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Trump Will Win In 2020

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The clue to Trump's victories: Richard Nixon in 1968. (Ollie Atkins)
The clue to Trump’s victories: Richard Nixon in 1968. (Ollie Atkins)

Almost a year into his presidency in 1969 Richard Nixon looked like he would not finish his first term. Nothing was working, abroad or at home. Members of his national security staff were quitting in droves over Vietnam, and because they couldn’t stand H.R. Haldeman, Nixon’s Berlin Wall of a chief of staff. U.S. News and World Report, though a house organ of the Nixon White House at the time, was warning of “Nixon Staff in Disarray.” Henry Kissinger was admitting privately–to speechwriter and future New York Times columnist William Safire–that “Vietnamization” of the conflict was not working.

pierre tristam column flaglerlive.com flaglerlive As Rick Perlstein so copiously documented in “Nixonland,” it was leadership by crisis, and it seemed to get worse with time. Nixon’s nomination of the racist Clement Haynsworth for the Supreme Court was heading for defeat. His approval rating was at its lowest since he took office (though by Trump standards, it was still stellar). Newsweek ran a cover story blaring “Nixon in Trouble!” Time magazine called it “Nixon’s worst week,” and the columnist David Broder was predicting that “the men and the movement that broke Lyndon B. Johnson’s authority in 1968 are out to break Richard M. Nixon in 1969. The likelihood is great that they will succeed again.” He’d headlined his piece “The Breaking of the President.” It wasn’t long before Nixon unleashed Vice President Spiro Agnew on the press to start a different kind of guerilla war and blame it all on the media, which didn’t understand the president or the vast “silent majority” that loved him.

Sounds familiar? Change names and dates and you’re in a foreplay of the Trump administration. Nixon went on to win reelection three years later in the fourth biggest landslide in American history, with a 23 percent margin over George McGovern and 49 of 50 states.

Liberals have been writing off Donald Trump’s presidency since before it began. But the way it’s going, he’s heading for reelection. Maybe not on a Nixonian scale, but at least with Nixonian flair.


So much of this unoriginal presidency takes its cues from Nixon’s. He was first to exploit the until-then-untapped resentments of white privilege by way of the working class’ penchant for authoritarian “law and order,” that euphemism for putting diverse skin tones and dissenters in their place. He was first to call the press the enemy of the people, singling out journalists like Jack Anderson and Daniel Schorr with smears long before Trump’s much stupider tweets about fake news: the Machiavellian in Nixon had its fascination, a depth of bleakness and depravity fit for its own circle of hell. He was an epic. Trump is a Harlequin novella.

RN, as Tricky Dick loved to call himself, wasn’t the first to break laws, lie, draw up blacklists, abuse his power to discredit opponents and fire disloyal cabinet members. That’s been true since John Adams (George Washington being too busy playing king and polishing his legend to muddy himself further). But Nixon was first to normalize those means as his everyday methods, as they now are for Trump. Nixon didn’t have Fox news to push his propaganda 24/7, but he had Roger Ailes, who later created Fox News. It was never substance that sold Nixon, but an appearance of resolve (what he himself called the “image of action”), a naked pandering to base instincts that, deplorably, win elections when ideas are wanting.

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Trump doesn’t have Nixon’s intelligence or political experience, just as Nixon didn’t have Trump’s money or golf courses. But Trump has everything else, including his greatest ally, the same ally that helped Nixon win again: the Democratic Party. For Nixon the Democrats were broken by assassinations, party division and scandal Nixon himself manufactured for them, the way he did to demolish Edmund Muskie’s threatening run against him by calling Muskie a drug addict (one of the many slurs Hunter S. Thompson channeled). For Trump, Democrats are broken by party division, a bankruptcy of ideas, disconnection from the people who used to elect Democrats, and of course Trump’s own sweatshop of slanders.

Despite the numbers, Nixon didn’t win by acclamation in 1972 but by default. Same with Trump in 2016. As with Nixon, the question isn’t whether Trump can win again, but whether he can avoid self-destructing. Nixon couldn’t. (The smoke-detector was invented the year he became president.) So far Trump is showing a resilience even Nixon lacked. There’s been more scandals that should have ended this presidency in its first 10 months than in several presidencies combined, Nixon’s included. But he’s still here. He’s not passed a single law that makes a difference, he has no interest in policy, no clue about governing. But he’s made his own  deviance normal, irresistible, invulnerable. L’Etat, c’est lui: he is the nation, to paraphrase Louis XIV’s famous line about himself, though I’m not sure about Mar-a-Lago or New Jersey golf links as his Versailles.

