Trump the rebel
Dear Editor,
To his supporters US President Donald Trump is seen as a rebel against the political establishment.
This is why he talks about holding an enquiry into an election he won; picks a fight with a friendly neighbour, Mexico, which could hurt trade relations; and calls the media “the opposition”. All illogical, but done to feed into this perception.
The president is a master at using the media to his advantage. So every day he has a ceremony in full view of the TV cameras to sign executive orders and shows each to the camera while describing what he has done. These orders are mere declarations and may not get done, but to him that does not matter as his supporters will remember the histrionics and see the orders as a fulfilment of his election promises.
Trump is following the Machiavellian theory that perception is better than reality, and that if you are willing to deceive you can always find people who will be deceived. This will be the theme of his presidency and, in order to judge his regime, one has to look at what he does and not what he says.
Victor A Dixon
victoradixon@yahoo.com