Taylor’s Takes: Fealty is a fault
Disagreeing with Donald Trump shouldn’t make one persona non grata among the MAGA crowd.
Disagreeing with Donald Trump shouldn’t make one persona non grata among the MAGA crowd.
Diversity of thought was something the 2024 campaign was based upon. Vivek Ramaswamy, Kash Patel, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and others coalesced around the Trump movement regardless of their religious or political differences because they and Trump shared a common goal: save America from the radical left.
Now it seems that, at times, the movement needs saving from itself.
Two recent instances come to mind.
The first was the Trump Truth Social post concerning the murder of Rob Reiner and his wife. While many top right-wing pundits expressed their displeasure with Trump’s callous message blaming Reiner for his own demise because of his hatred of the President, others were not so quick to break rank.
While he didn’t exactly co-sign Trump’s anti-Reiner rhetoric, Jack Posobiec of Human Events Daily wrote he was “not surprised Trump said what he said.”
Posobiec further justified Trump’s message on Newsmax.
“We know that Trump is always a counter-puncher,” excused Posobiec. “He’s someone that if someone comes at him and attacks him, he’s going to return in kind.”
Yes, Jack, we all know that Trump is usually never the first to lob a social media hand grenade. But it doesn’t take a mental giant to admit that speaking ill of the dead, especially a murdered celebrity whose vast expanse of work transcended political parties, is not a wise move. And it shouldn’t cost you points within your own party to say so.
Giving Trump justification for his bad Reiner take is like giving a child a cookie when his parents said no. He got what he wanted, and you can’t take it away from him now.
The second example where I’ve seen a reluctance to speak out is President Trump’s installation of plaques underneath the Presidential portraits that line the White House exterior wall near the new patio. You know, where Biden’s portrait is an autopen.
The autopen portrait gag was and is hysterical. But any good comedian (and Trump is arguably one of the best non-comedian comedians out there) knows when a bit has run its course.
Trump seems to have written his own takes on Presidential history, which he then had bronzed and installed underneath each former president’s portrait.
The plaques read exactly like many of Trump’s Truth Social posts, complete with odd punctuation and unnecessary capitalization.
Here’s a portion of the plaque installed under Biden’s autopen portrait:
“Sleepy Joe Biden was, by far, the worst President in American History. Taking office as a result of the most corrupt Election ever seen in the United States, Biden oversaw a series of unprecedented disasters that brought our Nation to the brink of destruction.”
Funny? A little bit, I guess.
Tacky? Abso-freaking-lutely.
I’ve seen a few fair-weather supporters like Joe Rogan and comedian Shane Gillis mock the installation. But I’ve not heard anyone within the administration or any of the top right-wing pundits publicly detest the crude and hideous display.
Why?
Is it because they fear repercussions from President Trump? Are they worried that he’ll lash out at them, much like he did to Rob Reiner post-mortem?
If that’s the case, we as a group are validating the fears of the Trump Deranged crowd. We aren’t allowed to speak out because Trump is a wannabe dictator who will squash anyone who does not show complete fealty. That’s what they think. And without a well-placed criticism, even over something as seemingly benign as a series of plaques, they are justified in their minds to think that.
During the campaign, before the Mar-a-Lago raid and his arrest, I was never fearful of any reprisals for criticizing Trump for his social media posts or offhand comments at a rally. Not that I’m in any position where it would get back to the guy. But the ultra-MAGA crowd was none too happy with my takes if ever I felt Trump’s messaging faltered. I still get texts calling me “Commie Cormier.”
I don’t mind. It comes with the territory.
But my criticisms don’t mean that I don’t fully support the Trump administration and its goals.
I just want to give the Left as little red meat as possible. And if I have to be one of the referees to throw a flag on the home team once in a while, so be it.