No Democrat can overcome that just by screaming like the zombies in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (or with columns like this). All they’re doing is calling it what it is, the way Hillary Clinton did with her “deplorable” diagnosis, which turned out to be about the state of her campaign. Just enough Americans proved how much they like it that way. To which Democrats have no answer. That’s how grateful Trump 2020 is for Democrats. With accessories like that, he may not even need Putin’s help.

Pierre Tristam is FlaglerLive’s editor. Reach him by email here or follow him @PierreTristam. A version of this piece aired on WNZF and was syndicated on Common Dreams.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Wishful Thinking says

    Let’s not forget my former ‘neighbor ‘ from South Fla. Debbie Wasserman Shultz – ‘Billary’s right hand cohort in corruption. Only Fox news even makes mention of her latest crooked involvement.. What about old Billie Boy ( I voted for him twice – ) and his squeezing money from all over the world while his equally crooked wife was Secretary of State? What else did his phony Clinton Fountain pay for in addition to Chelsea’s wedding dress?
    I remember a sobbing e-mail from Hillary after she lost i 2008 begging for money to pay off her campaign debts.
    I was a registered democrat until a few years ago when I finally grew some brains…..
    Neither party gets an A but the Democrats get a straight ‘F’…..

  2. Mark101 says

    Trump win in 2020, not going to happen. He will be self-destructing, just give it time, . I sure I’m right.

  16. Fredrick says

    Very good Pierre!! Spot on. I pray the Democrats continue to just be themselves. The sham they have presented for decades has been exposed and people done swallowing it. The Democrats, even after colluding with the media, screwing over Bernie, could not nominate a candidate who could win over a buffoon like Trump. The failure of the last administration, the failure of both Democrats and Republicans in both houses of congress gave us The Donald. And now all the Democrats can do is continue to cry “It was the Russians”. Until they grow up, put on their big girl and boy undies and accept the fact that this is their own fault, they will lose again, and if the house and senate on both sides don’t get their crap together and start doing something, more “non politicians” are going to get elected to both sides. Maybe that’s not a bad thing.

  20. Jennifer Mendoza says

    I won’t be surprised if he does. The racist and ignorant love him and if something has become excruciatingly obvious is that the US has an abundance of both.

  21. Sonia Morales says

    I am sorry, what are you people smoking? This thing you call a president has done nothing…he has been given a chance and is beyond expired. I am amazed…

  22. Gregory Rose says

    Pierre,

    The president doesn’t pass laws,Congress does. Scandals?? Name one that has any fact to back it up. And I mean FACT. Don’t forget, if HRC had been elected, there would have been a lot more FACTS out there to bury her presidency. Not saying Trump is perfect by any means, but please, stop with the false partisan rhetoric.

  26. Johnny Hampton says

    If he wins again he wins again.
    The hilarious thing is the people who voted for him are the people who are getting hurt the most by his presidency. So sit back and watch the show. Already about 7 months in and no major legislation passed. Only in America could people think a reality TV star with multiple bankruptcies could be leader of the free world

  29. Johnny Hampton says

    Hey listen Trump is in office and I live in this county and I don’t want the government to fail but for people to think he’s doing a good job when in fact he’s done nothing and to act like he was qualified for the job is ridiculous. If you like him you like him but to try and rationalize this circus that’s going on isn’t in anyone’s best interest

  30. gmath55 says

    Hillary Clinton began campaigning for President, stood on the stage, and told us:
    1. Wall Street is killing our economy.
    2. Big Pharmacy is the enemy.
    3. Super PACs are corrupting our political system.
    She then proceeded to accept massive amounts of cash from Wall Street and Big Pharmacy through Super PACs.

    RETARDED DEMOCRATS, …..POLITICS ARE FOR ADULTS

    SILLY LIBERALS,…FACTS ARE FOR SMART PEOPLE!

  33. Johnny Hampton says

    Oh I understand why he was elected. I really do. At this point it doesn’t matter why he was elected. Election was 9 months ago. Only thing that matters is the job he’s doing and how our country looks. Not one person on this thread can name any legislative achievements he’s made. Meanwhile there is a scandal every week

  34. John Rooney says

    maybe people will finally wake up and participate in their country’s elections and quit making the excuse that ‘Oh they’re all the same’

  36. Johnny Hampton says

    If we are going to debate we need to debate with facts. Facts are Hillary Clinton won the popular vote so the majority of the country didn’t vote for him and that’s the problem

  38. PCOG says

    That’s right. Trump is the result of liberal fail. Kinda like the city of Chicago. Hasn’t had a Republican Mayor since the 1930’s and somehow it’s the world center for black on black genocide. Weird how that works. Obama didn’t even care enough about his own city to to threaten to send in the National Guard to quell the violence. That was Trump – and suddenly murders are down.

