Tuck Frump: New Low in American Politics?

I would like to peep into the mind of this man whose manners are rough, actions are rash, and language is remorseless. Does he ever recall what he said earlier in any matter? Take Ukraine, take Iran, take Israel-Lebanon or any other issue for that matter. His statements will never tally to indicate a thought-out policy: so glaringly contradictory they are! Today he will be the champion of peace; tomorrow he will assure Iran of a war such as they have never seen. He sympathizes with Ukraine in the morning but totally backtracks when it comes to taking Putin's point in the afternoon. While he desperately wants to win NATO countries back, he is making eyes at China. Simultaneously running with the hare and hunting with the wolf! But to what purpose? Is this policy or fallacy?

Analyst and columnist Chidananda Rajghatta (CR) recently cited ‘Tuck Frump’ T-shirts as another example of spoonerism in the language of politics: the oldest in my memory is, rather a fatal one, when a member of some royal court lost his head (literally) for addressing Her Majesty as ‘Queer Dean!’ Citing more instances of use of f-words, references to one’s or someone else’s a** and the too common sprinkling of ‘bastard’ and ‘sonofabitch’ in informal public speeches and utterances. CR has also observed that since his Second Coming, Trump has been using increasingly foul language, and 93% of his speeches included at least one obscenity. Gone are the days when the presidents’ speeches were polished and suave, with the occasional ‘My Fellow Americans’ pleading, CR laments.

Agreed, Americans are a unique species and so are their presidents. Their uniqueness is rooted in their ignorance of what to do with themselves and their country. They are stronger than any other country on earth. Their presidents are used to believing that America’s destiny is to save mankind and civilization. In the 20th century, this destiny was easy to define: shun isolationism, intervene in 2 World Wars, stop the Soviet juggernaut in the middle of Europe during the Cold War, and oppose Chinese expansionism elsewhere. President after president alternated between skirmishes and peace summits with Soviet leaders. Any number of Dulleses, Kissingers and Galbraiths were available as volunteers to ideologize US foreign policy.

All this ‘saving of civilization’ was in effect a messy business. Sending troops all over to fight untrained, ill-equipped local armies and militants, destabilizing or uprooting indigenous governments, spying and eliminating agents, hunting for double agents in US and persecuting own citizens under suspicion of being communists or at least their fellow-travellers, did not exactly save civilization but could be swept under the carpet of noble intentions. At least in declared policy, the US remained guardian of world peace, democracy and development. So, the otherwise ordinary presidents, like the British royalty, appeared larger than life and their speeches were lofty.

The Gorbachev-initiated dismantling of the USSR did create problems for Russia and her neighbours, but, ironically, threw the US out of gear in both domestic and foreign policy. US was now reduced to a bodybuilder or boxing champion without a fight. The Rock of Gibraltar- the spectre of communist totalitarianism sweeping the world- vanished, and the waves didn’t know where to crash. Just look at the US presidency going downhill from the 90’s to the present day: Bush Junior, Clinton, Obama, Trump, Biden and back to Trump in ’24. Just imagine where these would be without American voters! Not one of them could even act like a world politician like some of their predecessors. In fact, there is strong reason to believe that the US has had no world politician as president after Jack Kennedy. I know that he, too, was an actor par excellence, but the fact remains that he paid with his life for world peace!

Clinton used the Oval Office to blow his own dignity, and the final bar of decency melted away. He escaped impeachment thanks to a tame apology, but could there be anything more profane to occur in the White House? Obama tried in vain to redeem the presidency by talking big (remember ‘Yes We Can’?), but he failed to deliver. And was the last president to speak in civil language. One has only to recall that Hillary and Donald, instead of political debate, used to yap yap like lap dogs in the first Trump campaign! Biden-Harris were too lukewarm for the American voter. So happened the Second Coming of Donald while decency and civility were already ‘tucked and frumped!’The interim term of Biden-Harris was, to be fair to them, absolutely lacklustre.

Let us take a quick look at Donald Trump. He belongs to a very rich family of German origins. Business and Real Estate made this family rich. They simply cannot claim any scholarly distinction: Trump himself has had no touch of any erudition after graduating in 1968. He earned cover stories in newsweeklies after the construction of Trump Towers in New York in 1983 and started aspiring for political limelight. It would be in order, to recall that the 58 storey, 664 feet Tower was not without stains: Trump was charged with ‘aesthetic vandalism’ and employing illegal Polish labour on cruel wages. He married thrice: the first lasted 13 years, the second 4 years and the third for about 20 years. He has 5 children and 11 grandchildren. His children are divided between managing the family business and helping Dad in the White House. In short, he is as uncouth as a successful US businessman can be, with perhaps a rich repertoire of slang: God be thanked that Trump doesn’t use all of it!

In his youth, Trump did look debonair. Age has added to the brawn substantially, and now he is a heavyweight f…g politics! Body language has turned bawdy. He never speaks but spits the words at the listener/s, as it were. There is rarely a pause to suggest consideration: maybe his dismissive answers are read before the questions (how astute, indeed!) He spits disdain and disrespect to all. Has the audacity to quip that resolutions of the Congress are meaningless (his most recent as this is being written). In his second term, Trump has sacked a handful of top advisors to the president, chiefs of top bodies in state administration, and dozens of members of advisory boards - was there ever a rasher bull in a china shop?

Also Read: Henry Kissinger And His Time - Vinay hardikar

America is a society without any sense of proportion and loves to go to extremes in everything. So, this could be just the beginning of the potty-mouth political idiom there. Things could worsen even more, as the present generation of Americans might be immune to the language that shocked even the wit of CR. I would like to submit that the political idiom is the tip of the iceberg - something must be rotten in the state of Denmark, as Hamlet knew for sure!

P S - The case of India is both similar and different: here the language is lofty while the intent is lousy. More on that, some other time.

PPS - 14th June is Donald Trump’s Birthday. He will turn 80. May the entry into the 9th decade make this a happy birthday because he is sure to have celebrated any number of sloppy birthdays.

- Vinay Hardikar
vinay.freedom@gmail.com
(The writer has been working in the public sphere of Maharashtra for the last five decades. His versatile personality has several dimensions, but the primary ones remain to be that of an established writer, journalist, editor, critic, activist, and teacher.)

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