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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A red tie, often tied too long. A raised fist, often held high for a supportive crowd. A scowling face. A raised voice.
President Donald Trump never hid how he felt. His words and body language cleared his thoughts.
For more than four years, Trump, a Republican, cultivated a political base by sharing his thoughts and emotions (pride, happiness, outrage, rage) on a daily, sometimes hourly basis, creating a kind of omnipresence that completely dominated the cycle of news. .
As no president of the United States has done before, he became the center of attention, the star of a literal reality show that was his administration, always with an eye for the camera, a knack for the dramatic, an instinct for the outrageous.
His followers loved it. His opponents hated him. Regardless, almost everyone tuned in. The country and the world watched and were consumed.
The program may have had deadly consequences. Hundreds of thousands of people in the United States died from the disease associated with the coronavirus, while Trump downplayed the danger of the pandemic and did not model in a mask.
America’s racial and political divisions widened under Trump, and migrant children were separated from their parents.
The president used the power of his words and his office to serve his political base, with which he maintained a direct line of communication through his now suspended Twitter feed.
He recalled what he had promised them as a presidential candidate and sought with some success to fulfill those promises to build a border wall, reverse immigration and reduce taxes.
He threatened and angered world leaders during his trips abroad, complicating relations with America’s allies who, in his opinion, were not carrying their financial weight in global alliances.
He criticized and vilified the press, while craving the attention and respect of journalists. The base enjoyed his demonization of the media and rewarded him with applause and cheers for the pejorative nicknames he assigned.
Trump gave everything for his followers. He lit them up at regular rallies and drew energy from their adulation and enthusiasm for their unconventional style (critics said non-presidential).
“I see Trump as a fighter for the people who really work and put the backbone in this country,” said Will Williams, who attended Trump’s campaign rally in June in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as the coronavirus pandemic raged. “I will remember him as (a) hero.”
The story may not.
With the January 6 riot in the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters who believed his false claims of voter fraud, the legacy of a second impeachment for sparking a deadly uprising will almost certainly overshadow any achievement, real or perceived.
“When a president incites an insurrection that could have killed his vice president, could have killed the speaker of the House and other members of Congress, could have destroyed a free presidential election and could have permanently damaged our democracy, there are very few good things. I can find that that is going to overshadow that, “said historian Michael Beschloss.
On Wednesday, Trump will leave the White House for the last time as the 45th president of the United States, taking his final flight in the Marine One helicopter to Joint Base Andrews, where he will board Air Force One bound for Florida.
The trappings of the presidency will be removed later and he will see his successor, Democrat Joe Biden, try to undo much of what Trump did during his tenure.
The White House reality show will be over. But his base, at least in part, will remain, still pending his statements, in whatever means he can find to get them out.
“I think he understands the power of his words. I think he enjoys them,” said a senior administration official who considered resigning after the unrest. “And I think it will continue to do so.”
(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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