    Meanwhile, Alcee Hastings is hiring money launderers but you didn’t run that story and instead opted to run off about the mouth about poor Dominic Riccardi and his girlfriend who’s business is no one’s.

  40. Linda Elaine says

    Yes he received a million from his father but it was his hard work that turned it into billions. You see all those lottery winners that won millions that are broke now? Yeah because they weren’t smart…

  47. Marlee says

    Let’s bet on this……
    I’m saving this prediction and article and will remind you of it in 3 yrs.

  48. Stranger in a strange land says

    FACT: Kushner in his email exchange demonstrated that the Trump Campaign would welcome and seek out help from a foreign enemy. Clearly that meeting was an experiment to see how receptive they would be to Russian help. They took the bait. Given the receptiveness the Russians got (from a family member), it’s hard to believe they didn’t take the next step. I suspect once Manafort was out, Flynn was included in Russian collusion meetings/calls. It explains Trump’s “loyalty” to Flynn vs. how he treats other subordinates. Flynn knows things that could hurt Trump and the Trump family. Why has Trump been so deferential to Putin? Just as the hacked emails were dribbled out at critical moments leading up to the election, evidence of collusion with a hostile foreign power can be used for blackmail, or leaked when keeping Trump in office no longer serves Russian interests. So, it will either be Flynn’s testimony or evidence leaked by the Russians that will bring down DJT. God help this country if it is clear our President won with the help of Russia and he gets re-elected!

  49. Hopeful says

    He’ll either resign or get impeached before his first term is over. I’m surprised that anyone with common sense fell for his b.s. (unless one just voted along party lines). This republican can’t wait for that self serving spoiled brat to get out of office and let an adult that actually cares about the country take over.

  52. Rich says

    The Democratic Party needs to come back closer to middle America. The days of Pelosi, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders should be set aside as should the social experiments of candidates. Joe Biden is the answer.

  53. Pogo says

    @Trumpholes

    No time to waste – put Palm Coast on the map. Get your bid in to host the trump pretzel-‘dential lie-berry. A used porta potty (with waste paper basket for the pretzel-‘dential papers) ought to get her done. Yes sir! Locate it in a place of honor on the backside of the landfill.

  63. Janet Sullivan says

    If the Trump supporters in this comment feed could tell us why they support Trump and what good he is doing for the country rather than bring up the “previous administration” or “crooked Hillary” (which has nothing to do with anything at this point), I might respect them a bit more. And, oh….. decent spelling, grammar and punctuation would be helpful, too.

  65. John Schulten says

    We play to win. Hillary played to win the popular vote, she got it. Trump played to win the electoral vote(only vote that really matters) and won that. He won fair and square.

  66. snapperhead says

    Nixon didn’t come under investigation until well into his second term. Fat boy already is in under 6 months.Let’s see where fat boy is after Mueller digs into his personal deals and tax returns. Fat boy knows there’s a lot the public doesn’t want to know about otherwise he wouldn’t be so obsessed with the investigation and would’ve released his tax returns.Fat boy only beat 1 Democrat and that was only because of the electoral college process…prior to that he beat 17 Republicans.Including rising “stars” Walker, Rubio, Christie and Cruz He didn’t win because of any brilliant ideas or policy…he’s completely void of any great ideas and completely dumb when it comes to policy. He won on a jingo catch phrase..MAGA and appealed to people fears and anger. Let’s see how those in the upper midwest swing states, who got suckered into believing Trump would repeal NAFTA and bring backs jobs from Mexico, China etc, feel in 3 years or so when they realize those jobs are never coming back. Of course it’s entirely possible fat boy has resigned in disgrace by then so it may not matter.

  67. Erik Stier says

    Obama didn’t do anything for 8 years stop the witch hunt! he has done more for the economy then any president has done in such or short time. dow over 22k give me a break. you lost get over it he will be our 2020 president also. The dems don’t like him because he isn’t controlled by anyone he’s for the American people that’s it.

  72. Frank Furter says

    Erik Stier You do realize that Pres Obama brought us back from the brink of economic disaster caused by Bush. The economy now is the result of all of Obama’s work.

