Donald Trump once said that he keeps “whining and whining until I win.”
I know what you’re thinking: “Presidential.”
Anyway, in his press conference today, Trump insisted again that the boos in the audience at the last debate were all driven by special interests backing Bush and Rubio. This booing is all a part of some grand scheme by the RNC to hurt Trump, according to Trump. It’s of no surprise that Trump would see it this way. No one not on the payroll of dark and sinister forces would ever boo Trump for Trump is not only a terrific third-person talker, Trump’s terrific at everything else.
Left out of Trump’s eminently Trumpian analysis is the issue of what provoked the boos in the first place. People booed Trump when Trump said that Bush lied us into war. They didn’t boo Trump when Trump said things Republicans in the audience agreed with. In fact, Trump got many cheers during the debate, prompting some to wonder why the corrupt special interests in the audience would do that. It must be a wonderfully cozy ego cocoon to believe that all cheers are sincere and all boos fake.
So now Trump’s position is that if he gets booed for saying ignorant and offensive things in the future it’s because the GOP reneged on its end of the “loyalty” pledge. I have to wonder how Trump expects the RNC to remedy this problem. Do they have to instruct debate audiences to never boo, no matter what bile passes Trump’s lips? Must they cheer things they disagree with? Maybe there should be no audience at all? I can only wonder what this approach to politics will look like in a Trump presidency. Will there be electric applause signs at his inaugural?
It’s all just more theatrical whining aimed at explaining away anything inconvenient or unflattering to Trump’s self-image. May be it will work. Whining has certainly worked for him before. But let’s not pretend it’s anything else.