Trump is forever buried under Obama’s shadow no matter how hard he tries to spin the truth.
No matter how hard he might try, Trump seems condemned to lurk in the long shadow cast by President Barack Obama’s success.
Charles M. Blow of The New York Times may have put it best when he wrote: ““Trump wants to be Obama — held in high esteem. But, alas, Trump is Trump, and that is now and has always been trashy.”
That quote was part of a scathing opinion piece titled “Trump’s Obama Obsession.”
Published on June 29, 2017, the piece offers a scathing review of the mindset of the wannabe president.
“Trump has a thing about Barack Obama. Trump is obsessed with Obama. Obama haunts Trump’s dreams,” the article began. “One of Trump’s primary motivators is the absolute erasure of Obama — were it possible — not only from the political landscape but also from the history books.”
Trump has questioned not only Obama’s birthplace but also his academic and literary pedigree. He was head cheerleader of the racial “birther” lie and also cast doubt on whether Obama attended the schools he attended or even whether he wrote his acclaimed books.
Blow concludes that Trump is jealous of Obama, “It’s like a 71-year-old male version of Jan from what I would call the Bratty Bunch: Obama, Obama, Obama.”
Trump wants to be Obama — held in high esteem. But, alas, Trump is Trump, and that is now and has always been trashy. Trump accrued financial wealth, but he never accrued cultural capital, at least not among the people from whom he most wanted it.
Therefore, Trump is constantly whining about not being sufficiently applauded, commended, thanked, liked. His emotional injury is measured in his mind against Obama. How could Obama have been so celebrated while he is so reviled?
It’s no great secret that Obama consistently outsmarts and outclasses Trump, like the time he roasted Trump during the 2011 White House Correspondents Dinner – which might explain why Trump refused to attend the dinner this year.
There’s photographic evidence that Trump’s not half the man Obama is when it comes to having class. Take for instance the following two photographs:
Every picture tells a story. pic.twitter.com/mnD68fA8JZ
— James Melville (@JamesMelville) September 19, 2016
It’s also no great secret that Obama is good at beating Trump at his own game, such as when it comes to using Twitter. In July 2017 The Washington Post did an in depth analysis of the two men’s success on Twitter, declaring it official that Obama is better at Twitter than Trump.
Then in August, President Obama set the all-time record for the most-liked tweet ever with his response to the Charlottesville tragedy. Variety reported at the time that Obama’s tweet set the record for the most-liked tweet in Twitter’s history “at about 7:07 p.m. PT Tuesday [August 15, 2017], when it topped 2.7 million likes.” Today, his tweet has amassed over 4.5 million likes – and counting.
"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion…" pic.twitter.com/InZ58zkoAm
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 13, 2017
To make matters worse – for Trump – The Independent reported late last month that a review of viewing figures reveals that Barack Obama’s speeches have been watched by millions more than Trump’s.
“Roughly 30.6 million people tuned in to watch the former real estate mogul as he was inaugurated as the 45th US president,” The Independent began, adding that “despite claims he drew the biggest crowds in presidential history, Mr Obama actually had 19 per cent more viewers – 37.8 million people – watched his 2009 inauguration, according to Nielsen.”
Additionally, “Nearly 28 million Americans watched Mr Trump’s Afghanistan speech on Monday [August 21, 2017], 32 per cent fewer viewers than Mr Obama’s in 2009.”
Trump’s “first address to Congress on 28 February drew 47.7 million viewers, compared to Mr Obama’s in 2009 which saw 52.4 million viewers tune in.”
Try as he might, the facts and the polls clearly demonstrate that Trump will never receive the success and adulation that Obama has consistently received.
- Source Links – August 29, 2020
- About Pat Warde: Eulogy Tribute by Eleanor Hughes – April 1, 2019
- Editorial Note – January 15, 2019
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