May 12: On This Day In 2020
“It has been Trump’s unique genius to turn the appearance of mental breakdown into effective political maneuvering,” noted Michael Gerson, speechwriter to George W Bush, as recounted by Daily Camera OTDI 2020.
As an example of Trump’s technique, Gerson cited one particular day near the height of America’s concerns over the Covid pandemic. On that day, Trump sent out an astonishing 126 tweets. 126!
What did he talk about? Other than claiming “great marks” for handling the pandemic — and praising his own Vice President for praising him— there was very little about, you know, the incredibly important issue everybody was thinking about: Covid. But there were a lot of attacks on media figures he didn’t like. Diversion, misdirection, false emphasis…all the hallmarks of a magician. And a con artist.
And it got worse: Trump’s volume of tweeting increased year-by-year during his term. Towards the end of 2020 he was up to an average of nearly three tweets every single waking hour. Gerson noted: “We have seen the complete breakdown of presidential communication on Covid. But that, it seems, is exactly where Trump wants to be. It is better for him if the country fixates on his conspiratorial madness, rather than focusing on his utter failure and willingness to sacrifice lives.”
@johnkrasinski responded to the misery of Covid by releasing a weekly video “Some Good News.” It brightened lives and raised $2MM for hard-hit Americans. Our president Donald Trump? He brightened lives by … tweeting Psycho total nut job stuff like this, OTDI 2020. Hey, at least it distracts from his Covid death counts.
Of course this tool Trump used to disguise his own ineptitude was snatched away from him on Jan 8, 2021, when even Twitter had had enough of his rhetoric. They permanently suspended Trump’s account. Well, “permanently” at least until Elon Musk reinstated him.
Dive Deeper
Daily Camera captured Gerson’s analysis of why Trump tweets
Adilbek Madaminov gives us a fascinating statistical look at Trump’s tweets
Wanna read a few more Trump tweets? All of them? Here’s a gift for you
Summary: Trump tweets to distract from the misery he's not fixing