It has all gone so well for Trump.45 during the first roughly 72 hours of his epic journey overseas, with stops so far in two of the World’s three major religion’s (Abrahamic faiths) holy places that Trump.45 wants to master: Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Well there was that little exhaustion flap causing him to pull out of a social network obligation at the end of the trip in Riyadh, but Ivanka was there to carry the day with the tyros in his stead. Besides, the younger folks might have asked some typical techie question about ISP’s, or operating systems, or API’s or some such nonsense which would embarrass him when he couldn’t gin up a plausible answer on the spot..
And then of course, in the first use of the exhaustion get-out-of-jail-free card had to do with Trump.45 going off script earlier Sunday and saying “Islamic” instead of “Islamist” as instructed, while he was dodging invoking the big one “Radical Islamic Terrorism”, before the Arab Summit leaders, that sweetly wholesome phrase that must no longer be used outside the good ole’ U.S. of A. Roger Stone wants to puke. Some of Trump.45’s ardent conservative fans and voters are none too happy either.
The real point is that Trump.45 probably didn’t step in it deliberately. He was just operating via conditioned reflex after hearing a mental bell. Chances are he doesn’t even know that the difference between ”Islamic” and “Islamist” is much more than two letters, but contains a deeply cutting insult to all Muslims paying attention to his actual words instead of his mental impression of religious moderation.
After his overnight direct flight from Riyadh to Tel Aviv (a real honor and mark of respect by the King, in fact), Trump emerged with wife Melania to a sunny Monday morning scene at the International Airport and to be greeted by friends Bibi and his wife to Israel, on a ceremonial red carpet, if a little less lavish than the Saudi all-in luxury version he padded on two days before.
On the way to the simple podium for welcoming remarks, Trump.45 was happily tooling along next to Netanyahu and his wife Sara, and just a couple steps ahead of lovely Melania, his consort, who was behind and to the left.
Along the way, Trump.45 noticed that the Netanyahu’s were walking side by side, apparently holding hands for the World to see, a normal and typical gesture of a contented married couple. Trump.45’s primitive lizard visual publicity brain is lightening quick (if the rest of his mental apparatus is a bit sluggish) and initiated a primordial response.
Trump.45 slightly slowed, turned to his left and facing slightly backward, extended his hand to reach for his First Lady, elegant and impeccably attired in a white suit as usual.
She increased her step count just a beat or two, and then worldwide cameras rolling and bulbs flashing delivered the most elegant and understated but definitive hand-holding snub of rejection. Like a pro marital LeBron James- a clean shot block, attempt completely batted away, with no foul call by the referee.
Some might be tempted to dismiss this little episode as some sort of liberal media fantasy conspiracy, but like so much else in the world today with Trump.45, it’s all captured in real time on video to make a permanent indelible record.
The scenario has already gone mega-viral worldwide, and can be seen in reports and stories everywhere it seems. But a mere single viewing of the scene des not convey the full impact. Like any pro working in their chosen field of expertise, Melania delivers the message as effortlessly and smoothly as if there was no gesture art involved. To get the full impact, look for a looping video, for example here. The repeating sequence makes the whole thing appear to happen in slow motion and is an eye opener and smile inducer.
I can’t wait for the exhaustion meme out of the Press Office on this one. To be fair, in fact so far the White House is just withholding comment on the matter.
Trump.45 is nothing is not persistent, so a few minutes later, still on the airport tarmac as the happy couple prepared to leave for the day’s other scheduled events, the Big Puppy Dog goes for it again. Thanks to the Washington Examiner for positing pretty full coverage of the incident sequences. I’m not sure why this rather heavily conservative leaning news outfit is not a bit more shy of the potential implications here, but they do have a reputation for excellent local DC coverage.
In case the reader is not familiar with this news source:
The Washington Examiner is an American political journalism website and weekly magazine based in Washington, D.C. that covers politics and policy in the United States and internationally. It is owned by MediaDC, a subsidiary of Clarity Media Group, which is owned by Philip Anschutz.
