Fan Service Is Not Serving Trump Well

He has to be willing to disappoint his biggest fans.

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There’s not much left to say about Tuesday night’s presidential debate, so I’ll dispense with my verdict quickly. 

Donald Trump fared poorly because he behaved poorly. Trump went in with the goal of forcing Joe Biden into a viral, game-changing meltdown. If Trump had succeeded, his bluster and interruptions—which may have prevented precisely the Biden “senior moment” Trump sought— would have been worth it (politically speaking). 

Biden went in with a Hippocratic priority: First, do no harm to his lead in the polls. Score the performances however you like, but Trump failed to achieve his strategic objective, and Biden succeeded in securing his. Everything else is spin, distraction, blame-shifting or simply irrelevant.

If Trump were inclined to take advice from me (spoiler: he’s not), I would tell him: “You have to be willing to disappoint your biggest fans.”

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  1. Avatar photo
    Earl King

    My profound disappointment with Trump is his constant ability to step on his own d*^k over and over and over and over and over again. He has a good record of accomplishments and there is much to criticize Joe Biden over...including his loose acceptance of his family using his position to enrich themselves. If acting Presidential was easy for him he should consider it more often...he is incapable of it as his pugnacious nature is part of who he is.
    The biggest problem with Trump is he thinks everything he does is perfect. He somehow has slipped the surly bonds of humanity and assumes he is god like in his abilities. It is his failing....For me however, that is not disqualifying in exercising his duties. For other it is. I continue to largely support the policies he promotes. I have yet to read one of Joe Biden's policies that I think are better. In fact I have profound concerns with Democrat control of the levers of power. If Nancy Pelosi's behavior is any clue to them having control of power and what they would do....I fear for the comity of the country even more profoundly.

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    Victor Clairmont

    Thanks for the article Jonah!

    Fafoon though, might be disappointed in me. Yet I will never disappoint Fafoon!

    Be like Fafoon! Wait no...Jonah’s article wants us to disappoint people....

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    Ray Salemi

    As they say in sports ownership, “If you listen to the fans you’ll soon be sitting next to them in the stands.”

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    Phil H

    Well said Jonah. But you left off the prime example of Trump "not disappointing his fans" -- his non-condemnation of the Proud Boys that came across to them as a shout-out. Absolutely disgraceful.

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    Vlad M.

    Agreed. Fan service is always bad, especially in politics.

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  6. Nathan

    MAGA folks have stockholm syndrome

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    James Clarke

    I actually think he had a good strategy. I think the strategy was more than just get a sound bite - it included this, but it was more. It was to show command. He had command of his opponenet, the audience, the host, and early on even facts. BUTTTTTT.... As he always does, he doubled and tripled and quadrupled down when he should have backed off the pedal and let things flow while waiting for another strategic opportunity to strike.

    One might point to a fan service example where I am wrong... His late tangent about how many judges he has appointed was either badly executed or meant as a "fan service" appeal to the base. But, once again he ruined it by trying to do too much with it. He didn't need to go on and on about 100+ left open, 300+, blah blah blah. It had already been very well established that he had appointed Amy Coney Barrett. And all he needs to do is let Mitch run the clock down to a few days before election day and the whole time everyone will be reminded. Check that box. Let Biden talk and bumble around sentence structure. But, no, let's double down. 100, 300, blah, blah, blah.

    What got Trump on the scene is excess. Everyone focuses on narcissism because that is cliché - but every politician is narcissistic. That is not unique to Trump. What is unique is the extent to which he goes all in on everything. And he won't give up. When this works for him he excites his fans. When it doesn't he inflames his enemies - which excites his fans. And then sometimes it just fails like a big fat soufflé.

    Said another way. He is the football coach who runs the ball every down until it works - and then insists in the post game interview that there was always a hole there. The problem is that eventually, those coaches get fired because the hole is not always there.

    Or he is the mighty Casey, swinging hard at every pitch, only to strike out or hit a home run. And Tuesday night he swung so hard the bat flew out of his hands and hit the pitcher - Chris Wallace.

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    1. PM

      It was a weird point for him to mention Obama leaving unfilled judges. The Republican Senate blocked their confirmation.

      He wouldn't have gotten judges through without a Republican Senate.

      And evidently Republicans have forgotten how little was actually accomplished when there was a Republican House.

      And on an unrelated note, how could anyone forget that he said that he paid millions in Federal taxes for 2016 and 2017?

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  8. Eric B

    When the debate opened and Trump burst through the gate balls-out and screaming, my first thoughts were that he's insecure about his position and he needs Biden to fall flat on his face. Eventually he tried flipping the card table which barely worked. I can't wait for America to flush this clown posse of an administration.

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    Tracie

    "He doesn’t just care; he relies on them to give him ideas. Trump depends on rallies of cheering groupies to test-drive his slogans and priorities. They are a pool of Narcissus, reflecting back on him precisely what he wants to see. "
    ______________________________________

    Was in a two year relationship, i.e. had living in my house, someone who I later learned from a family member had been diagnosed with NPD (narcissistic personality disorder.) This person was pretty high functioning, so you had to see them in unguarded moments to get a glimpse behind the facade.

    When I finally began to figure out what I was dealing with, I was struck by what a wasteland of an inner life this person seemed to have. A person who needs constant, undiluted approval and validation to function becomes hollowed out. A person who lives by feeding others only what garners desperately needed approval has no center. There's nothing they won't sell out to protect themself from the truth of their ordinariness - which they regard as a horror.

    Some people conceive of narcissists as stuck at about emotional age 6. Whether there's any truth to that, I found it helpful in framing the behaviors.

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    Ohio Gas Hog

    Wait. Let's not bury the lead here. Are you saying or implying by the advice you give that you have fans???

    That's a joke of course because I count myself as one and you've disappointed me many times!

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      C C Writer

      I suppose that depends on what he has done to disappoint, and on what you expected. But if one expected integrity and honesty, I find those things are served up pretty consistently, however the other components may vary on any given occasion, or however his take on an issue may vary from mine. This is the secret sauce for attracting the remnant as your fan base, anyhow.

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        Ohio Gas Hog

        Jonah hasn't disappointed. I love his stuff. All was in jest.

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          C C Writer

          I could tell. It's just that you got me thinking about good vs. bad fan service.

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      rlritt

      Writers have fans. Presidents have constiuents. Big difference.

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