotes, but at least now we know what Trump may be thinking when he's in near death crisis mode.
Whatever he was thinking in the moment, it didn't take him long to transition to defiance mode, pump a fist in the air while surrounded by Secret Service and turn the moment into an image the media instantly hailed as the most photographically symbolic one since an AP photographer from another era captured the iconic American flag-raising by U.S. marines during World War II's battle of Iwo Jima.
"In its surface details, it carries echoes of the marines at Iwo Jima. In the former President’s bloody defiance, it even evokes Rocky Balboa. On that stage, Trump seemed well aware of the image he was creating. It is an image that captures him as he would like to be seen, so perfectly, in fact, that it may outlast all the rest," wrote The New Yorker's Benjamin Wallace-Wells, calling it "an image that will last."
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Images aside, the past 24-hours of Trump assassination attempt coverage was cable news and social media frenzy on steroids -- all leading into today's opening of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, which otherwise should have been a simple, perfunctory cakewalk to his nomination. Instead, an ear-bandaged Trump likely will be hailed a triumphant hero, shoes and all.
Though as an AP analysis of the GOP's plans highlights, the party had originally been focusing on a kinder, gentler tone, seeking to quell the nerves of already rattled American voters, following the Democratic party's disarray and lack of unity after President Joe Biden's dismal performance during the first debate.
Lost in the weekend's crisis coverage was the fact that Meta late Friday announced it was further relaxing its guardrails on public figures during "civil unrest," though many media outlets reported that as lifting restrictions on Donald Trump who continues to use his own publicly-traded Truth Social platform as his main social media outlet.
Joe Mandese is the Editor in Chief of MediaPost. You can reach Joe at joe@mediapost.com.
Joe, even as we speak, the democrats are trying to figre out how to reposition their campaign in the light of the assassination attempt on Trump. This wil probably mean taking a more positive approach and toning down the "save democracy", "you're a "-racist, "you're a Nazi" rhetoric. And were I betting on the outcome, I wouldn't be surprised to see Trump doing the same to mute the political infighting and hatespeak that has done so much damage to our political system. Frankly, that would be a welcome and sensible approach for both parties. Instead of name calling and smears, tell us what you plan to do to fix our problems.
The most intersting thing will be how the media---in particular the anti-Trump camp typified by MSNBC and the pro Trump camp--Fox---handle the change if it takes place. Wil they, too, cool it--considering that large sectors of the public are in a state of shock and want the hateful political warfare to stop? Or will the quest for ratings---and ad dollars still rule?
Sigh!. Make that "figure out" not "figre out", in the first sentence of my post.
Woo-hoo! Thanks, Joe.
And btw, judging from his Truth Social posts in the last few days, Donld Trump can not turn down his hate. It's who he is.