President Donald J. Trump left Walter Reed Military National Military Medical Center yesterday and re-entered the White House to execute a bit of political theater.
Ascending the steps of the White House, Trump stopped, stood, and saluted Marine One all while taking off his protective mask as a current victim of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Another President Trump staffer, a member of the military personnel assigned to support the president, tested positive for Covid-19 this weekend, as the Capitol Hill coronavirus outbreak continues to grow https://t.co/GrqheHd9Ba pic.twitter.com/Am6q7vregb
— Forbes (@Forbes) October 6, 2020
For Trump, contracting the novel coronavirus was an irony that will forever go down in infamy.
During the entire pandemic, he pushed the narrative of a “plandemic”, a fear-mongering conspiracy orchestrated by his chief rivals, the Democrats.
He flouted CDC warnings about mass gatherings and held rallies across the country. He pushed for a new Supreme Court justice pick in Amy Coney Barrett and held an event for her in the White House Rose Garden that also bucked medical convention.
Now that he has the virus, he pushed back against looking weak during the final stretch of the 2020 Presidential campaign.
That meant a hospital stay was a no-no. It also meant, regardless of how he really feels, he had to show strength to his base and maintain his visage as right-wing America’s leading strongman.
“We’re going back. We’re going back to work,” said Trump in a strange campaign video created by aides within an hour of his return to the White House.
“We’re gonna be out front. As your leader, I had to do that. I knew there’s a danger to it but I had to do it. I stood out front. I led. Nobody that’s a leader would do what I did. I know there’s a risk, there’s a danger.”
Balcony Scene: Pres Trump was seen removing his mask and saluting Marine One on the main South Portico Balcony yesterday. The “Truman Balcony” is a floor above. pic.twitter.com/ZFA5e3hxoJ
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) October 6, 2020
Trump has positioned himself as the conquer of coronavirus while still being a patient of it.
However, it all leads to his version of neo-fascism. The Truman balcony he stood on also was no accident as Trump is ever the television producer and imaging consultant for his brand.
Just as he fawns over the powerful national imagery of Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un, it can be assumed that he does the same for their progenitor, Italy’s Benito Mussolini.
Trump-olini
Fascism. Trump his been accused of it but the reason why always fly’s over people’s heads, especially those who feel they are getting money with Agent Orange in office.
Fascism is a form of far-right, authoritarian ultranationalism characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, and strong regimentation of society and of the economy which came to prominence in early 20th-century Europe.
https://twitter.com/davidgura/status/1313538917518446602?s=20
When the leader of the country denounces all critical media as “fake news” it is a steer towards fascism; ending any dissension. or form of opposition to the current leadership.
Italian Prime Minister, Benito Mussolini was known for being a powerful orator, unlike Donald Trump who is an effective speaker to his base.
Mussolini loved to address his crowds of followers. He did so many times from the balcony above the Piazza Venezia, a public square in Rome where throngs of Italians would gather to hear Il Duce speak.
It was his Truman balcony.
It is from this very balcony that the fascist dictator delivered some of his most famous speeches that would determine the course of history, including the declaration of the Italian Empire in 1936, and a declaration of war on France and Britain in 1940.
Between 1925 and 1927, Mussolini progressively dismantled virtually all constitutional and conventional restraints on his power and built a police state.
Almost 24 hours ago, @AriFleischer had strong feelings about how Trump had to behave when he returned to WH. He hasn't mentioned them since, though, so they must have dissipated. pic.twitter.com/JyhZFCyRlg
— Christopher Orr (@OrrChris) October 6, 2020
Singlehandedly, Donald Trump has exposed every flaw in the democratic system that can be manipulated for personal gain. He has sent in secret federal police that has arrested, detained, and assaulted what Trump calls
ANTIFA.
Antifa = anti-fascist.
Started to see the sleight of hand he did there?
Propped up by the support of his base and stoking old fears of uprisings and the potential for a disappearing suburban community, Donald Trump wants to steamroll his way into a second term.
If achieved, he understands that the road to totalitarianism will be easier with a public weather-beaten from his brand of leadership.
Donald J Trump's big Mussolini moment at the balcony
Yes Benito Mussolini. The Eric Trump of the Axis Dictators#WayTooEarly #TrumpIsANationalDisgrace #Covidiot pic.twitter.com/CMoL199OWJ
— Tomi T Ahonen Moved to Post, Spoutible & Mastodon (@tomiahonen) October 6, 2020
Getting sick wasn’t part of the plan. However, nothing is devoid of the spin and even in deteriorating health, he can conjure the banality of past demagogues to impress his “invincibility” on the world.
There is a famous saying: “Corner a dog in a dead-end street and it will turn and bite.”
Trump is wounded during the finale of a Presidential reelection bid.
Expect to see the most sensational version of him yet as a referendum candidate who understands an axiom from the late Niccolo Machiavelli:
“It is better to be feared than loved if you cannot be both.”
