Thoughts on Trump as "Fat Elvis"

[I know I have been derelict when it comes to posting on this site, but I am exhausted from starting a new gig and just haven't had the time.]

Back in August, Peter Wehner at The Atlantic noticed Trump reeling after Harris entered the race, and compared his lowly state to "fat Elvis." I got a chuckle over this characterization, but soon after Trump found a way to right himself and look far too scary to be a figure of derision.

Strangely enough, he has returned to floundering mode just as his campaign is supposed to crescendo. He shows up to events commenting on his disinterest and fatigue when he's not fellating his microphone, talking about Arnold Palmer's wang, or playing his favorite songs for forty minutes at a town hall instead of answering questions. He seems happy doing those things, but glum when telling audiences they need to vote for him or else he will be "in trouble." 

I am aware of the uselessness of pure speculation, but watching him grind his town hall to a halt and force his audience listen to his playlist made me think I was watching a person who was very high on drugs. When Wehner came up with the "Fat Elvis" line he was thinking of something else, but all I could think of was The King on his later tours, zonked out on pills, bloated, and flubbing the lines of hit songs he seemed totally disinterested in revisiting. (The CBS special from his last tour in 1977 tells the tale.)

The big difference is that Elvis still manages to pull out some stunning performances considering the dire state of his health. ("Unchained Melody" is now maybe the most famous.) I have long been obsessed with these performances despite some people finding them sad and depressing. Here is a performer so tremendous in his talent and heart that he wills himself to greatness under the worst circumstances. As a human being I must watch in awe and give my respect. I am wary of using the phrase "fat Elvis" because it dishonors this last, final, accomplishment.

Of course, Elvis was a person driven by something far higher than his own personal power, unlike Donald Trump. Watching Elvis rage against the dying of the light is far different than watching Trump blabbering fatuously for hours on end with no discernible direction. With Trump we are seeing something else, the old story of an autocrat realizing the game might be up and being fearful of what will happen once he no longer has protection. It's less Fat Elvis (who ought to be respected, or at least pitied) and more Richard III. It amazes me that he still has a chance to still win the election. 

Iowa Caucus MLK Day Thoughts

There's an irony to the Republican Party holding their first caucus on Martin Luther King Day. On the day we honor a man who demanded that the nation live up to its oft-proclaimed ideals of freedom and justice, we are seeing a wannabe dictator whose slogan is about reversing this country's gains since MLK's times about to trounce his opponents. Nikki Haley, who is supposed to be the "moderate" alternative, is a South Carolina conservative who refused to name slavery as a cause of the Civil War. The "party of Lincoln" has become the inheritor of the Lost Cause and is the political home of the people who fought so hard to stop the civil rights movement. 

This sadly should come as no surprise. King is so universally admired and claimed today that it is hard to know that he was a controversial figure in his lifetime. The FBI had him surveilled and used that information to blackmail him and in 1966 only 27% of white Americans said they had a positive view of MLK. Those people's political children (and hell some of the original bigots are still alive) are Trump's base. 

It's also hard to remember there was a time when King even getting a holiday was controversial. Jesse Helms, the avatar of Southern white racist migration from the Democratic to the Republican Party, tried to filibuster the bill establishing the day. Ronald Reagan, president at the time, implied in his public statements that he was holding his nose and voting for the holiday out of political considerations, rather than his own convictions. Some states like Arizona did not recognize the holiday (as Public Enemy famously denounced) while others used the day to celebrate both King and Confederates. Alabama and Mississippi still celebrate King and Lee's birthday on this day. 

Eric Foner called Reconstruction "America's Unfinished Revolution," and Dr King's efforts were part of a Second Reconstruction that also remains unfinished. The spectacle of Republican candidates clamoring to show their opposition to birthright citizenship and their support of banning Black history in schools is proof of this (if we still needed any.) While it might be depressing to face these facts 56 years after King's death, I want to use this day as a call to action. His death and the deaths of so many others who fought for equality should not be in vain. It's up to us to carry on their legacy and vindicate them. If anything else, the spectacle in Iowa today is a reminder of the stakes. 

2016 All Over Again?

On my Substack I recently wrote about how many of the large factors influencing the 2024 election are similar to those in 2016. The point is not doom and gloom, but for progressives to act proactively to mitigate them instead of failing to see the issues. (This was the mistake of 2016.) 

I did not talk about the Dobbs decision in my piece, as a friend on Facebook rightly pointed out. It certainly represents a major change from 2016, but I am not sure it is entirely in Democrats' favor. The fact that Dobbs came AFTER Biden's election seemed to underscore the futility of fighting a conservative movement that has decided to use non-democratic means to stay in power. The young people I know seem more fatalistic now, and far less politically committed. One thing that can doom democracy is a feeling that participating in it just doesn't matter. 

Again, I am not saying that Trump will definitely win in 2024, but I consider it a coin flip, which is fearsome enough.