The publication now known as the Washington Examiner began its life as a handful of suburban news outlets known as the Journal Newspapers, distributed only in the suburbs of Washington, under the titles of Montgomery Journal, Prince George’s Journal, and Northern Virginia Journal. Philip Anschutz purchased the parent company, Journal Newspapers Inc., in October 2004. On February 1 of the following year, the paper’s name changed to The Washington Examiner, and it adopted a logo and format similar to that of another newspaper then owned by Anschutz, the San Francisco Examiner.
The paper became influential in conservative political circles, hiring much of the talent from The Washington Times and replacing The Times as the primary conservative paper in the capital city. The website DCist wrote in March 2013 that “Despite the right-wing tilt of its editorial pages and sensationalist front-page headlines, it also built a reputation as one of the best local sections in D.C.” The newspaper’s local coverage also gained fame, including a write-up by the New York Times, for contributing to the arrest of more than 50 fugitives through a weekly feature that spotlighted a different individual wanted by the authorities.
It was announced in March 2013 that the paper would stop its daily print edition in June and refocus on national politics, converting its print edition to a weekly magazine and continuing to publish its website. The new format has been compared to The Hill. The Examiner’s editor is Hugo Gurdon, and its managing editor is Philip Klein.
In a second Washington Examiner piece on the Israel trip there is another snippet of video of this second hand holding attempt. Trump’45 has a brief moment of contact success followed by a quick fade. View it here. See three video still captures below with the three stages of grasp, fade, and loss.
To be entirely fair on the hand holding front in Israel, we note the following. There was no digital contact deplaning in the first place, some on the approach to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the suggestion of a bit of a hand hold during the initial rabbinical explanation and introduction at the Western Wall prayer site and phot0- op for Trump, Melania, and the Kushner kids. We’ll give Trump.45 partially confirmed full marks for the last two. So, in the end, maybe two out of four attempts is not so bad. Not a word was exchanged. It was all body language and behavioral nuance. A quick wrist flick of denial by Melania.
Whether or not a married couple chooses to hold hands in full public view is not a world shattering event, but as with most things Trump, he manages to inject considerable drama into otherwise inconsequential stuff.
But there is in fact a serious point to all this, The President’s personality, and psychological function is a matter of national interest and concern, and has been for a year or more as he has faced the intense stress and scrutiny of a national campaign, with his unusual lifestyle, behavioral choices, and relatively advanced age to begin the rigors of governing, something he has never done before.
Trump & Melania Show
Everyone in America knows the Trumps have chosen to live apart since January, with the proffered explanation the decision is due to her concern for Barron’s continuity at school. The latest news is that the young man has been accepted to attend a prestigious DC area private school for next year, so perhaps Melania has decided to take up the rigors of living in the White House as a full time choice of living quarters after all. Summer will tell.
Trump.45 is notorious for his hard charging ahead physical style, which often leaves the First Lady in his wake. The more famous examples since January include the awful picture of Trump.45 arriving at the White House on Inauguration Day and leaping up the steps to get at Obama and Michelle waiting to greet the new Presidential First Couple, while Trump.45 rudely left Melania far behind on the other side of the car, with no husband to open her door and walk with her up the steps. Then we have the multiple pictures of Trump.45 charging down various and sundry airplane ramps with Melania several steps behind.
And we can add Trump.45’s repeatedly demonstrated awkward hand shaking procedures with political persona of substance, such as Theresa May, Justin Trudeau, Shinzo Abe, Angela Merkel, and God knows who else. His clumsy hand procedure weirdness is notable and even a bit funny, though unexpected in a prominent ultra-rich 70 year Word Class Business Man and Deal Maker. It is just plain odd.
Is there a thread of linkage to these minor behavioral streams? Perhaps there is.
