"So I raised my right arm, looked at the thousands and thousands of people that were breathlessly waiting, and started shouting, 'Fight! Fight! Fight!""
The image of Trump at last Saturday's rally, face bloodied, fist raised, with Secret Service agents and the Stars and Stripes completing the tableau, flashed up on giant TV screens. Delegates at the Republican national convention in Milwaukee responded as one.
"Fight! Fight! Fight!" they chanted, punching their own fists in the air. Trump had taken a bullet for them. Their fervour suggested they would be willing to take a bullet for him. A Maga army on the march. A frightening spectacle for American democracy.
In that moment it was clear that Trump's survival of an attempted assassination had turned him into a figure that transcends politics, an American messiah with swagger. His power over the crowd, summoning anger and sympathy and ecstasy with a flick of a switch, evoked dark chapters in Europe in the 20th century.
Like demagogues of the past, Trump understands spectacle. His instinctive response to a bullet shaving his ear, sparing his life by a quarter of an inch, was a masterpiece of self-mythology. At the convention on Thursday night, he delivered raw political entertainment.
Big screens showed Trump doing his awkward, fist-pumping dance to the sound of Village People's Y.M.C.A. To Democrats and much of the world, it is a preposterous sight. To the Trump faithful, it makes him human and lovable.
この記事は The Guardian の July 20, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は The Guardian の July 20, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Prendergast plays hero in Ireland's historic triumph
Ireland secured their first Twenty20 win against England yesterday, completing a record run chase off the penultimate ball after Mady Villiers attempted to force a run-out, missed the stumps and allowed the two Irish batters to run an overthrow.
British hopes end with double defeat to Canada
Dan Evans and Jack Draper fall to straight-sets losses in front of record home crowd.
Set-piece killer Jover part of mania for detail that separates the Gunners from Tottenham
Yes, well, of course that was going to happen. Ange Postecoglou has a particular manner on the touchline, a way of standing in the same spot for long periods of time, fists bunched in his pockets, a little hangdog and sad, like a long-suffering dad at sports day.
Explainer What the charges against City mean
As an independent commission prepares to assess the 115 charges, here is everything you need to know
Barnes' blast sinks stumbling Wolves as Howe calls for 'unity'
If there is a civil war raging in the background, it seems to be suiting Newcastle very well.
Piastri edges Baku battle as Norris closes on Verstappen
Engrossing and impossibly tense, Formula One might consider itself flattered if the final third of this season delivers with the same compelling drama as the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
In the running Coe faces almighty fight to become IOC president - but write him off at your peril
While most Britons were demolishing the last of the Christmas turkey in 1979, Sebastian Coe ran 14.4 miles up the Derwent Valley, defying everything that nature and the elements dared to throw at him.
Airport expansion Operators hope plans will fly with pro-growth Labour
The younger, tormented minister considering his position before the Labour government granted Heathrow's third runway in 2009 might have been greatly relieved to know that, 15 years later, not a shovel would have touched the ground.
England's north-south gap in rents shrinks to 11-year low
The gap in rents paid by those in the north and south of England has closed to its lowest level in at least 11 years, figures show.
Fight drown as epic’ floods sweep central and eastern Europe
Eight people have drowned in Austria, Poland and Romania with four others reported missing in the Czech Republic as Storm Boris continues to lash central and eastern Europe, bringing torrential rain and floods that have forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes.