Last Friday night, you may have heard there was a little incident on Broadway, in the Big Apple, at the evening performance of America’s current biggest hit musical, “Hamilton”.**
Hamilton: An American Musical (from the Official Website)
Just a bit of background. Private American citizen Mike Pence decided to go to the theatre. He bought his own tickets. He was not invited special to attend the performance, he didn’t know anybody in the cast, he was not a friend of the Producer or Writer. It was not a state occasion. He was there on his own dime.
For those misinformed, Pence is not the XXX-Elect of anything right now. On December 19th, about a month into the future, he may very well become the Vice-President Elect of the United States. Good luck to him in due course.
As he entered the theater through the main entrance, many in the audience milling about recognized him. Some few cheered, some more than that gave him a Bronx-cheer like welcome, not unknown in these parts. No one obstructed or interfered with him or his party. No demonstrators. No protest signs. No safety or security concerns whatever.
The show went on just as scheduled. No delays, no cast walk-offs, no interpolated song lyrics or ad-lib lines during the show. After the performance ended, a single cast member read a perfectly respectful brief written statement to Pence as he stood outside his box ready to leave. Some in the audience were moved to vocalize, and the cast member asked for quiet and continued, without interruption.
“We, sir — we — are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights,” he said. “We truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us.”
Pence’s party exited by the main door, and he gave a half-smile as he left, displaying the reaction of an experienced political figure to an unscripted public encounter. On Sunday, Pence properly said on his own behalf, he enjoyed the show, and the curtain call statement was an example of American free speech, a good thing.
But Vice President-elect Mike Pence said he wasn’t offended by the message.
Pence said on “Fox News Sunday” that he heard the boos and cheers when he walked into the Richard Rodgers Theatre with his nephew and daughter on Friday night to see the show. He said he told his daughter: “That’s what freedom sounds like.”
I must say, props go to Pence here. A manly reaction. He wanted to see an extremely popular Broadway show, not in tune with his own political vision. Afterwards, he didn’t claim he was attacked or demeaned by the incident at the end of the show. Double props to the man. After all, this is supposed to be the Bigs, even if his first game official at-bat is still 8 weeks off.
Big Daddy Horns in On the Act
In contrast, not so Big Daddy. Trump went on a triple Twit tear Saturday, and then again on Sunday. He claimed rudeness, disrespect, harassment, and all manner of other evils had been visited upon him (that is, Pence) and demanded, with a very firm foot stomp, a formal apology from the cast.
Trump’s Tripple Twit Rant About “Hamilton” Over the Weekend
There are just one or two problems with this. The first is that Mike Pence is a grown man, and can surely speak for himself, which he did on Sunday directly. Nobody needs Big Daddy to kiss the hurt, and make it all better. Essentially, Trump was cutting down and infantilizing his own second in command. Who asked him, anyway?
An Actual Dusted White Finger Boo Boo (from Rock Climbing)
If Trump was railing against reflected dishonor on Trump himself, via perceived disrespect to Pence, he is even more off-base at loose ends. Let’s apply a little straight to the point, New York City street talk to describe this situation, vis-a-vis Trump’s reaction.
“Stuff it in your ear, Pal. I got something here for you to kiss, Buddy.”
My two slightly older female cousins, Susan and Barbara, might put it in a more lady-like manner, such as, “Oh, grow up. Act like a real man, why don’t you?”
Trump doesn’t seem to be fully aware, but he isn’t XXX-Elect Anything either until December 19th. Even then, it wouldn’t matter. You can’t Fire the First Amendment.*** In America, we don’t line the streets and wave pretty little flags as the Great Leader drives by, basking in our adulation. For those with small memories, Trump lost the popular vote, actually rather big-time (now up to more than 1.7 million votes behind). America’s voters spoke, in two different voices. Trump doesn’t command unity because he says so.
Going forward, given the ragged and low down campaign rhetoric Trump routinely used across America for the last 18 months against the sitting President, his opponents in both Parties, and numerous others he doesn’t approve of, Trump can earn back some respect for himself, after he gives it to others first. His current credit balance is substantially overdrawn in this regard.
