We know from experience that there are two kinds of Trump speeches. The first, “Faux Reagan,” attempts to uplift and unite the country. These tend to be pretty boring, because he doesn’t have the ability to pull them off: his words are cliches; he grimaces and scowls instead of smiling; and he inflects at the wrong time. On a more positive note, however, at least he doesn’t offend anyone, and he talks about the country instead of himself.
The second, “American Fuhrer,” is weird, but compelling. He paints a dystopian picture of an American rotting away, filled with drugs, violent criminals, and murderous illegal immigrants. The outside world is filled with sharks, and we have no real friends except Israel. He alone can fix these problems.
Last night’s speech was predominantly “Faux Reagan,” but there was some “American Fuhrer” thrown in about illegal immigrant crime and North Korea to keep the base happy. I switched to an NBA game every time he started banging on about some hero in the audience. Mostly, it was just dull and mildly annoying.
I’m sure his fans will say it was a triumph.