The best piece I’ve read on Donald Trump came out in 2017. It’s written by Rebecca Solnit, the historian, activist, and author.
What I love most about it is that it flies at an altitude above the headlines. It doesn’t discuss any particular policy decision or inflammatory remark, but instead attempts to get at the psychology of the then-commander-in-chief.
With the news of last week’s convictions, the piece hits differently. The criticism is just as biting, the language just as poignant. But as I re-read it this morning, I couldn’t help but ask: how can we possibly still be here? How are we—seven long years after this piece was first published—wondering if our country will elect this man as our leader?
I hope you can find a few minutes to read the article—if for no other reason than for the beauty of its writing.
Here’s the piece: The Loneliness of Donald Trump
Warmly,
Simo
P.S. Tomorrow (6/3) I’m teaching a **free** 30-minute workshop called “21 tips to make you a better writer.” Register here to attend or get a copy of the recording.
P.P.S. The song of the week is the new single from Anderson .Paak and Fred again. The full songs of the week playlist is here.
This was a hard read! The critique IS biting and I suppose it's about Trump's psychology, but it's also a commentary on the people who create Trumps. To that end, it seems to skate over (intentionally? carelessly? naively?) the way so much of the country was not mocking him, was never mocking him, is not mocking him now, will likely vote for him again in November. Also--though this we only learned later--how much of the legislative and judiciary branches could/would be bent to his will. (Woof.)
Naomi Klein's book, Doppelgänger, comes to mind as a worthy companion read. In it, Klein explores how Trump and the alt right have grown and maintained their following. The heart of her thesis aligns to Solnit's point that, "[w]hen you don’t hear others, you don’t imagine them, they become unreal, and you are left in the wasteland of a world with only yourself in it[.]" Klein's point is that the left has done this to the right, that we've "ceased to imagine [they] exist in any true deep way," labeling them buffoons and worse. Reading Solnit's essay made me think about how easy it once was to write off Trump and his ilk, how gleefully we did so. And here we are today.
Thanks for posting this, Simone! Obviously gave me a lot to think about (and a place to put those thoughts! Here!). I appreciate your mind and work very much.
Love the playlist