For the next four years, Trump will be the World’s biggest and most public Public Figure. He has no more legitimate expectations of privacy, especially given his own publicity seeking, personal actions and history for four decades. He has a target the size of Rhode Island painted on his back. He might learn a thing or two from President Obama’s experiences for the last eight years, that is if Trump had any appreciation of history. If a Tweet can set you off, you are already in deep trouble.
Trump better get ready for all manner of criticism, right, wrong, and off-the-wall, because he can’t stop nasty remarks, and he can’t do anything substantial about them. Besides, he damn well ought to have more important things like American jobs and prosperity on his mind 24/7, instead of this minor trash.
One more significant point. Again, Trump seems ill-informed about his new job status. He has never had a real boss other than his own Daddy (for about 5 years right after college). Trump runs a private company with no Board of Directors, or Management Committee, or Outside Auditors, or Stockholders for him to report to and to serve as a check and balance against his bad ideas and impractical flights of pique. Until now that is (as of January 20th).
Trump works for America, all of America as of 2017, whether he takes the whole $400 thousand annual salary or only $1 per year. Doesn’t matter. It’s an employment contract. He doesn’t have an unlimited budget, or borrowing authority. There are tens of thousands of job holders he can’t fire and dismiss on a whim. There are a number of legal constraints he will be confined by, whether he likes it or not.
What Trump does have is a temporary four-year contract with the American people, subject to termination at any time, at their sole discretion.
The closest Trump has probably ever come to this set of circumstances is one of his unbreakable Prenuptial Agreements (PNA) first cobbled together by the nasty, inimitable Roy Cohn in the 1970’s. Trump has used them twice to good effect, as the demanding party with the money, to rid himself of wives Number One and Two. Presumably he has an equally iron-clad PNA deal with wife Number Three, though that scenario hasn’t played out yet (and may never come to fruition). In each prior case, Trump was triumphant, and scored big, making a far better deal for himself than he imagined. Trump has said a man with money would be a Fool not to have an iron–clad PNA before getting deeply involved with someone.
This time however, he is the PNA object, not its instigator. Trump has already shown some reluctance to sign on. Hiding his tax returns, fugabooing over a proper business Blind Trust for his assets, etc. Trump may hem and haw, dodge and weave. He can rope-a dope and stall. He may even, in the end, not sign up, or sign up with mental reservations, at the terms of the arrangement.
But here’s the beauty of America’s PNA with the President. It doesn’t mean a Tinker’s Damn whether Trump signs it or not, or accepts it in his heart and mind or not. Removal and disgrace, under the irrevocable terms of America’s PNA (i.e., impeachment), does not require the consent or agreement of the party sanctioned.
It just happens. And there’s nothing Trump could do about it, if he gets himself there. The vote decided, he’s gone, escorted off the premises, by the Secret Service, U.S. Marshals, or 82nd Airborne Division, if needed. And that’s no Alt-Right fantasy, either.
Now, that’s some 18th Century Constitutional serious deal making you can still get behind. Those were some pretty smart fellas, as it turns out.
So, what do you think about that?
One last thing. Once Trump got started on “Hamilton”, he couldn’t eat just one. He moved on organically to knock another favorite entertainment target of his, “Saturday Night Live” (SNL).
Kellyanne, Kellyanne, Mama please! Trump was doing rather well, not-stepping-in-it-wise, for the last week. You must regain control of the Twitter phone again, for all our sakes.
An Alternate Theory of the Case
If Trump were truly on his game, the whole “Hamilton” Twitter thing could have been a head fake. Earlier Friday, Trump broke his word to his avid supporters, given several times loudly and boastfully in public, as he forked over $25 million dollars for Trump University transgressions, in not one but three different cases, including paying off New York’s Attorney General with $1 million for a baseless suit, and permanently ducking that biased Mexican judge in San Diego.