To veer into psychological domain territory for a moment, Trump.45 lacks empathy for other humans to a significant degree. He is not viscerally connected to normal human reactions in many common situations. He is, however, clever enough to cover and mimic ‘normal’ responses given sufficient environmental clues. He is missing or suffers from a defective internal behavior compass to guide his actions. And he has shown evidence since childhood.
Trump.45 meets the clinical criteria for extreme narcissism and may cross into the fringes of sociopathic behaviors.
One trait others have noted is Trump,45’s apparent lack of social inhibition in his standards of conduct. He will push and push until his rudeness or crudity elicits some reaction of distaste or disgust in those around him, and then dial back, with a covering “Am I right?”, or “It’s just a joke”. The point is he doesn’t know, left up to his own devices when enough is enough and not too much. As a child and teenager he was unruly and delinquent, perhaps because he couldn’t recognize when its was time to quit acting out.
This may be part of the explanation of his boorish adult behavior with women, He can’t read their normal social signal cues, so he just bulls on ahead until he is stopped cold or overwhelms their defenses unwillingly, and then interprets his conduct as being irresistible, or that women are weak, fickle, or don’t really mean no.
Trump.45 doesn’t know haw to deliver a firm businesslike, cordial, or warm friendly handshake to men or women. It is a wrestling dominance contest for him and he persists until there is submission, withdrawal, or surrender, particularly with men of substance who may outshine his own limited personal qualities in areas outside of money accumulation, like say intellect, academic achievement, culture, public service accomplishment, or expertise. Trump.45 mostly escapes direct sanctions and consequences due to his fame or wealth, and is often just considered to be eccentric.
This set of character motivations may also explain his persistent, long-lasting hunger for revenge, his unseemly over the top, nasty responses to even the mildest criticism, his unhealthy demand for absolute personal loyalty from those around him, his general distrust of others, and his constant need for approbation and adulation, even from his closest friends and family.
One could postulate that he is a very lonely and insecure soul, who resorts to bullying to avoid the pain of rejection, and who craves constant assurance that he is a good man and not a personal failure in evolution.
This view is of course, speculation. Bur it is speculation based on close observation and the detailed documentation of Trump.45’s voluminous machinations in the public eye for nigh on 40 years of a very public existence.
No one will ever know the full extent of Trump.45’s internal mental maelstrom until historians have had their say 50 years from now. We just have to watch the clues, and try to weather the psychic storms thrust on the rest of us today.
Melania’s Redoubt of Inner Strength
Melania is the woman who is closest to the full-on Trump.45 experience in blossom today, even as she mostly lives outside the daily White House pressure cooker for now.
Seeing some of the President’s more dramatic public stunts and faux pas, which seem to affect him not a whit, if his own testimony is to be believed, questions have been raised whether Melania is trapped or dominated, or in denial about his behavior toward her.
I think this is a fundamental misreading of the former Melania Knauss and her position. She managed to get out of a dead-end Russian satellite state as a teenager by virtue of her own pluck and drive, and made it to New York and the United States as a model on her own, largely unscathed. No youthful marriages, unwanted children, or substance abuse issues on her journey.
Then she met Trup.45 and acted in her own cool, not in a hurry style on exposure to his Baby, I’m a Rich Guy routine. Melania may not have a college degree, but she has navigated Trump.45’s considerable treacherous shoals expertly for almost two decades. She is no rag doll tossed around at his whim, by a very long shot.
Trump.45 is no stranger to wives and children, After all he has dipped deeply in the waters and indulged himself three times for both.
A brief summary background on Trump.45’s serious romantic wanderings is not amiss here. First wife (3 children) Ivana was in the Trump.45 orbit for 15 years, from 1976 to 1991 (first date to final divorce). Ivana was 42 when Trump.45 absconded, leaving her with three children (ages 14, 10, and 7) to finish raising, though he did provide full financial support.
