Former President Trump was met with backlash for his bizarre reading of the names of victims of the tragic Texas elementary school shooting during his speech at the NRA convention on Friday night — which concluded with a … dance.
Trump’s appearance at the NRA event occurred just days after a gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas and killed 19 children and two teachers.
During his speech, Trump issued demands that other prominent Republicans have pushed in the wake of the shooting: arming teachers with firearms, schools with a single entryway and armed guards at the entryway. The former president praised the NRA, saying that “the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”
In a jarring moment of his speech, Trump read the names of the Texas school shooting victims aloud, in which the sound of a gong was played after each name.
Trump went on to conclude his speech by dancing to the 1966 song “Hold On, I’m Comin’” by Sam and Dave — a move that was swiftly slammed by Twitter users as a sign of disrespect in light of the lives lost during the tragic Texas elementary school shooting.
Here’s how Twitter users reacted to Trump’s speech:
The cruelty is the point. All the children (as I recall) had Hispanic surnames, so he may have been dancing because of that.
Trump: “How can I make the slaughter of 19 children about ME?”
Trump Advisor: “Let’s have you read the victims’ names aloud at the end of your speech, then you DANCE.”
For all intents and purposes now, the Trump movement has transcended Trump. Trump showed the conservative world that they no longer needed to dance around white nationalism with a dog whistle but, instead, could win be embracing it out in the open.
The fact is, Trump was always a clumsy buffoon in how he presented himself, but it didn’t matter. There are so many people out there who are willing to embrace his message of raw hatred for the “other” that his awkward presentation of that message was mostly ignored. Now that he’s shown Republicans that they no longer need to tip tow around flagrant racism, it’s time for the more polished professionals to run with his message.
In short, Republicans no longer need Trump. He’s already shown them the way, but he’s also worn out his welcome with them. From now on, Republican politics will be Trumpism minus Trump.
Finally.
He was always soulless, but now the Spin people have a harder time with it.
Culmination, like capitulation, is a term used in economics, war, and why not bad policy. I do not agree with Maureen Dowd that pursuing bad policy eternally is possible. The change in direction happens after culmination. I think Putin is also wrong on this point.
https://www.ft.com/content/33c2ebe6-d8a4-478d-9e8e-3d0607e05c31