Charles Cooke of National Review Online assesses the impact of constant coverage of the former president’s every move.
I am inordinately bored of Donald Trump.
I’m bored of the man himself. I’m bored of his opponents. I’m bored of his supporters. I’m bored of the manner in which every last question that animates our politics is eventually plotted onto a graph that has his face at its center. You name anything Trump-related, I’m bored of it.
It’s utterly inescapable. Before long, every political topic, every prominent politician, every historical trend becomes about Donald Trump in some way, shape, or form. Every piece of journalism does, too. I haven’t yet published this piece, and I’m already bored by the responses that it will engender. That’s how bad it’s gotten: I’m pre-bored — by the emails, by the analyses, by the snark, by the desire to make every last thing in American life about Trump. Nothing is safe. Bring up something almost as old as the nation itself — the Fifth Amendment, say — and within a few minutes, people will be debating whether it is functionally pro-Trump or anti-Trump. They’ll ask if it’s Trump-adjacent, or Trump-resistant, or anti-anti-Trump, and then, without missing a beat, they’ll move on to the next topic. That Genghis Khan guy. Know who he reminds me of?
Yes, we know. We know, because this is our politics now. Donald Trump does something — or, just as often, someone does something to Donald Trump — and everyone immediately looks down to make sure that they’re standing in the correct place on the game board. Trump said what? Then it must be wrong — or right, depending on your position. Wait, you think it might be a bit of both? Whose side are you on, anyway? Are you trying to Save Our Democracy? Do you not Know What Time It Is? Whataboutism! Bothsidesism! RT if you agree!