Then came second wife Marla (1 child) who was in Trump/45’s romantic grasp from 1986-1999, 13 years from start to legal finish. Marla was 35 when Trump.45 moved on.
Trump.45’s third foray, and so far last adventure, was with current wife Melania (1 child) who has been with Trump.45 from 1998-2017. She holds the Trump.45 relationship record at 19 years. She has just celebrated her 47th birthday.
Also remember that one of Trump.45’s more notorious true confessions was his dishing to buddy Howard Stern on the radio, with bursting with male pride and bravado before he married Melania, that women reach their sell by date at 35 years old and are no longer interesting or exciting to a real man such as himself afterwards. Ignoring the possible moral dimension of such a confession from a man who claims a sincere Christian faith, Trump.45 has at least established for the public record in his own words an internal psychological metric for his vision of female allure.
So in the “contest” (what is the actual prize?) for Trump.45’s romantic attachment, Melania has conquered Trump.45 and his two other family adventures hands down, and carried off the golden rings of success. She has the longest lasting relationship by 4 years and counting. She has beaten Trump’s internal beauty clock by 12 years, and lasted five years longer than Ivana in that category. She has a beautiful son and heir, but only the one to lavish care on.
She is the current wife, and now presides as official First Lady of the United States (even if it is a job she didn’t really want) by sticking around with all of Trump.45’s faults and foibles. She has all the money she could ever spend, and a significant degree of freedom and independence to make her own choices, such as I don’t really feel like living in the White House right now, whatever your political gurus have to say about it. Deal with it.
Again we don’t know what hooks are built into the undoubtedly iron-clad prenuptial agreement Trump.45 forced upon her in 2005, but whatever they were, chances are she has surpassed whatever the behavioral constraints and financial milestones contained in it. She has also produced another male heir for Trump’s ego, clocked more than 12 years of marriage, and for all the world seems to have been marriage scandal free, depriving Trump.45 of any potential legal maneuvering room for her removal and replacement.
All of which is fine and dandy, but she is now in the proverbial catbird seat. Given Trump.45’s sketchy public record towards women, his level of unpopularity among more than half of our country based on his rude, oafish and nasty behavior, political, personal, and social, and his present position in the hottest of publicity spotlights as President, he is holding a losing hand in any marital card game contest.
She is on the ups. She holds his family jewels in her grasp. Imagine for a moment what anguish Trump.45’ds ego and pride would suffer if Melania called a press conference, told him to piss off, and spilled the beans, whatever they are.
Don’t weep for Melania, America. She is in command of her own ship, and is probably the only person in the world who has Trump.45 by the proverbial shirt hairs, unless the Russians have some still secret dossier to play, despite Trump.45’s fervent denials. Though we may find out about that as well after the Special Prosecutor gets finished.
We may have been interpreting Trump.45’s impolite behavior towards Melania through the wrong analytic lens. Yes, she has agreed to show up a few times per month for special occasions, elegant parties, and public ceremonies, where she gets to wear beautiful clothes, and replay the glamorous model’s attention stardom she used to enjoy as a young woman.
What she really does is decide her own schedule and determine her own path and priorities on the important things about child rearing, how to spend her time, and how to enjoyably occupy herself, most of the time with occasional elegant interruptions or distractions. Plus there is a new layer of Secret Service physical security to surround her and fend off unwanted attention and interference from whatever source.
Thus, when Trump.45 gets too intolerable in his dependent, yearning way and tries to play husband dominatus silly buggers, Melania, cool as a cucumber, flips him off with a barely noticeable wrist only hand snub, that he can then go fret about for hours or days. And there is no alcohol to sooth the raging beast in his breast.
Or not.
With this outfit, and the impressive psychic pathologies involved, who can tell for sure. What is not is doubt is that for women everywhere, Melania, as a surrogate, just delivered a very brisk slap across the face to arrogant pushy spouses of all stripes, without missing a beat, smile on the face, and lethal effect.
