President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrive onstage at the Salute to America event Thursday, July 4, 2019, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. (Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks)
When George M. Cohan was asked about the secret to his success of coming up with Yankee Doodle Dandy, the singer and dancer replied, “Oh, I’m an ordinary guy who knows what ordinary guys like to see.”
Trump Driving His Opposition Nuts
Apparently, President Trump is driving his detractors nuts He gives his fellow Americans what they want, and his critics become unglued, the WSJ’s William McGurn suggests. Trump, an ordinary guy, knows what the ordinary guy wants.
Appealing to the Ordinary Guy
Whether it is the 4th of July parade with tanks and military aircraft, bright red MAGA hats, or fast food at the White House to celebrate college football champs, “the president has a knack appealing to ordinary guys.”
This dynamic was on display at Washington’s July 4th parade as much as the B-2 stealth bomber that soared above.
Maybe you have to be a Harvard Law professor to see U.S. Army tanks in the nation’s capital as a “chilling” reminder of Tiananmen Square, as Laurence Tribe tweeted.
Or a New York Times editor to believe that the week of July 4 is the perfect time to drop a video op-ed under the title “Please Stop Telling Me America Is Great.”
His unembarrassed, over-the-top patriotic displays give him something in common with (George M.) Cohan, whose statue still stands over Broadway.
Some Democrats wisely question whether the Democrats agenda will excite voters in those battleground states Democrats need to win if the party is to retake the White House:
- eliminate private insurance
- extend Medicare to all those who are in the U.S. illegally
This past weekend, a former WSJ colleague emailed the editorial staff to say how moved he was after the parade by the 4th of July concert on PBS. Here’s what he saw:
Nostalgia for American achievements
- the moon landing
- pride in being American
- people singing “God Bless America”
- no fear of the religion police.
Democrats, he thought as he watched, might be underestimating the President as a culture warrior.
The Questions to Ask
Has Trump “discovered, hiding in plain sight, people who responded to his MAGA message”?
George M. Cohan Could Have Written a Musical about It
President Trump is no less a showman, but those looking for his performance will find it in his re-election campaign.
Read more here.
