“Donald, better leave her alone; this girl’s got a big stick.” Early incarnation of tycoon as satyr, in trouble with maenad carrying a thyrsus. Thanks to Makron, who painted this vase c480 BCE.
Why does Donald’s 2005 sex talk threaten his candidacy more than any of his other outrages and crimes? True, he was boasting that sexual assault has been his privilege. But what about his racist ranting, his incitement of neonazis, fascists, his massive tax evasion, his climate denial, his … oh, please let’s stop for a while. Why did they all register lower on the media outrage meter?
The frat boy shows his true self, with tail. [Or, Dancing Silenus, by Epiktetos, 520-500 BCE] Wikimedia.
Two comments:
“Oddly, Mr. Trump seemed to frame his comments not as sincere concern about those he may have hurt or offended, but as part of his own journey, describing his growth as a person and how humbling it has been for him to campaign across the nation and learn of other people’s worries and travails.”—Maggie Habermas, NY Times.
And:
“This should be a wake-up call to political analysts who have gone out of their way since Trump announced his candidacy to pretend that he was the ingenious creator of a political special sauce who deserved our respect for ‘speaking his mind.'”—E. J. Dionne, Washington Post
His handlers wanted him to change the subject, to get the media to focus on something besides his tax evasion and colossal business failure. And he did change the subject, with this new “genius” branding exercise.
How will Republican office-holders continue to support him? Replacing him is nearly impossible; withdrawing support and shifting all efforts to down-ballot races would risk inciting a rebellion from Trump’s base; but continuing to support him is any Democratic opponent’s dream.