I say, Go Melania.
There really is someone in the world who can tell Trump.45 to get bent when the need arises.
Addendum
There is another plausible alternate theory of events for today’s visual fireworks. Melania has been a consistently reluctant spouse on the campaign trail and in the political lusting arena, since before, during and after the primary campaign, through the general election cycle and the transition, and now for the first four months of Trump’s presidency. She has repeated over and over that she has her own opinions. She shares them with Trump,45 in private and they are nobody else’s business, period. Her promise has been matched by her actions all along.
She has not engaged in any of the high drama of the White House staff faction death matches. Her
Then on the eve of her very first foreign trip and extended stay (more than 4-5 days consecutively) with Trump.45 since January, there was a curious and unexpected story in Politico published early in the morning of May 20, as Air Force One was about to land in Saudi Arabia. about how she was closely monitoring staff performance and had it in for Spicer on the grounds of poor performance. The story is chock full of purported inside baseball goodies, a classic collection of leaks and innuendo, and poorly sources comments from such luminaries as Roger Stone. Frankly, I don’t think Melania would even give Stone the time of day, much less confide in him.
Here is one pertinent passage from the piece.
“She was really concerned that Spicer was not doing a good job, that they were not proactive in defending the president,” said one outside adviser who speaks to the president regularly. ”The leaks bother her. She believes a lot of people are more interested in serving themselves than him.”
(Emphasis added)
The whole thing feels rum and like a clumsy put up job. One staff faction against another using Melania as a reflector. Spicer has his own problems, but Melania operates at a higher plane than dealing with such mundane staff intrigue and infighting. If she wanted Spicer gone, she would have said her piece to Trump directly without need for intermediary attention, no leaking needed.
We don’t know who the outside advisor who speaks regularly with Trump might be, but who really cares?
What this story does do, however, is call unwanted attention to Melania’s carefully crafted low key, background apolitical style. A style that she has assiduously followed and nurtured for more than two years. Why on earth would she emerge to fuss with a mere Press Secretary now
She may have been sufficiently pissed at whoever engineered this little stunt, and made her displeasure known directly to the Big Dog. Perhaps she did not get an adequate response. Instead of action, something along the lines of well so-and so needed a beard to soften up the press in order to get rid of Spicer. I agree with them. They shouldn’t have used your name in vain, but it’s not the end of the world. A little palace intrigue. No big deal. Just let it go, dear.
And perhaps she did, until today’s wrist flick of humiliation on the tarmac in Tel Aviv. That might be the last time Trump.45 is too busy to ignore a serious conversation when the First Lady’s serious interests are involved.
Or not. Just a thought. But consistent with much of the available public evidence. Regardless of whether Melania harbors personal feelings of ill will or not, Spicer is on a very thin thread of life support. Stay tuned.
Selected References: Melania’s Potent Hand Action
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/melania-slaps-president-trump-hand-israel-article-1.3185725
http://gizmodo.com/melania-swats-away-donalds-hand-in-latest-viral-misery-1795426910
https://www.yahoo.com/style/ivanka-trump-wears-tiny-hat-tel-aviv-153850198.html
http://www.nbcnews.com/video/melania-and-ivanka-trump-pray-at-the-western-wall-950373443652
http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/22/politics/melania-trump-hand-swat-israel/
Here is the whole Politico story. Judge for yourself.
Melania Trump’s spent her first few months as first lady in New York, only rarely appearing in Washington or speaking at events. Yet friends and aides say she’s keeping a close watch from her gilded apartment in Trump Tower on how her husband is portrayed in the press — and that she’s growing increasingly worried about the anonymous sniping from West Wing staff.
Like President Donald Trump, these people said, Melania Trump is an avid consumer of cable news. She often tracks the news of the day and will alert her husband to stories she thinks make him look bad.
