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“LOUDERSHIP”: THE USA PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE


WAYNE JOHNSON

October 1, 2020

You could not have watched that debate 
and be proud of president  
- Anderson Cooper
 

Well wasn’t that Presidential debate a sh#t show, then again it had to be expected with Donald J. Trump on the stage. I am quite sure Trump did well with his base, aka cult. But that’s it. He showed zero leadership tonight. Rather what he demonstrated was “loudership”. In a thread I read on Facebook, someone said Trump showed dominance and confidence. This is hardly accurate; in fact, I would argue he demonstrated exactly the opposite. He appeared as a loudmouthed bully, who knew he was tanking and simply indulged his own frustration and anger. I’m not sure what some folks think being a leader entails, but I can’t believe most think that bullying dominance is really an admirable trait. He acted, for most of the evening, merely as a noisy, obnoxious and self-centred tyrant, but not one with ideas or real control.

Confidence, not arrogance, is most certainly a good leadership trait. One thing good leadership requires is the instilling of confidence in the plan and the direction that the leader is asking his followers to accept. The issue here is that Trump has no plan for folks in which to believe. His behaviour was, as it has been since he took office, that of a cult leader, who demands and expect blind trust.

Post debate fact checking indicated that most of what came out of Trump’s mouth were falsehoods (aka a nice word for bold face lies). That’s not confidence, it’s mere BS and bluster, certainly not good leadership. I think I know something about leadership, having practiced it for 41 years in the Army. Leadership is not about being the brassiest or being the most controlling voice. Just because he was elected President (by the Electoral Collage, not the majority of voters) does not make him a genuine leader who understands the principles of what it is to lead. Anyone who is impressed by that kind of behaviour is simply a fool. To get into a leader-follower relationship with a shallow creature like Trump is never wise. It’s like wrestling with a pig. The pig may love it, but everyone else gets covered in sh#t.

Biden while not stellar, and not delivering any knockout punches, did what needed to be done. Trump scored a number of punches, but mostly on himself. Biden spoke to the American people when he could get something in with all Trumps crass interruptions. I can’t see too many independents and non-decided voters leaning towards Trump after that show, especially on his dog whistles and encouragement to white supremist groups like The Proud Boys. That statement of asking them to “stand by” and refusing to condemn such groups will, I hope, prove fatal. I’m sorry but it is the year of our Lord 2020, and the President of the United States of America is calling white supremists to “stand by” post election, a staggering statement that folks must pay attention to. It speaks volumes about what this narcissist bully is all about. Of course, his cultish base love it. They hate the same people as the Proud Boys and their vile kind.

At the end of the day a real contrast of men was on display last night. I do think Trump has actually motivated citizens to get out and vote in person or by mail in. Those would be folks who will not be voting for him, however. The reality is that low voter turn-out favours Trump while high turnout favours Biden. Yes, in the event Trump loses he will not concede, this is almost a certainty. The USA may very well be thrown into a crisis the likes they haven’t seen. But it is clear that Trump has zero concern with bringing his nation down with him. Simply put, it’s not in his DNA to put anyone or anything ahead of himself. I genuinely suspect his behaviour will cause large voter turnout. The citizens of the USA, other than the Trump cult (a strangely large one I admit), are not stupid. By and large they know that to avoid a constitutional crisis and four more years of chaos. But, Biden needs a convincing victory. This fact alone may dramatically increase voter turnout. Even then, Trump might well not accept the result. But a convincing victory would make it far easier to evict him from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. If, on the other hand, Americans choose to sit on their behinds and not vote, well they will get the President and the chaos they deserve.

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