And Now For Something Completely Different
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Donald Trump has given his first interview as president-elect, appearing on the CBS programme 60 minutes. Trump spoke on several of his key campaign points and his recent meeting with President Obama, informing interviewer Lesley Stahl that he still intends to build a wall along the Mexican border, although he is now happy for some of it to be a fence. “I am very good at this,” he stated. “It’s called construction.”
The most noteworthy section of the interview, however, was his response to questions surrounding the surge of hate crimes since his election. Reports in threatening behaviour have gone up, as well as a number of cases of anti-Semitic graffiti, and one incident of a swastika being spray painted onto a wall with the words ‘Heil Trump’. Stahl asked Trump what he would say to the perpetrators of these crimes, and he said “stop it”. Yes, that actual phrase. Then for real emphasis he said “I’ll say it to the camera” then again (to camera) “stop it”.
Golly gosh, what’s that I hear? Did Trump just end racism? Why did no one think of this before? We should have told fascists to stop it ages ago! It might have saved loads of hassle. In one determined swoop Trump has succeeded where so many have failed; he has provided light where ’twas dark, hope where misery conquered. No more shall they weep in the streets, for Trump shall lead us.
Of course this is not the case. Trump truly baffles me. What are his aims? What does he want to gain from the presidency? Does he really want racists to stop it? How much of what comes from that man’s mouth can we honestly believe, after the events of his divisive campaign? He has suddenly changed so much. Are we forgetting the horrendous things he has said about Hillary Clinton and Obama throughout his campaign? These are people whom he has insulted to the extreme who he now claims to have a great deal of respect for. I do not quite understand his intentions. Perhaps he thinks no one will notice the sudden u-turn, or maybe he is truthful when he compliments those he previously claimed to despise. How much is hypocrisy and how much is game-play is uncertain; frankly I can’t grasp if he genuinely believes everything he has said in the past year and a half, or if the entire time he has been carefully plotting.
A section of a Charlie Brooker programme once talked about a Russian politician, Vladislav Surkov, and the technique he has used throughout his years in politics to help support Putin. The idea followed basically along the line that you always keep the public guessing and in confusion about your aims. He will back both liberal human rights groups and neo-Nazi campaigners, publicly. As a result he can be simultaneously good cop and bad cop, so that no one is ever quite sure where he stands. Is this what Trump is attempting? Does he have the intelligence? I have wondered about his campaign in the past. People like to see honesty in politicians, to see them ‘speaking their mind’, and this is a quality many have seen in Trump. But what if this wasn’t the case? What if he was using exaggerated versions of his ideas to present a certain image? What if he was lying? The main factor that leads me to mistrust this theory are things like the choices for his cabinet. These he has not softened, and they don’t suggest anything other than his incredibly right-wing approach. Time will tell, and perhaps over the next few months some of Trump’s hand will become clearer, but until then I won’t trust a word that comes out of his mouth.