Friday Insights-October 11, 2024
Hurricanes, Woodward, and, of course, Trump.
On Wednesday, President Biden held an event where various federal officials reported their roles in responding to hurricanes Helene and Milton. The session was impressive, informative, and calming. But it was unfortunate that Biden had to organize such an event to combat the stream of purposeful misinformation coming from Donald Trump, J.D. Vance, and other MAGA luminaries. The word shameful comes to mind.
This week, Kamala Harris was also interviewed on 60 Minutes. She performed well. Of course, there were the inevitable claims that she did not answer questions in sufficient detail, but that did not matter. Kamala has banished talk about how she is incapable of handling an interview. She isn’t.
Of course, Trump declined to participate. In various social media posts and statements, he offered his own assessment of Harris’ performance. He accused CBS of editing the interview video “to make Haris look presidential” and threatened to terminate their broadcasting license for the offense.
Kamala Harris also drank a beer with Stephan Colbert, was interviewed by Howard Stern, and appeared on The View. All media encounters were a success. That success, of course, made Donald Trump angry. My guess is that Trump’s Retribution List is growing.
The torrent of name-calling, lies, and other abuse at Harris this week is making Trump and his team look ridiculous.
Trump’s anger is understandable. The Washington Post’s Bob Woodward’s new book, War, is scheduled for release on October 15. It contains unwelcome new details about the ex-president. Woodward reports that Trump maintained contact with his friend, Vladimir Putin. They may have spoken seven times since Trump left office in 2021.
What might the two gentlemen have discussed? If foreign policy were involved, say, something like the war in Ukraine, Trump may have violated the Logan Act, which prohibits private individuals from attempting to influence U.S. foreign policy by contacting foreign governments. The book also reports that in 2020, when COVID tests were in short supply in the U.S., Trump sent some to Putin. Why?
Trump's campaign issued a condemnation of the Woodward book, which convinced me to read it. I will be writing more about Woodward’s War next week.
Here is what Trump campaign Communications Director Stephen Cheung said:
None of these made-up stories by Bob Woodward are true and are the work of a truly demented and deranged man who suffers from a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. Woodward is an angry little man who is clearly upset because President Trump is successfully suing him because of the unauthorized publishing of recordings he made previously. President Trump gave him absolutely no access for this trash book that either belongs in the bargain bin of the fiction section of a discount bookstore or used as toilet tissue. Woodward is a total sleazebag who has lost it mentally and he’s slow, lethargic, incompetent, and overall a boring person with no personality.
Every once and a while I wonder what it takes to be a writer for Saturday Night Live. I know I would not make it. I think Mr. Cheung would. He has a beautiful way with words. I admit to laughing as I read how sick Bob Woodward is. I suspect Woodward might also have enjoyed Cheung’s comedy.
Insulting Detroit.
On Thursday, he spoke at the Detroit Economic Club. Trump must have assumed the attendees, people who work or live in Detroit, hate living there. As Trump warned the audience of the consequences of a Harris presidency, he told them:
You want to know the truth? It’ll be like Detroit. Our whole country will end up being like Detroit if she’s your president. You’re gonna have a mess on your hands.
The incident was just one of several bizarre rants in Detroit. The only other one worth noting is a lengthy call for the execution of drug dealers. Trump proposed doing away with lengthy trials and appeals. The key to using capital punishment as a deterrent to drug dealing is to execute dealers fast.
Melania’s Melania.
This week’s news included Melania Trump’s book tour in support of her cleverly named autobiography, Melania. Vanity Fair has reviewed the work in an article titled “Melania’s New Book is Truly Bad, If Jam-Packed: A Review.” One revelation in the book is that on the night she met Donald at a party at the Kit Kat Club in New York, she arrived in a “sleek black limo.” Wow.
The New York Times review of the book describes it as a “brazen whitewash of a presidency … slim and full of obfuscation.”
Makeup fail.
I read one more story about Trump this week. I forget who authored the article, but it commented on Trump’s “makeup fails.” It seems orange or bronze is not Trump’s natural color. He may not wear as much makeup as Tammy Faye Baker, but he wears a lot. The story included a picture showing how Trump’s makeup artist had missed part of his face. That part was a yellowish pink, at least to my eyes. The rest was a lovely bronze.
After reading the piece, my question is, if Trump plays as much golf as is claimed, why can’t he get a natural tan? Fortunately for Trump, cheating on your tan is not a felony. Makeup fails make you look ridiculous, especially if you are running for president, but not even Jack Smith can put you in jail for one.
Thank you.
That is it for today. Thank you for reading Friday Insights. If you enjoyed this week’s column, please share it with friends. I’m hopeful of picking up a few more subscribers.
I also would welcome suggestions on how to make all of Dean’s Issues & Insights better.
Have a good weekend.
© 2024 John Dean, all rights reserved.
Hi John,
Just one small (I think!) request: when you need a photograph for your post, could you stop using one of Trump if there is another reasonably relevant one of someone else? In this case, you mention that Biden had convened a meeting about the resources being deployed to assist victims of the recent hurricanes. Why not a photo of Biden? You also note that Harris is doing the interviews her critics have claimed she has ducked. Why not a photo of her? It's clear that Trump believes that all publicity is good publicity no matter how it appears to rational people. (Like insulting Detroit in Detroit, for example.) All of those photo images just get him in front of the public more and more. You don't need to add to the excess in your column if there is a reasonable alternative.