The Bull in the China Shop

Many Republicans see Trump as “our bull in their china shop” but act surprised at angry responses from those who, you know, are invested in what’s being demolished.

I remember some of the earliest defenses of Donald Trump’s rash behavior and bombastic rhetoric from Republicans was that “We need a bull in the china shop. He’s our bull in their china shop.” He has definitely lived up to this mantra. In almost every way, Donald Trump has shattered norms.

Now, I don’t think that’s necessarily a good thing, but I get that there are many who do. The only problem I have with the shattering norms/bull in the china shop argument is that it's inconsistent with another major Trump narrative: that Democrats and the media have treated him unfairly like no president has ever been treated before.

Setting aside the obvious argument against such an idea (Lincoln’s political opposition started a shooting war, for instance), it’s an inconsistent complaint with what appears to be the stated goal of Trump’s presidency. I mean, anyone who owns or is invested in a china shop is going to raise holy hell about you putting a bull in there.

You see, shattering norms is a messy affair. There are always going to be those who are invested in those norms, and usually for good reason. Change usually either comes very slowly or very suddenly and the latter path is often accompanied by upheaval, social anxiety, and even violence. And this even when there is a good reason for the change.

I tend to see the Trump phenomenon as a rise of “burn it down” syndrome in America’s political Right. From that perspective, it’s a counter-revolution built upon anxiety and agitation with no real sense of direction. It’s a scorched earth campaign predicated upon continuous assault on “the enemy.” If “the enemy” builds something, burn it down. If “the enemy” values something, burn it down. If “the enemy” says anything, burn it down.

Now, I get that this is pretty typical populist behavior (and we definitely see it at play on the Left just as much, if not more). But what I find interesting is the disconnect many Trump supporters have between the actions and rhetoric of their leader and the response of the media and the Democrats.

Not only is America’s political Left responding in a way that wholly makes sense with the assault by Trump on the norms and values that they hold, but it’s in a way wholly consistent with how Right-wing media and the Republican Party would respond if the situation were reversed. Indeed, we had eight years of extreme opposition against the Obama administration from all quarters of the Right (including myself).

Quite frankly, it disturbs me that we have a President who kicks the hornet’s nest and then cries how unfair it all is that he gets stung. It’s a pretty snowflake way to act and it's unseemly to watch so many Republicans and conservatives defend it.