  73. William Moya says

    I agree. If i’m Bannon looking at the political landscape and Trump is in the neighborhood of 35%, I’m saying to myself I can be a 43% in a month and i’ll have 5 or 6 month to bring him over the top. The Democrats response is perplexing, as if playing the caring card will bring us the House in 2018, and then everything is back to normal (read Rich). It looks very much like the Democrat party is heading towards a crack up.
    The term “deplorables” backfire because Hillary Clinton never told us why they are deplorable, Trump on the other hand would have relish the chance to define his enemies in very raw terms.
    In the years to come America would have to decide whether to remain a capitalist society, based on a quasi theocratic system created in the 18th century which anointed unity above everything else, including accepting and promoting human trafficking, or a social democratic system which will continue humanity’s search for a better self.
    One more thing Pierre, Machiavelli had this weasel like approach to his politics, but he showed man the door to the modern age.

  74. Anonymus says

    Scandal. The only scandal I have heard of to date is the Ukranian scandal involving the Democrats with facts & proof to back it up. Why don’t you do an article on that Pierre? I’m sure “We the People” would love to hear all about the DNC accepting money & colluding with the Ukranian Government leading up to the election. Pass laws? Isn’t that the job of Congress? Looks like Pierre needs to do his own research instead of using liberal talking points

  75. a tiny manatee says

    TBH if you look at what the Dems have been fielding and their laughable new slogan he might just get elected again. Which is sad, instead of steering left and working on single payer and other things that affect the working class they’ve decided that centrist, republican lite with a dash of identity politics is the way to go.

  76. Florida Voter says

    TRUMP/PUTIN 2020

    Really, though, elections aren’t won by facts, they’re won through public image. People don’t care that the Benghazi investigation lasted 4 YEARS and found … it was a terrorist attack. Congress spent 3 years to find out that Hillary Clinton used a private email server, something that was DISCOURAGED, but not against policy (worthy of a reprimand). They also found that of the 2093 emails that had classified information, 2093 (all) were classified AFTER the dates of the emails; also 10 in Condoleezza Rice’s private email and 2 in Colin Powell’s email.

    Public image doesn’t care that Congress wasted YEARS hunting snipe, or that Trump’s White House is an example of cronyism and nepotism. Public image doesn’t care that person after person in the Trump election campaign has deep ties to Russia, including close family meeting Russian officials specifically to discuss the election campaign and how to discredit Clinton. Public image is against Clinton when people point out that the Clinton fund (a charity) has donations from international philanthropists, but doesn’t care that Trump has business interests in several international locations, subject to that country’s laws and government.

    Public image wins elections. As long as Democrats rely on knowledgeable voters and rational thought, Republicans will continue to get bullies and liars in to our elected offices.

    TRUMP/PUTIN 2020

  77. Lou says

    Pierre, you missed an important historical event.
    Historian will note the transfer of military control from civilian control to the military. Trump’s incompetence made a necessity.

  78. Concerned Citizen says

    What really makes this article interesting is the commentary.

    Really folks. Most of you I am guessing are adults on here. Yet as soon as politics are brought up you revert to 5 year olds and degrade and insult each other.

    Apparently if you have an opposing political view you are called everything from a Libtard to a snowflake. Honestly the moment you stoop to that level you loose credibility in your argument.

    I read and see all day long in the media and on social network sites say America has become a divided nation. If that’s true then it starts with us remembering to be respectful of each other and mindful of different views.

  81. A tiny manatee says

    Personally I think the democratic party should front a candidate that will just drop trou in front of the entire electorate during debate since that’s apparently what the people want when it comes to image.

  82. Geri Kail says

    Good comparison – I had forgotten some of Nixon’s despicable acts . Most of us who were in college at the time hated him and couldn’t fathom his appeal to the masses. Just as I can’t imagine how people support Trump now.

  83. CL Mcdaniels says

    Depends if they can get a better candidate than Hilary. Huge mistake letting her run. So many people disliked her they were willing to vote for ANYONE else.

  84. Pogo says

    @CL Mcdaniels

    Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.
    – John 18:40 KJV

    It’s always nice to read thoughtful and able exposition. We are speaking about Donald Trump and people who shop here – they buy their POTUS from the same place they get their tinfoil hats and boner pills:

    https://www.infowarsstore.com/?ims=qhmbo&utm_campaign=Infowars.com+Hero+Ad&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Infowars.com&utm_content=Infowars.com+Hero+Ad

    Good day.

  85. Ws says

    Yup clearly Trump will EASILY win a second term. I can’t wait to watch all the crybabbies throwing a fit again. Thank you all for giving me such a good laugh every day while the snowflakes continue their stupidity! GO TRUMP, GO TRUMP!!

