Trump’s Press Conference, Ego, and A Few Good Men
White supremacists are bad. Neo-Nazis are bad. Nazis, in general, are bad. What happened in Charlottesville is despicable and it represents the worst in humanity. Sure, there’s more that can be said, and probably in harsher terms, too. But it’s not a hard thing to say, right? I don’t think people who are moral would disagree with any of that. And it’s a pretty easy thing to say quickly, as well. I could see President Obama saying something similar if the issue in Charlottesville happened on his watch, but he would say it with more eloquence, weighing the importance of his words and thinking about their impact before he says them. I could see President Bush condemning the acts because he knows that America is worse when Neo-Nazis are given a platform even though their beliefs are protected by the Constitution. I could see President Reagan condemning the acts of Charlottesville. I could see it with President Kennedy. I could see it with both President Roosevelts. Maybe not President Jefferson, but hey, that’s neither here nor there. Say what you will about any of the previous forty-four presidents, but I never doubted any of their senses of patriotism, honor, and righteousness. Apparently, condemning the fucking shitlords in Charlottesville was too much for Trump.
And even with his barely competent staff behind him forcing him to read from a teleprompter the words Americans wanted to hear immediately from their leader (and not two days after the fact), Trump showed us that it’s still too much at his infrastructure update turned press conference Q & A period. He showed us where he stands and who he stands with. He’s shown us he cares not for the values of America. He cares only for the values of Donald Trump. And this is not shocking to many, but it’s official. There’s no going back. It’s the lowest point of any presidency in my lifetime and undoubtedly of the lifetimes of the people who are still alive to read this. I could go on and on about this, but so many people have shown the deep, horrible flaws in every ounce of Trump’s logic and they’ve done so better than I could have.
So again, I resort to movies. Here are two transcripts back-to-back:
Donald Trump’s press conference from August 15, 2017:
Reporter: Senator McCain said that the alt-right is behind these attacks, and he linked that same group to those who perpetrated the attack in Charlottesville.
Trump: Well, I don’t know. I can’t tell you. I’m sure Senator McCain must know what he’s talking about. But when you say the alt-right…uh, define alt-right to me. You define it. Go ahead. No, define it for me. Come on, let’s go.
Reporter: Senator McCain defined them as the same groups.
Trump: OK. What about the alt-left that came charging at the, as you say, the alt-right. Do they have any semblance of guilt? Let me ask you this. What about the fact they came charging — that they came charging, with clubs in their hands, swinging clubs? Do they have any problem? I think they do. So, you know, as far as I’m concerned, that was a horrible, horrible day- Wait a minute. I’m not finished. I’m not finished, fake news. That was a horrible day.
Reporter: Is it the same level as neo-Nazis?
Trump: I will tell you something. I watched those very closely, much more closely than you people watched it, and you have- You had a group on one side that was bad and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent. And nobody wants to say that, but I’ll say it right now. You had a group, you had a group on the other side that came charging in without a permit and they were very, very violent.
The third act from A Few Good Men:
Kaffee: But that’s not what you said. You said he was being transferred because he was in grave danger.
Jessup: Yes. That’s correct, but —
Kaffee: You said, “He was in danger”. I said, “Grave danger”. You said —
Jessup: Yes, I recall what —
Kaffee: I can have the Court Reporter read back your —
Jessup: I know what I said. I don’t need it read back to me like I’m a damn —
Kaffee: Then why the two orders? Colonel? Why did you —
Jessup: Sometimes men take matters into their own hands.
Kaffee: No sir. You made it clear just a moment ago that your men never take matters into their own hands. Your men follow orders or people die. So Santiago shouldn’t have been in any danger at all, should he have, Colonel?
Jessup: You little bastard.
Ross: Your Honor, I have to ask for a recess to —
Kaffee: I’d like an answer to the question, Judge.
Randolph: The Court’ll wait for answer.
Kaffee: If Kendrick told his men that Santiago wasn’t to be touched, then why did he have to be transferred? Kendrick ordered the code red, didn’t he? Because that’s what you told Kendrick to do. And when it went bad, you cut these guys loose.
Randolph: That’ll be all, counsel.
Kaffee: You had Markinson sign a phony transfer order —
Ross: Judge —
Kaffee: You doctored the log books.
Ross: Damn it, Kaffee!
Kaffee: I’ll ask for the fourth time. You ordered —
Jessup: You want answers?
Kaffee: I think I’m entitled to them.
Jessup: You want answers?!
Kaffee: I want the truth!
Jessup: You can’t handle the truth! Son, we live in a world that has walls. And those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who’s gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago and you curse the marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: That Santiago’s death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don’t want the truth. Because deep down, in places you don’t talk about at parties, you want me on that wall. You need me there. We use words like honor, code, loyalty… we use these words as the backbone to a life spent defending something. You use ’em as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it. I’d prefer you just said thank you and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand a post. Either way, I don’t give a damn what you think you’re entitled to.
Kaffee: Did you order the code red?
Jessup: I did the job you sent me to do.
Kaffee: Did you order the code red?
Jessup: You’re goddamn right I did!
That’s the feeling I got from watching Trump’s press conference aside from disgust, anger, frustration, and utter bewilderment. I got the feeling that he was put on the spot and he couldn’t help but show his true colors because he was so unprepared for the questions. Shouldn’t he have expected them, you might ask? Yes, but he’s not presidential. He’s not prepared for a single facet of the job. In twenty-three minutes, he made this abundantly clear. He said about a dozen insane things and said, “Check out my winery,” which doesn’t actually exist. He might as well have given finger guns and moonwalked out of the room, arm in arm with David Duke and Vladimir Putin.
But there’s a big difference between Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men and Donald Trump. The latter is not nearly as intelligent as the former, for one thing. But they’re both so far up their own asses, they can’t tell the difference between patriotism and their own bullshit, a warped form of patriotism that is anything but. And they’re so eager to take credit for things that they’re impossibly willing to force people to believe. We’re one Aaron Sorkin-penned question away from Trump having a bigger meltdown than he already has. A press conference like the one he had would be a major climax in a 1990s legal drama. Instead, it’s just a Tuesday for Trump. And America’s just waiting for Trump to order a code red.
