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The cruelty is the point, party edition
There’s been plenty of scathing commentary about the
lavish, Great Gatsby-themed Halloween party Donald Trump threw at Mar a Lago
— a party complete with sequined, feathered dancers and, yes, a scantily-clad
woman in a giant martini glass. The party, held just hours before 42 million
Americans were about to lose federal food assistance, as 1.4 million federal workers are going without pay,
was grotesque. It was also, like everything Trump, unspeakably vulgar. But many commenters described the festivities as
“tone deaf,” as if Trump didn’t realize how it would look to be holding such
a party as tens of millions of Americans are facing severe hardship. C’mon.
Of course he realized how it would look. He understood perfectly well that he
was partying while ordinary Americans were suffering. And that understanding
— combined with the belief that he can get away with it — was a big reason he
enjoyed the event. During Trump’s first term Adam Serwer wrote a justly
celebrated article for The Atlantic titled “The cruelty is the point.” He argued that cruelty,
and the joy some people take from inflicting cruelty, are what bind Trump’s
most loyal supporters to him: Trump’s only true skill is the con; his only fundamental
belief is that the United States is the birthright of straight, white,
Christian men, and his only real, authentic pleasure is in cruelty. It is
that cruelty, and the delight it brings them, that binds his most ardent
supporters to him, in shared scorn for those they hate and fear: immigrants,
black voters, feminists, and treasonous white men who empathize with any of
those who would steal their birthright. The president’s ability to execute
that cruelty through word and deed makes them euphoric. It makes them feel
good, it makes them feel proud, it makes them feel happy, it makes them feel
united. Serwer was thinking of working-class and middle-class
Trump supporters, many of whom are voting against their own economic
interests. But you can see the same joy in cruelty, not just in Trump, but in
most of his top minions, from Stephen Miller and JD Vance to Tom Homans,
Kristi Noem, Pam Bondi and Pete Hegseth. All of them clearly take a smirking
satisfaction in their ability to stick it to the poor and powerless. What about the guests at the party? What about the
oligarchs abasing themselves at Trump’s feet? Some of them may share in the
cruelty of Trump’s inner circle. Most probably just don’t care about other
people’s suffering, certainly not enough to risk Trump’s wrath by protesting
or even failing to show up. So, to repeat, the party at Mar a Lago wasn’t a case of
tone deafness, living it up despite others’ suffering. It was in large part a
party held to celebrate others’ suffering. As it happens, the obscenity in Florida took place at
a time when a number of centrist pundits were engaging in their favorite
sport, berating Democrats for being out of touch with ordinary Americans. As
usual, their critique seems to be aimed at a right-wing caricature of the
party rather than actually existing Democrats. But in any case, has any
important Democrat ever done anything as remotely out of touch as Trump’s
Halloween bash? Will Trump and his friends pay any political price
for this gross exercise in arrogance? They may believe that soon they won’t
have to care what voters think. MAGA probably won’t be able to rig today’s
vote, but it may believe that it will have thoroughly undermined democracy by
the time the midterms roll around. In any case, what’s remarkable and depressing is how
successful so-called “populists” have been despite their obvious contempt for
the little people. |
