" Unbridled egotism, as manifested in extraordinary boasting. (Have we ever heard a candidate tell us -- in so many ways -- how great he is?)
" Contempt for others in the arena with him.
(Ask Jeb Bush, Lindsey Graham, and Megyn Kelly.)
What emerges is a picture of an aggressive Me (both Trump as an individual, and the image of the nation that he proposes to lead) and a thirst for conflict.
There is a reason why people keep some passions under wraps -- because they are ugly and dangerous.
But these are the very passions that have been encouraged by the Republican Party for a generation.
What differentiates Trump from the rest of the GOP crowd is not the underlying posture. As has been observed many times, Trump is in general (though not total) alignment with the Republican field on policy.
But what the GOP as a whole has conveyed through "dog whistle" codes, Donald Trump is expressing audibly and publicly.
That's what makes him seem "candid" in comparison.
And that -- his making visible the ugly set of passions that have been cultivated in a large segment of the American population -- is also what makes him dangerous.
He's a danger to the Republican Party because he's making it obvious how the party has been cultivating the worst passions in its followers. But Donald Trump is a still greater danger to the nation if he should gain the power of the presidency.
Andy Schmookler's new book is WHAT WE'RE UP AGAINST: The Destructive Force at Work in Our World--and How We Can Defeat It.
His previous pieces, appearing here, about the Trump phenomenon Strike While the Donald Is Hot and Trump: An America Caesar.
" Contempt for others in the arena with him.
(Ask Jeb Bush, Lindsey Graham, and Megyn Kelly.)
What emerges is a picture of an aggressive Me (both Trump as an individual, and the image of the nation that he proposes to lead) and a thirst for conflict.
There is a reason why people keep some passions under wraps -- because they are ugly and dangerous.
What differentiates Trump from the rest of the GOP crowd is not the underlying posture. As has been observed many times, Trump is in general (though not total) alignment with the Republican field on policy.
But what the GOP as a whole has conveyed through "dog whistle" codes, Donald Trump is expressing audibly and publicly.
That's what makes him seem "candid" in comparison.
And that -- his making visible the ugly set of passions that have been cultivated in a large segment of the American population -- is also what makes him dangerous.
He's a danger to the Republican Party because he's making it obvious how the party has been cultivating the worst passions in its followers. But Donald Trump is a still greater danger to the nation if he should gain the power of the presidency.
Andy Schmookler's new book is WHAT WE'RE UP AGAINST: The Destructive Force at Work in Our World--and How We Can Defeat It.
His previous pieces, appearing here, about the Trump phenomenon Strike While the Donald Is Hot and Trump: An America Caesar.
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