Trial And Error
FRONTLINE|December 20, 2019
The impeachment trial against President Donald Trump over Ukrainegate may end up hurting the Democratic Party because the Republi can controlled Senate, which has the final say in the proceedings, may well come to Trump’s rescue and hand him the advantage in the 2020 presidential election.
Vijay Prashad
Trial And Error

DONALD TRUMP IS LESS PRESIDENT OF THE United States and more campaigner-in-chief. Since he took office in January 2017, Trump, and his White House, has been geared towards making sure he remains popular. His popularity is key. In July 2018, he tweeted: “I am the most popular person in history. Beating Lincoln. I beat our Honest Abe.” Trump was referring to Abraham Lincoln, one of the most well-regarded U.S. presidents. This is not the only tweet or public statement where Trump broadcasts his alleged popularity. He is forever disseminating polls of the high regard he is held in by Republican voters (“94 per cent Approval Rating in the Republican Party, a record. Thank you!” he announced in September 2019). As a former game show host and as a real estate developer, Trump knows the value of popularity; it is the coin that he most cherishes.

At campaign rallies, Trump feverishly inhales the devotion of his followers and gives them a tale of gloom to bind them closer to him. He is not able to move an agenda, he complains, because theDemocratic Party and the “deep state” are aligned against him. The formula that Trump offers in these campaign rallies is straightforward:

1. I was elected to make America great again, which includes getting you jobs.

2. The Democratic Party has muzzled me with this impeachment investigation and now trial.

3. If I did not have this muzzle, I would have built the wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, which would have prevented the entry of migrants into the country.

4. These migrants are taking away your jobs, which is why you cannot get them.

5. My failure to make America great again is due entirely to the Democrats and their impeachment obsession.

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