From CNN's opinion writer Stephen Collinson on the attempted rehabilitation of the MAGA cult leader:
"After Trump escaped the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, his campaign has leveraged the aftermath to reshape his image. It has also portrayed his four years in power as an idyll of peace and prosperity. His team is seeking to dispel memories of the chaos, acrimony and assaults on constitutional order that characterized his presidency, which culminated in his attempt to destroy democracy to stay in power and the mob riot by his supporters at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, that led to his second impeachment.
The GOP is painting a picture of a nation that is broke, beset by crime and an invasion by undocumented migrants, and economic blight disrespected in the world. The picture is highly subjective. Americans are still suffering from high prices, but inflation isn’t as high as it was, crime figures are coming down and unemployment has been near historic lows. The economy is outpacing other developed countries and Trump thwarted a bid to ease the immigration crisis by torpedoing a bipartisan bill that could have addressed the border. And in perhaps the most daring bait-and-switch, the party led by a man who constantly genuflected to President Vladimir Putin is accusing Biden – who reinvigorated NATO and confronted the Kremlin’s onslaught on Ukraine – as weak on Russia."
The messaging is Orwellian in its embrace of delusion and authoritarian image shaping. The MAGA cult leader has always been known as a master con man and grifter, but this would be his greatest achievement after his January 6 coup attempt appeared to consign him to the dustbin of American history.