  86. Robjr says

    Remember the old phrase “Rather be dead than red”.
    McCarthy destroyed people who were merely suspected of being associated with Russians.

    Now Trump and his supporters hold being associated with the Russians as a badge of honor, their new catch phrase should be “From Russia with Love”

    Trump should be choking to death since he has Putin’s d**k so far down his throate he can’t breathe.

  87. Stranger in a strange land says

    I second “Concerned citizen”. Reading these posts makes it clear that this country has serious problems. The core of that problem is that we can’t acknowledge that people with an opposing view point could want the best for this country but have come to a conclusion that is different from our own. Read the name calling and insults. Anyone posting here could easily be your neighbor, barber, lawyer, or your kid’s teacher. Do you really think these people are bad or stupid because they don’t think the same things that you do? I have had conversations with people that don’t agree with me. A few of those situations lead to a useful exchange of ideas. In most cases I choose not to feed into the conversation because I sense that a civil conversation would be highly unlikely. Why has it come to this?
    I choose not to use social media but from conversations with those who do read political content on FB etc. , It is clear that miss-information, directed content, and shared posts that feeds extreme viewpoints are poisoning brains. If you get political info. from TV and you watch “Fox and Friends” and “Hannity” or “Rachel Maddow and Don Lemon” you are not getting all the news and you are getting seriously skewed input. If there is significant news, watch either CNN or Fox, but DVR the one you are not watching. If you want to understand the “us vs. them”, watch the DVRed news. I do this and now understand why people have views that I can’t imagine any reasonable person could have. I disagree with the conclusion these people have come to, but at least now I understand how they got there. They are not idiots. They are being manipulated. What disturbs me is by only seeing or reading content that reinforces your point of view you are complicit in the manipulation. Seek out other points of view. When it comes to being governed, we will get what we deserve. Democracy isn’t easy.

  89. Sherry says

    trump supporters. . . please enlighten us. Exactly what has trump done to benefit ANYONE but himself?

    And, now for a little “factual” information on the accomplishments of President Obama:

    Here are 28 of President Obama’s biggest accomplishments as President of the United States.

    1 – Rescued the country from the Great Recession, cutting the unemployment rate from 10% to 4.7% over six years

    2 – Signed the Affordable Care Act which provided health insurance to over 20 million uninsured Americans

    3 – Ended the war in Iraq

    4 – Ordered for the capture and killing of Osama Bin Laden

    5 – Passed the $787 billion America Recovery and Reinvestment Act to spur economic growth during the Great Recession

    6 – Supported the LGBT community’s fight for marriage equality

    7 – Commuted the sentences of nearly 1200 drug offenders to reverse “unjust and outdated prison sentences”

    8 – Saved the U.S. auto industry

    9 – Helped put the U.S. on track for energy independence by 2020

    10 – Began the draw down of troops in Afghanistan

    11 – Signed the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals allowing as many as 5 million people living in the U.S. illegally to avoid deportation and receive work permits

    12 –Signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to re-regulate the financial sector

    13 – Dropped the veteran homeless rate by 50 percent

    14 – Reversed Bush-era torture policies

    15 – Began the process of normalizing relations with Cuba

    16 – Increased Department of Veteran Affairs funding

    17 – Signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act

    18 – Boosted fuel efficiency standards for cars

    19 – Improved school nutrition with the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act

    20 – Repealed the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy

    21 – Signed the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, making it a federal crime to assault anyone based on sexual or gender identification

    22 – Helped negotiate the landmark Iran Nuclear Deal

    23 – He signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to combat pay discrimination against women

    24 – Nominated Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, making her the first Hispanic ever to serve as a justice

    25 – Supported veterans through a $78 billion tuition assistance GI bill

    26 – Won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples”

    27 – Launched My Brother’s Keeper, a White House initiative designed to help young minorities achieve their full potential

    28 – Expanded embryonic stem cell research leading to groundbreaking work in areas including spinal injury treatment and cancer

  90. Shark says

    Hows the wall and healthcare coming along – NOT – Some day he might pass some legislation – NOT

  91. BlueJammers says

    My, my, my. Once again, Mr. Tristan has waved his amazing magic pen and all these opinions arrive from so many nice people.

    Mr. Tristan, thank you for all you do for the Flagler community. You deserve another Pulitzer.

  92. r&r says

    I can understand why Trump calls the White House a dump, look who lived in it the past 8 years.

  93. Wayne King says

    GOD bless our country and President Trum for his efforts to protect our language, culture, and borders.

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