Copyright The Boston Globe
What was once considered the secular sanctity of the presidency has been usurped by Trump’s perversity. If the president’s grotesque AI slop response to more than 2,700 rallies received scant coverage on the Sunday morning news shows, it’s because his decidedly unpresidential behavior has been normalized. But that particular sin starts with Republicans who continue to characterize his divisive behavior as that of a witty provocateur and social media maven. “The president uses social media to make a point,” Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Monday when a reporter asked him about Trump’s poop video. “You can argue he’s probably the most effective person who has ever used social media for that. He is using satire to make a point. He is not calling for the murder of his political opponents.” But some Trump supporters are. Christopher Moynihan, pardoned by Trump for crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, was arrested Sunday for allegedly threatening to kill Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, whom he called “a terrorist.” A president pretending to drop feces on his own constituents is not satire. It’s deep disdain for the act of dissent — but only when it’s against him. The Jan. 6 insurrectionists who tried to overthrow an election because Trump lost were, Trump said, “patriots.” They got pardons and commutations for their crimes. “No Kings” protesters were dehumanized and splashed with AI feces. But these are the gutter actions of the Trump presidency. And it’s not just offensive videos. The day before he dropped his poop clip, Trump dropped an F-bomb at a Cabinet meeting. A reporter asked Trump about efforts by President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela to address tensions that have roiled since Trump began blowing up what he claims, without proof, are drug boats in the Caribbean Sea ferrying drugs. “He has offered everything,” Trump said, referring to Maduro. “He offered everything. You know why? Because he doesn’t want to [expletive] around with the United States.” The official White House social media account then posted video of Trump’s comment and “FAFO,” which stands for “[expletive] around and find out.” During his first term in 2018, Trump was roundly criticized for reportedly referring to African and other majority Black nations as “shithole countries” during a bipartisan meeting on immigration. (He wanted more immigrants from Norway. You can guess why.) In a tweet, Trump later disputed such reports and claimed that the “language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used.” Now Trump doesn’t bother to deny using words that would potentially garner a hefty fine for indecency from the Federal Communications Commission if uttered by anyone outside of this administration or its supporters. These are less like the actions of someone often called “the most powerful person in the world” than an angry child lashing out at those who have the audacity to point out that he’s cruel and destructive. Yes, Trump has coarsened the presidency. He feels empowered to do whatever he wants to do whenever he wants because of two types of Republicans — those who silently capitulate and those all-in on Trump’s devastating regime. With a fake video of him essentially defecating on his perceived enemies, Trump is broadcasting what should already be obvious nine months into the most devastating presidency in modern times. He is befouling America’s laws, institutions, and its people every day. In his election victory speech last November, Trump claimed, “It’s time to put the divisions of the past four years behind us.” Instead he has deepened those divisions. He’s demonizing not just immigrants, regardless of their status, but also any American who dares to challenge him in the courts, in the media, or in the streets. Trump’s poop video was more than cheap entertainment for his base. He wanted to show the growing resistance against him as smeared in filth. But what he really amplified is that it’s his presidency that’s soiling this nation.
