There is no second act, like Trump act

Vahe H Apelian

 

When it comes to choosing a presidential candidate, it appears that reason breaks down. It’s like the saying that the heart has its reason, reason knows not. I am not discounting that I may be another such voter. In this complex world, one day, in the not so distant  future, we may rely on AI to make the analysis, humans are not capable of making because of their inherent bias and human capacity to process the complexities of the new world.

I am often reminded of the following.

We were young adults and were getting married and forming families of our own. A friend of mine married a friend of mine and I became a witness to their marriage. But surprisingly his wife did not get along with his mother, her mother-in-law. One day, it happened that I was with her and wondered what is the problem? I knew them both as reasonable persons. She attentively listed to me and when I was done, she said, “you know God has not put love between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law.” She simply meant to say, do not present me all these arguments. That is the way it is, so is the choice for a presidential candidate. There are myriads of conscious reasons and there must be myriads of reasons driven by our unconscious mind that determine the choice we make of someone whom we know of.

At times when a friend makes arguments in favor of the policies of a presidential candidate, I wonder if the person is making a justification in favor of the candidate.  It is known that voters do not follow presidential debates to make a choice. But follow it to see how well the candidate of their choice debated. With all his law-and-order rhetoric, Donald Trump was absolutely right when in January 2016, he said, “I could shoot somebody, and I would not lose any voters”. Trump can very well soften his stand on abortion and his vocal base will accept it, no questions asked.

The loyalty is for Trump. That is why there is no second act, like Trump act. There may be a third Trump act, that is another story.  Simply said, there is no Trumpism without Trump.

If I had any doubt that was not case, my doubts dissipated with the resignation of Governor DeSantis from the presidential act. His act, as a younger and a more of a Trump, fizzled. People are drawn to Trump’s “Make America Great Again”. What does that slogan mean?.  Does it mean to say that the other camp is not for America to be great?  Surely not. MAGA is Trump's brand, no other's.  They vote for Trump because they want Trump’s brand of MACA, and it is only Trump who knows what his brand of MAGA is and he is the only one who can make his brand of MAGA, whatever that is, become a reality for an America turned great. Needless to say, each of those who vote for him conjure an image of what makes America great again, is.

Florida Governor DeSantis wanted to be the new Trump. Not surprisingly the voters rejected him and his Trumpian MAGA. As Newsweek said, "Glorified by the media as Trump's heir apparent and buoyed by his legislative successes, DeSantis soon proved he wasn't ready for prime time,". DeSantis should have realized that there is no other MAGA act on a national scale, other than Trump’s.

The upcoming election is a contest for Trump the person or against him. I will not vote for Trump. I simply am not drawn to someone who chastises John McCain, like Trump did. I consider John McCain an all-American hero in and out of the  battle field. He also happened to be the scion of an illustrious American family with deep roots in America and much service to it. 

Come 2028, if I am still alive and Trump is elected in 2024, I will thank all those who voted for him, if America is great again. I will be a beneficiary of an America great Again. It may be like having taken a free ride. After all, the benefits of the America great again are not only for those who voted for him, and excludes the rest of us who voted, but not for him.

 However, in 2028, if Russia has not caved in the Ukrainian war; the Israeli-Palestinians issue is still not settled; if Middle East remains the tinder box it is, Sino-American superpower rivalry is raging; and if QAnon is still around, but hopefully not turned into another religion like Scientology; the illegal immigration is still going on, as it has been going on since Carter presidential bid, in 1976, when I came to the U.S.; and the racial divisions in the United States are not as harmonious as it should be in America turned great again. I am resigned to learn then, it is because the democrats, the “deep state”, the RINOs (Republican in name only), the Republican establishment, colluded and conspired against Donald J Trump to make America Great Again.

 For Trump’s vocal base, Trump is.