In a brilliant piece, (https://theweek.com/articles/951933/how-camp-explains-trump), Matt Walther nails the entire Trump performance of the last four years as "camp." He draws upon Susan Sontag's subtle treatment of the illusive phenomenon. The piece confirmed my intuitions about The Donald: he is not a governor, not even a politician; he is an entertainer, a celebrity pure and simple; and a brilliant and entertaining one at that. His presidency was entirely a show, a performance: he tortured the woke elite, winking all the time; he aroused his base into a marathon pep rally; he championed (ironically, given his blatant personal immorality) the religious right and became almost a messiah. It is all pure showbiz, performance and high camp.
Walther does not address my question: to what degree is he deliberate, intentional and self-conscious in his camp performance? If he is entirely self-conscious and therefore self-transcending, he is a sheer genius. But I doubt that he is. He is trapped in his own subconscious narcissistic needs and basically unreflective. But, intuitively he is brilliant in his ability to identify the weaknesses of his enemies, the passions of his base, the incongruity of it all.
But this leads to another question: if Donald is unaware of the irony, is he himself practicing camp? Clearly not! The strange reality of camp: a high-brow, sophisticated, even arrogant condescension as if to say: "This is so cheesy! So corny! How fun to covertly make fun of it!" Sontag described it: "banality, mediocrity, artifice, (and) ostentation...so extreme as to amuse or have a perversely sophisticated appeal." Is Donald himself tongue-in-cheek? Quietly laughing at himself and all those he is torturing or arousing? No way! He does this unconsciously, spontaneously, instinctively...as in everything he does. He is the performer but not the writer, director or producer of the script.
He takes himself as seriously as do his fans and his despisers. They are all wholly involved in the farce and unable to enjoy it. Who gets the campiness of it all? Very few of us. Matt Walther is one. I am honored to be another. In order to see and enjoy the immense irony and incongruity it is necessary to have some emotional disinterest or liberty: to view him from a distance. The entire left, unhinged by Trump-derangement-syndrome, is entirely incapable of this perception. Likewise the serious never-Trumps, the Romneys and Bushes, who take offense in another way. Nor is his adoring fan club able to see him ironically. It helps to be, like me, a no-vote or a write-in or a third-party-vote! Without a dog in the fight, the fight becomes comical and entertaining.
Perhaps the more accurate, down-to-earth and low brow explanation is the one I have ascribed to since he took office: he is like the wise guy we all knew in high school. He is hilarious! He is a jerk and no one really likes him or wants to be his friend. (Deep down he is sad and lonely and angry.) But he is shameless, unfiltered, utterly impertinent and inappropriate! He is fiercely disruptive of the monotony, control, staleness of classroom decorum. So relieving! So much fun!
The performative nature of his behavior explains his absolute indifference to facts and truth: he is not dealing with reality, he is always in a performance so all his speech is oriented to enhance the story line. This perspective lends a lightness to the entire drama: it is comedy. But there are deeper, serious dimensions.
First of all, there was the very real danger that his self-focused myopia would result in disaster, for example war with North Korea. The marvelous fact that we avoided this, and enjoyed relative world peace at that, testifies to two realities. First, notwithstanding the pathology of his condition, he is not psychotic but remains in touch with reality and at the end of the day defers to it. For example, it is taking time but he is accepting the election. Indeed, his denial pales in comparison to the 4-year hissy fit we endured from Hilary and the entire liberal establishment in their delusion of Russian-stolen election. Secondly, it is a credit to his aides: though they could not control him, they mitigated the dangers by keeping him restrained. His despicable "tweet habit" was, perhaps in retrospect, a blessing in that he was able to vent his passions in relatively harmless fashion as the business of government carried on. Kuddos to Pence, Mattis, McMasters, Pompeo, Barr and company as well as the judiciary and the entire "deep state."
Secondly, more seriously, underlying this camp performance is a deeply wounded, sad and troubled soul. He clearly does not know his worth as a person. He has not experienced the love he needed. He is lonely, isolated, and quietly despairing. Is this not the case with so many comedians who brighten our lives with laughter?
I suggest that this complex personality can best be captured by four narratives, all true.
First, the liberal view...he is a diabolical figure: tearing children from their immigrant families, pitting one class against another, selfishly striking out against anyone who opposes him like a child in a tantrum, objectifying women in shameless and conspicuous fashion, disparaging immigrants, and denigrating all arenas of expertise in furious pursuit of his ego needs. This narrative is accurate; and why I could never vote for him.
Second, the Trumpian view...he is a Messiah: notwithstanding his flaws, he defends the underdog including the unborn, champions religious liberty, stands up to imperialistic China and Iran, stimulates the economy, defies and ridicules the arrogant, totalitarian pretensions of the woke, liberal elites. This narrative is entirely accurate. It is in tension with, but not contradictory of the previous story line.
Thirdly, Walther is on point: he is irony, camp, performance, comedy, and high humor. Fabulously entertaining!
Lastly, I offer my view: he is childlike, but mostly childish. There is a childlike innocence and positivity about him when his ego needs are met: he is grateful, appreciative, and generous. But mostly he is childish. His basic level of development is infantile so that when his ego needs are frustrated he bursts into tantrums of rage. In this he is a sad figure. He is funny, but he is not enjoying his own humor. He takes it as seriously as his opponents and supporters. He NEVER smiles or laughs. Life for him is deadly serious because deep down he feels he is worthless. He needs to achieve worth by winning and performing. Fortunately, he is good at performing: he has drawn the oxygen out of the global atmosphere for four years in a spectacular fashion. But he has no joy.
So, I find myself praying for him, and his long-suffering, beautiful wife, and his family. He is a sad child who has been neglected and maybe abused and is hurting.
I am grateful: for the good he has done including championing of the lowly against the mighty, defense of life and liberty, court justices, and strength in the face of Iran and China. I am grateful that the system has held despite his narcissistic assaults: our judiciary, elections system, legislature, and the "deep state" (which I see as "deep" in a mostly good way) have all held. I am grateful that he has punctured the arrogance of our upper class. I am grateful for the entertainment and laughs he has given us. I will miss him and wish him well.
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