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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Daily 202: Why the divider in chief embraces culture wars
By James Hohmann September 25 at 7:15 AM
THE BIG IDEA: The most fitting slogan for Donald Trumps populist campaign, which continues nearly a year after the 2016 election ended, might be us against them. I dont know Latin, but I do know that what we saw from the president this weekend is the opposite of e pluribus unum. He is the divider in chief.
Trump, who was a developer before he became a reality TV star and then a politician, has long been a builder of straw men. Everyone knows that he trades on controversy, but his chaotic approach to governing also depends on constantly presenting the American people with false binary choices. Picking a fight with professional athletes who kneel during the national anthem, a controversy from last year that had mostly blown over, is just the latest example.
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Trump talks about the world in black-and-white terms: Youre either with him or against him. Hes been around long enough to know that this is a time-honored form of civil disobedience, but he recognizes that his base hates such displays. So Trump is using the bully pulpit of the presidency to seize a political opening that might keep his core supporters from losing faith in his leadership.
He is also looking for distractions. Trump went all-in last week on the Cassidy-Graham health-care bill, which could fail this week. The candidate he endorsed in Alabama could go down in a GOP primary. Puerto Rico has been ravaged by a hurricane, and there are mounting questions about the federal response.
This is part of a pattern. Trump is still campaigning against Hillary Clinton as a foil because he wants conservatives to judge him against her, not on his own merits. He called her Crooked Hillary during his Friday rally in Alabama. Lock her up, the crowd chanted. He didnt stop them. At this point, what difference does she make?
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/daily-202/2017/09/25/daily-202-why-the-divider-in-chief-embraces-culture-wars/59c861e430fb0468cea81b10/
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)is because it's easy to do, simple for his base to understand, and he's too lazy to do anything more complex...
Proud Liberal Dem
(24,412 posts)The Republicans told us that he was over and over again (but never explained how/why and were never called on it)