So Trump did a major bail, and blew $25 million bucks to boot. For a case he said was an easy winner, and much he looked forward to beating the lawyers in Court. Turns out not so much. His official excuse was that Trump was just too busy to defend himself. Except he wasn’t too busy while running for President. Lucky for that Mexican judge he doesn’t have to face getting a piece of Trump’s awesome mind in his own Federal Courtroom. Another brief reminder. Trump is around for four, maybe eight years at the tops. A Federal District judge is appointed for Life on good behavior. There is nothing Trump can do about that, either.
Maybe “Hamilton” was a partially effective smoke screen ploy to cover Trump’s not so glorious retreat.
On the other hand, if it worked in that dimension to deflect attention, the too clever move otherwise failed as it stepped all over Trump’s carefully orchestrated Pilgrimage to Bedminster. There was a parade of the fallen, defeated, and hopeful for Cabinet vacancies arriving, hats in hand, to kiss the ring of Trump the Triumphant on bended knee, and figuratively kiss his ass behind the scenes. Along with the required exterior Clubhouse Door Photo Op ,with Trump the Winner holding Court and reigning on his turf.
The “Hamilton” blow-up damped down all the magnificent stage show optics of his entire weekend effort to look presidential. Curses! Most of the visitors have about as much chance of being named to the Cabinet as Cher or Jon Stewart.
Minor “Hamilton” Boycott Addendum
Some of Trump’s more excitable mob crowd rousers have been so incensed by Pence’s imagined travails in New York, they have instantly responded with a boycott “Hamilton” campaign. Perhaps, they ought to think this one through a little more.
Just one or two practical difficulties.
In the first place, “Hamilton” the musical on Broadway is already entirely sold out for the next 10 months, practically an eternity for protests in waiting time. Secondly, an online ticket for Hamilton begins at $600 and up per ticket. It is estimated that about 40% of all Trump supporters make $50,000 per year or less.
As such, the Hamilton crowd doesn’t much resemble Trump’s core crowd. A ticket purchase blockade would be an expensive undertaking on the Road Show versions in the U.S., and useless in New York on Broadway itself. Thus it seems like an economic boycott might be a costly and unproductive effort. It would feed the Broadway Beast to buy up seats on mass, and quickly eat up the year’s disposable entertainment budget for those most likely to participate. Unlike boycotting a newspaper or burger joint, where sufficient mass consumer resistance could be highly effective.
*From the Online Cambridge Dictionary:
a mistake, or a small cut or injury
A Minor Scrape: A Boo Boo for Generations in Mom Speak
The real deal of a word and concept, back when moms took care of small slights and made them better with a little TLC and some mercurochrome, man. Not that phony hillbilly reality TV rubbish.
**From the Wikipedia entry for “Hamilton the Musical, now on Broadway”
Hamilton: An American Musical is a musical about the life of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, with music, lyrics, and book by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The show, inspired by the 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton by historian Ron Chernow, achieved both critical acclaim and box office success.
The musical made its Off-Broadway debut at The Public Theater in February 2015, where its engagement was sold out. The show transferred to Broadway in August 2015 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. On Broadway, it received enthusiastic critical reception and unprecedented advance box office sales. In 2016, Hamilton received a record-setting 16 Tony nominations, winning 11, including Best Musical, and was also the recipient of the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album and the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The prior Off-Broadway production of Hamilton won the 2015 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical as well as seven other Drama Desk Awards out of 14 total nominated categories.
***Here is the actual wording of our First Amendment:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
I prefer the language and greater specificity of the original draft of the First Amendment written by James Madison, but the final adopted version was sound enough to serve us today.
The civil rights of none shall be abridged on account of religious belief or worship, nor shall any national religion be established, nor shall the full and equal rights of conscience be in any manner, or on any pretext, infringed. The people shall not be deprived or abridged of their right to speak, to write, or to publish their sentiments; and the freedom of the press, as one of the great bulwarks of liberty, shall be inviolable. The people shall not be restrained from peaceably assembling and consulting for their common good; nor from applying to the Legislature by petitions, or remonstrances, for redress of their grievances.