Washington Post op-ed writer Alexandra Petri on the false expectations pushed by the Beltway media that the Malignant Loser would be a different man after the assassination attempt on him. They were shocked shocked! that he was the same creature:
"We were told to expect a unifying, chastened Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention. It seemed just barely possible, especially if you had just emerged from a coconut tree, unburdened by what has been. And for about 20 minutes Thursday night, accepting the Republican nomination (Is 'Republican' the correct name still, after the total transformation the party has undergone in his image?), he delivered a very different speech than he ever does, recounting his assassination attempt in Butler, Pa.
Then for the next 70-odd minutes — making this the longest acceptance remarks on record, I believe — he gave the exact speech he always gives. It was as full as ever of hatred toward immigrants, contradictory pronouncements about the state of the economy, accusations of stealing the election, complaints about witch hunts, and misplaced nostalgia for an era I could have sworn was just four years ago and not a newly unearthed Golden Age of Mankind. It mentioned 'the late, great Hannibal Lecter.' If this was indeed a new Trump, he was the same as the old Trump. It was like watching a New Year’s resolution unravel in real time. [snip]
The [convention] atmosphere is all wrong for [a new Trump]. Here are people wearing your face on their pants, who have dressed their babies like you, who have bandaged their ears in solidarity, who are hanging on your every word. You are being introduced by Hulk Hogan and Kid Rock. Everyone worships the water you walk on, and each evening begins with a video of a spotlight shooting your name into the night sky. Here, you aren’t just God’s chosen; you’re also Batman. Here, why would you want to be anyone other than Trump?
No, there was never a chance of anything different. But you would think we might stop believing there was." (our emphasis)
Indeed, why would Trump think his fiercely loyal cult would want a "moderate" Trump, when they're all in for the xenophobic, racist, misogynist and thoroughly unhinged show he always put on for their entertainment? He feeds their grievances, while they feed on his in a destructive symbiosis. But our broken political media won't stop believing, and falling time and again for his con.
(photo: AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite)
