The Trump Presidency has Jumped the Shark

Summary

The article criticizes the Trump Presidency for failing to meet the expectations of competency and performance that white America desires, as evidenced by various incidents during his term.

Abstract

The Trump Presidency is portrayed as having lost its credibility and perceived competency among white Americans, who are accustomed to a certain standard of performance in leadership and public services. The author points out several instances where Trump's actions, such as the handling of child separation policies, the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the clearing of Lafayette Park protesters, fell short of these expectations. The article also highlights the inadequate response of the police during the George Floyd protests, suggesting that these events have eroded the image of both Trump and law enforcement in the eyes of the public. The author implies that Trump's inability to effectively wield authority or perform basic tasks, such as holding a Bible or walking down a ramp, has contributed to a perception of incompetence that has "jumped the shark," a term used when something has reached a point of no return, especially in terms of quality or credibility.

Opinions

The author suggests that white America values the appearance of competency in leadership and public services, and that Trump has failed to deliver this.
Trump's handling of serious issues, such as child separation and the COVID-19 pandemic, is criticized for being ineffective and performative rather than substantive.
The use of the military and police as "stunt casting" to bolster Trump's image is seen as a desperate attempt to salvage his presidency's narrative.
The author expresses that the police's actions during the protests have not only failed to uphold the expected standard of competency but have also alienated a segment of the population that might have previously supported them (the "Beckys").
Trump's awkwardness with physical objects, such as a Bible or a glass of water, is presented as indicative of a broader incompetence in his role as president.
The article implies that Trump's presidency has deteriorated to the point of being beyond redemption, symbolized by the phrase "jumped the shark."

He has shattered the American illusion of competency

If there is one thing white America demands in their racism, it’s competency. Or they at least want to see a damn good ritualized performance of what it’s supposed to look like. We want our bombs laser guided, our helicopters gracefully swooping down to save the refugees and we like our police on television dramatically taking off sunglasses, climbing walls and solving crimes. That is the show white America likes on TV. When white America decided that child separation was a little much for them, Ivanka came to save the day, but then Trump couldn’t find where he put the kids. White America expects Amazon workers to find their package lost in a warehouse in Bakersfield and get it to them by the end of the day. This did not trend well. When white America decided they actually did not want to die for their jobs Trump ran around in circles ranting about injecting himself with Windex while more than a hundred thousand perished. White Americans are used to doctors having just the right drug for that problem. It’s possible this was unsettling to them.

After the murder of George Floyd, white America waited for some imagery and theater to make them feel better about themselves. Instead they got police rolling across their screens like bowling balls made of Jell-O, flailing and swinging in spasms of illogical rage. That’s why Trump was desperate for the military to get involved, because he needed some stunt casting to save his reality show. But there were no producers there to swoop in and save the episode. Trump has never produced his own TV show. Turns out he’s super bad it. He has cast himself as the star and the police as his co-star. They both reek of such incompetence he’s losing the audience. Trump stumbles and the police fall on their faces. Trump fumbles and the police flail. They make a classic comedy pairing, which I am pretty sure isn’t what they’re going for.

The Bible

When Trump cleared Lafayette Park and stood in front of that church holding a bible people got pretty upset. They didn’t like him using religion as a prop. They didn’t like his violent attack on the protesters. But the real problem for Trump in that moment was more basic. The image Americans were left with was we couldn’t be sure if he knew how to hold any object of any kind. He flipped it over and readjusted it and then balanced like it was a bowling pin he was about to juggle. Then once he seemed to have a firm hold on it, he bobbed it up and down like he was trying to pull a curtain shut. Nothing about it seemed right. Has he never held anything except a Diet Coke with a straw and a golf club in his life? Obviously, not a glass of water. That really threw him off. Clear liquid in a glass? What is this bizarre notion? Imagine the imprint those visuals made on white America. Your president, the President of the United States of America, isn’t competent manipulating objects.

The Ramp

Watching Donald Trump walk down a ramp like Bad Grandpa was painful. (Side note: is there a more surprising rock and roll feminist moment in film than the pageant scene in Bad Grandpa?) My mother fell on a ramp and she now has a reasonable but extremely fierce fear of ramps. It’s the only time I ever heard her defend Trump. “Walking down ramps is scary!” I let that sink in and then a week later when Trump used thirty minutes of his Tulsa speech to re-own the ramp moment it became clear. My mother is approaching 81. She’s going strong and way sharper than Trump obviously. I mean that’s an insultingly low bar but nevertheless she is. Anyway, if there is one thing that the 74 year old Trump doesn’t want to evoke it’s the image of an 81 year old woman. In the twisted, misogynist, ironically ageist mind of Donald Trump that rattled him to his core. He isn’t even a competent walker.

The Police

The police shattered any hope Trump had of covering himself with a competency towel. They do not There was a moment for me during the wall to wall, breathless TV coverage of the social uprising brought on by George Floyd’s death that led me to think, “Holy crap, white people might be done with this whole thing.” And by this “whole thing” I mean the GOP, Trump, Police State thing and man is it time to be done with it. The moment wasn’t about justice though, it was about competency. It didn’t involve a white person protesting either. It wasn’t a Black person in a moment of courage and strength or tragedy. The moment where I thought there might be hope for us starred of all people… a Becky. A group of NYPD “officers” charged. They rushed anyone who happened to be the area. A smattering of protesters were present. As they fanned out and searched for targets one particularly sloppy NYPD cop locked in on a young white girl standing on a nearby corner, dressed for a night out on the town, her purse hanging from her arm and looking down at her phone. It looked like she was waiting for her Uber and had no idea there was an uprising about social and racial justice taking place. The cop swung at her wildly and grazed her with his baton. Then he landed a more firm hit. This Becky looked up at him with the funniest mix of horror and annoyance I have ever seen. She swatted at him like he was a drunk frat dude spilling a drink on her expensive outfit. He stopped and froze with his baton in the air. She glared at him so hard I was shaking for him. Finally, his eyes cleared and he must have seen this young white professional woman before him and thought, “Oh wait, these aren’t the people I am supposed to be beating up.” But it was too late. She, I assume, somehow got an Uber in the middle of an uprising because that’s what Beckys do. But the country would never be the same. The police might still have the Karens but the Beckys? They are gone. The police are not the brand anyone wants to associate themselves with. Trump is even worse.

Trump has never produced anything of value in his life. He hasn’t produced a decent business. A decent product. A decent sentence. And now he knows he’s in deep water with little swimming ability. It’s ironic that Trump, our first TV President, has jumped the shark.