Twisted MAGA

Trump is tying himself in knots

In recent days, Donald Trump has twisted himself into all sorts of knots trying to answer questions about what he thinks about abortion, IVF, and what is being called (in a welcomed masterstroke of political messaging) “reproductive freedom.” 

“Contorted” is the word The New York Times used in its headline to describe Trump’s mangled attempts at coherence. He’s tossing a word salad of flip-flopping desperation.

When I first decided to write about this, I thought I might use the metaphor of a pretzel. But I love pretzels, especially hot ones with mustard. And I don’t want to taint the next time I’m eating one by thinking of a certain doughy orange GOP nominee. 

My daughter Helena recently handed me one of her favorite chain necklaces after it had become hopelessly tangled. That felt a little more apt for what I was seeing in the news. Trying to work out the knot was grating, metal on metal, and not a pleasant experience (unlike eating a pretzel). Except when I was done using my cramping fingertips to loop and unloop the little metal links, she was happy, and the necklace looked beautiful on her. 

There is nothing beautiful about what Trump is doing and no happiness at the end of whatever process he’s going through. Because, of course, it isn’t a process; it’s the panic of a con man who knows he’s in trouble. 

Trump has no central convictions other than indulging his cravings, and he is guided by nothing other than his naked self-interest. The harm, pain, and cruelty he inflicts on others are all justified if they provide him with even the slightest benefit. 

But here’s the conundrum. Trump had to pander to the anti-abortion forces to get elected in 2016. In their cynical calculations, they didn’t care if he was a true believer. All that mattered was that he held up his side of a transactional deal. And that meant appointing reactionary judges, especially to the Supreme Court. Trump was happy to oblige — one of the few campaign pledges he kept — because he basked in the adoration of his MAGA minions and loved the pain he caused his political enemies. There’s nothing like “Owning the libs.” 

But fast forward through the Dobbs decision, the 2022 midterms, and all the other data points that show that in most parts of the country, especially swing states, abortion and reproductive freedom more generally, are an albatross around the neck of Republican political ambition. 

Trump surely sees it. If nothing else, he has a very keen sense of self-preservation. 

He thought he was so beloved by his right-wing acolytes that they would accept at least a temporary apostasy on abortion because surely they know it’s just what he has to say to get elected. So he started hedging around whether he would vote for a ballot measure in Florida to override the state’s extreme anti-abortion restrictions. 

As Trump tiptoed toward “yes” in a television interview, you could see him processing, in real-time, his craven calculations. But he misjudged the backlash. So the next day, he walked it back. Or, more accurately ran back around in a circle, mumbling incoherently and hoping no one would notice.

But that’s not going to work, and you can bet there was a sweep of excitement at the Harris-Walz campaign where they were certainly paying attention. Trump is back to backing extremism (which he was always going to do, including if elected), and he looks even more unprincipled, unmoored, cynical, and foolish in the process. 

Compare this with Vice President Harris’s coherent, dignified restraint in her first television interview since President Biden announced he would not run for re-election. Dana Bash on CNN threw all the Republican talking points at Harris, and she handled them with ease. She looked comfortable and she was clearly very prepared. Aren’t those traits one would want in a president as opposed to the unhinged nature and rantings of the other guy? 

Samuel Alito, writing for the majority of the Supreme Court as they gleefully took away women’s constitutional rights, famously stated, “Women are not without electoral or political power.” Alito can hide behind his life appointment. But a certain convicted felon facing scores of new charges simply cannot. 

For all the bluster, you can see the fear in Trump’s eyes. Pass the pretzels.