MAGA

The Voters are Revolting!

The Voters are Revolting!

During an episode of the BlackAdder the Third comedy series set in eighteenth-century England, Hugh Laurie as the British Prince Regent, remarks to Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson) ‘I say Blackadder, I hear the peasants are revolting in France!’. Blackadder looks over at his dogsbody sidekick (played excellently by the hangdog-looking Tony Robinson) and responds, ‘By the look of Baldrick they're pretty revolting here too’. Its funny because it’s true, as to how those in power have traditionally regarded the ordinary people when they don’t behave as they should. However, this establishment bias has persisted into the present day.

Slick Suits and Dangerous Talk

Slick Suits and Dangerous Talk

‘One of these candidates is much slicker than the other, is a much more practiced, kinda professional, debate-style speaker — and the other candidate won’. So went the post-Vice Presidential Debate analysis on the liberal news channel MSNBC, as summed up by panel host Rachel Maddow. Elsewhere, former Washington Post and CNN political commentator and journalist, Chris Cillizza, claimed JD Vance was ‘outstanding’ for 99 per cent of the debate, against an ‘uneven’ and nervous Tim Walz, before failing to disown Trump’s lies about non-existent election fraud in the previous election. Meanwhile, on the pro-Trump Fox News network, the CBS moderators were condemned for fact-checking Vance on his campaign’s infamous claims of illegal pet-eating Haitians in Springfield, Ohio. Meanwhile, Donald Trump Jnr crowed ‘that it was a masterclass, it was a spectacular performance’ by his father’s running mate. Immediate post-debate polls of focus groups showed Vance winning slightly. Many commentators expressed how strangely nice it was to see Republican and Democratic politicians actually discuss policy issues and avoid character assassinations, while not appearing to detest each other. In reality though, how much does any of this matter?

IRISH ‘MAGA’ supporters and a canary-yellow shirt

IRISH ‘MAGA’ supporters and a canary-yellow shirt

What possessed me to wear a canary-yellow shirt to the Fianna Fáil meeting in Ballina? I was glowing in a sea of monochrome jackets, jumpers and tops, only matched by my throbbing red face. Most of the other party faithful, representing the various ‘cumann’ or local party branches in the North Mayo region, were gathered in the large, weakly lit ballroom of the Downhill Hotel. The backslapping, laughter and excited chatter had spilled slowly in, but then quickly fanned away from the TV crew from Dublin ensconced inside the door, creating a large empty gap where only a careless or unwary visitor would stray… or someone in a canary-yellow shirt.

America may be talking itself into a civil war

America may be talking itself into a civil war

As I crossed the pedestrian walkway, a flatbed truck driver leaned out his window and unleashed a barrage of angry words at me. The wind swallowed most of his rant, but the essence was clear: he was furious, and his fury was aimed at “Democrats”, “budgets”, and “billions of dollars”. My puzzled expression likely only heightened the veins bulging in his neck. With a final, dismissive curse, he sped away, his old truck groaning under the strain, but not before glaring at me through his rear-view mirror. The faded U.S. flag sticker on his window was a faint clue to his political leanings, though I was more perplexed by why he assumed I was a Democrat. Was it my outdated 1990s attire—jeans, shirt, and blazer combo—that my wife swears she will leave me if I wear again?

Underestimating Trump

Underestimating Trump

Donald Trump is exceptional. Is there any other politician anywhere who would have had their wits about them to reflexively know to seize the iconic photo opportunity, seconds after a would-be-assassin shot his right ear? His stump speech on 13 July, at an election campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, was cut short by loud cracks of gunfire and bright red blood splattering over his face and hands, as the former president dropped to the floor beside the podium. While his gaggle of secret service manhandled him back up and away, Trump seemed to instinctively know where the cameras were, clenching a victory fist to the sky towards his audience, before being quickly shuffled away to safety. With the American flag billowing over his head, he was reenacting Rocky or Rambo for generations who grew up in the certainty of American exceptionalism. More than anything this is what sets him apart from his peers. He innately understands how to garner publicity to his advantage. He always did.