February 14, 2019--Jack: Winning By Losing

"Why don't you pick up the phone and call him."

"Who?"

"You know. Jack."

"I don't want to get in the habit of calling him."

Rona said, "Calling him once every five years doesn't qualify as a habit. I suggested this because he might be a good one to ask about what we've been talking about recently. Why, after all the messes Trump has created, including the fiasco of shutting down the government, that pretty much his entire core of supporters stays loyal to him. There seems to be nothing he can do to alienate them. Even when he does something that's harmful to them. Like the tax cuts people are right now discovering has not been beneficial, as promised, to the middle class."

I said, "It is puzzling why that rock bottom 30, 35 percent stays loyal. Jack might have some insights to share."

So I called. He picked up on the second ring as if waiting for me.

"It's me," I said, "I know I never call but here I am. I have a question for you. It will only take a few minutes. If you're too busy, just hang up."

"No, no. I'm OK," Jack said. "To what do I owe the honor of this call? Every time I phone you you're rushing to get off the line."

I didn't want to get into why that might be, and said, "Rona thinks you can help with something."

"Shoot. Anything for her. You know I love Rona."

"I promise not to tell her that," I laughed, "I don't want to spoil her day. But here's the question--Why do you and your Trumper friends stay so committed to him even though he's constantly screwing things up?"

"Can you give me an example?"

"There are so many. But OK, in the news recently, take the Wall. He's clearly obsessed with it and claims during the past two years it's being built out at a fast pace even though it's well known that nothing, nothing has been constructed. Not one mile since he's been president. He's now saying it's time to 'finish' the wall. Lie built on lie. And yet you and his people don't seem to be upset about that. They and I presume you are upset with Nancy Pelosi and Democrats in general for not voting for the money he says is needed. What happened to all the winning? Isn't his appeal all about winning? On this one he's a loser."

"Once again you don't understand, you don't get it. But you called the right person to get the answer."

"I'm waiting."

"You've got it backwards. It, he's not about winning but, actually, losing." Jack paused to wait for my reaction to this radical thought--that Trump is into losing.

"I'm listening."

"I'll include myself."

"I assumed you would."

"We are angry about what's been going on in America from endless nation-building wars around the world, to all the illegal immigrants, to political correctness. We're furious about affirmative action and identity politics and the unfairness of the mainstream media. Also, we're made crazy by the drug smuggling and the murderous Mexican gangs. I could go on but this should give you a glimpse of what's on the minds of Trump's people."

I interrupted, "You're making my point for me. I mean, yes, this is the familiar list of grievances, but he's delivered nothing in more than two years to help alleviate what you and his other supporters are frustrated about. He's accomplished very little except passing tax cuts for the rich and withdrawing troop from Syria, which every serious foreign policy expert considers foolhardy."

"Again, you're showing your ignorance. For us it's not about accomplishing things of a traditional sort. Passing legislation to do this or that. We don't believe in that sort of approach because as we view things it's these kinds of government programs that have caused the problems we have."

I said, "This is familiar territory. Nothing new in what you're saying."

"So let me repeat this in words even you can understand. We're about wanting to continue to be frustrated and angry. That's the lens through which we view the world. We are pessimistic that government can make things better. In fact, it's the opposite. And so we don't want to be cooled out by getting a bone or two thrown at us. We want to remain in a rage. It's what we're about, what motivates us."

"So what about the winning/losing business?"

"If we win, so to speak, which at best will be minimal, what do we do with our anger? Being angry makes us feel alive and powerful; and now, with Trump, paid attention to. It gives us a purpose in life. So he too has to lose to remain angry. What we like about him is not getting a few more dollars for the wall or some new program, what we like, what we crave, is his expressing anger and fighting for us. Not mincing words (how he fights is therefore very important), telling it like is, showing contempt for traditions and moderate ways of talking about and doing things. For this reason we even like his public cursing."

Jack was on a roll, "His appeal to us is the result of the ways he represents our anger, our sense of being looked down to, our being thought of by your type as being deplorable. We haven't forgotten that one. To use one of your fancy words, to being marginalized. In other words, we're all about expressing grievances and frustrations. To do this you have to keep losing. We wouldn't know what to do with winning. We have so little experience with it. So Trump, who is the first president to represent us also has to lose."

I was stunned and couldn't quickly come up with what to say. He had never been so honest.

So Jack said, "Had enough for today? Remember you called me." He roared with laughter and hung up without a goodbye.