She has raised concerns that some on his communications and press team aren’t doing enough to defend him, according to aides and sources close to the president. She’s been especially troubled by background quotes in which West Wing aides criticize the president, and she’s called the president to discuss it.
Her quiet role as private watchdog is at odds with her public persona. Melania Trump has been seen as generally aloof and removed from her husband’s political operation since he announced his campaign in 2015, but as his administration has been consumed by infighting and outside investigations, she’s grown increasingly vocal about the perceived shortcomings of staff surrounding the president.
“Melania loves the president unconditionally, definitely, she really cares about the president, she feels a kind of protection,” said her longtime friend and former modeling agent Paolo Zampolli, who introduced the couple in 1998. “The main concern to the president and the first lady is that these leaks are unacceptable.”
Aides and friends of the president describe Melania Trump as one of several people he calls at night to hear how the dysfunction in his White House is playing out beyond the Beltway, including billionaire businessmen Carl Icahn, Rupert Murdoch and Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy.
For the next week, she’ll travel with her husband, accompanying him on his first trip overseas, putting her in a position to exert even greater influence over his thinking day to day.
“She’s very private and she’s very smart. Anyone who thinks she’s a mannequin doesn’t get it,” said longtime Trump associate Roger Stone. “She has excellent instincts into who is trying to exploit their influence with him.”
In recent weeks, her concerns have centered on White House press secretary Sean Spicer, whose role as an on-camera briefer is expected to change after Trump returns from his overseas trip.
“She was really concerned that Spicer was not doing a good job, that they were not proactive in defending the president,” said one outside adviser who speaks to the president regularly. ”The leaks bother her. She believes a lot of people are more interested in serving themselves than him.”
Like Donald Trump, perception is key to Melania Trump. She visibly nudged the president to put his hand on his heart during the national anthem at the White House Easter Egg Roll in April.
Behind the scenes, she personally reviewed small details at the event, including the Easter Bunny costumes worn by staff. One bunny was forced to shed the outfit attached to the costume after Melania Trump said she didn’t like it, one aide recalled.
“Mrs. Trump is being diligent and thoughtful, with a focus on quality and tradition, when it comes to her important role of first lady — both behind the scenes and in public,” said Stephanie Grisham, Melania Trump’s communications director. ”She is staying true to herself, and she believes the American people deserve nothing less.”
On the campaign trail, Melania Trump made her preferences known and would tell aides when she thought stories or issues could be handled better. She weighed in on controversy when former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski was accused of roughly handling a reporter. Former campaign aides say Trump took her opinion into account.
“She would consult with us, she would send me things. She was concerned when there was this ridiculous reaction to some of Trump’s statements,” said former campaign adviser Sam Nunberg. ”[Trump] would say to us, ‘Melania said this; well, Melania told me that.’”
Her decision to stay in New York, where 11-year-old Barron Trump is finishing the school year, has prompted widespread intrigue — but her allies are quick to point out that even Michelle Obama briefly considered delaying her move to Washington while their daughters finished school in Chicago after President Barack Obama was elected.
Melania Trump is expected to move to Washington over the summer with Barron, who will enroll at St. Andrews’ Episcopal School in suburban Potomac, Maryland.
She’ll travel with the president throughout his tour through Saudi Arabia, Israel, Italy and Belgium, hosting events on her own during the first few stops and attending programs for spouses while he’s at the NATO and G-7 summits at the end of the trip.
Ahead of the foreign trip, the first lady put out a statement: “This will not just be an opportunity to support my husband as he works on important matters of national security and foreign relations, it will also be my honor to visit and speak with women and children from different countries, with different perspectives.”
Anita McBride, who served as chief of staff to Laura Bush and has been consulting for Melania Trump, pointed to her decision to visit hospitals and schools, following traditional advocacy for first ladies. ”She wants to be taken seriously, and I think she wants to study this role,” said McBride. “It’s an enormous privilege to her as a new American citizen.”