By Allison Cafferone
At Thursday night’s town hall, Donald Trump tried to walk back some of his outrageous statements from the last debate and soften his remark that the Pope’s earlier comment that Trump was not Christian was “disgraceful.” Based on the South Carolina primary results, however, it appears that no matter what Trump says or does, his followers are going to continue to support him.
For the first time in this election, over the past week, we heard substance from Trump. That substance was enlightening and if possible that Trump can still shock us, shocking. It allowed us to see beyond the persona of the entertainer and gain insight into Trump’s true political beliefs.
For the first time we heard more than simple assaults on character and vulgarities meant to evoke emotional responses. We heard more than mere shouts to “Make America Great Again.” Up until now, the attacks on Trump have been that he has no real political beliefs; he changes his views to pander to his audience; when asked for particulars, he responds “believe me!” But at last Saturday’s debate we heard Trump articulate his political beliefs; and we learned that those views and beliefs line up with the furthest left-leaning democrats—the Michael Moore’s of the world.
First, Trump claimed that President George W. Bush knowingly and intentionally lied to the American people by pretending to believe weapons of mass destruction existed in order to disingenuously lead our American soldiers into war. Speaking about whether he thought Former President Bush should have been impeached, Trump said, “They lied. They said there were weapons of mass destruction, there were none, and they knew there were none.”
Second, Trump adamantly argued the left-wing, Michael Moore talking points that Bush was responsible for the 9/11 attacks. Addressing Jeb Bush, Trump began yelling, “The World Trade Center came down during your brother’s reign, remember that. That’s not keeping us safe.”
He continued by interrupting Marco Rubio’s defense of then-President Bush, by again bellowing, “How did he keep us safe when the World Trade Center came down…The World Trade Center came down during his reign. He kept us safe? That is not safe. That is not safe. That is not safe!”
Take away his fancy suit and his name and he’s the red-faced, belligerent guy in the bar that, at best, Republican primary voters are rolling their eyes at and at worst, throwing a punch at—not the one they’re generally wishing would run for president.
Both the audience and the candidates got under Trump’s skin on Saturday’s debate and he slipped up. It may have been the voters’ only chance to hear what Trump truly believes, beyond what he espouses while shouting, interrupting, and tweeting in the middle of the night.
Indeed, at Thursday night’s town hall, he appeared to have realized that the American people weren’t so willing to let those comments go and he tried to pull back. He refused to repeat that Bush had lied in order to send our young men and women to war. He also tried to soften his earlier remark that the Pope’s comments were “disgraceful” by saying he didn’t really believe that he and the Pope were in a fight. Notably, these softer stances followed the first national poll results showing Trump had lost his lead as the Republican front runner.
Yesterday, South Carolina voters had their chance to weigh in. And although the margin of victory did not meet expectations, Trump still walked away with around 33% of the vote. Soon it will be New Yorkers’ turn. Their turn to consider whether their political beliefs align with Trump’s. Consider whether he really “tells it as it is” when until the last debate when he lost his composure and strategy went out the window, he had failed to reveal his true beliefs. Consider whether they believe “telling is like it is” includes changing his stances when he realizes he’s fallen behind in the national polls. Consider whether they want to cast their vote for a man that tells the nation and the world that the atrocities of 9/11 are the fault of George W. Bush.
Trump has become known as “Teflon Don.” It seems he can say anything he wants and nothing sticks to him. And he’s proud of that, going so far as to say he could “stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters, OK?” He seems to believe—and as of now he appears to be right—that he can manipulate people into voting for him regardless of his beliefs or actions, as long as he can invoke their anger.
Allison Caffarone is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Legal Writing, Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University. Allison.caffarone@hofstra.edu