RUTHFULLY YOURS

Although Tulsi Gabbard, a woman, remains in the race, the Democrats are assiduously ignoring her. As far as Democrats in both politics and the media are concerned, Elizabeth Warren was the last woman standing in the Democrat primary race and now she’s gone. With her departure, they are falling back on the old standby, which is that it was sexism that brought Warren down (never mind that the sexism, if it exists, is confined to Democrats).

During a press conference at the White House before President Trump left to visit Tennessee following the horrific tornadoes, a reporter asked the President if he thought sexism accounted for Warren’s downfall. Trump’s answer was blunt – and, typically, quite funny too:

REPORTER: Do you think sexism was a factor in Elizabeth Warren pulling out and do you think you will see a female president in your lifetime?

TRUMP: No, I think lack of talent was her problem. She had a tremendous lack of talent. She was a good debater. She destroyed Mike Bloomberg very quickly like it was nothing. That was easy for her. But people don’t like her. She’s a very mean person, and people don’t like her. People don’t want that. They like a person like me, that’s not mean.

Trump, of course, is correct. Warren always had the air of a scolding schoolmarm about her. Despite the light, fluffy voice, she was right, you were wrong, and she was going to put you in your place and tell you how to do things. Warren didn’t sound like a leader; she sounded like a know-it-all, the type of person you dread having as your teacher or team leader. And that was when she wasn’t mean.

Elizabeth Warren’s attacks on Mike Bloomberg were cold and cruel. All the old words that have come down in the English language to describe mean women described her: She was a nasty, vicious, shrill, scolding harridan. Ultimately, the debate proved that Warren was Hillary Clinton’s sister in shrewishness. She was the bossy mom, the angry ex-wife, the vindictive female co-worker. She was every person’s nightmarish, mean woman.

Even as Warren successfully destroyed Bloomberg’s candidacy (and her attacks against him at the debates were the last nails in his candidacy’s coffin), she also effectively destroyed herself. She wasn’t a warrior; she was a witch.

A lot of people thought Trump undercut himself with his last remark – “They like a person like me, that’s not mean” – but he didn’t. Instead, he underlined the difference between himself and Warren.

First, as many have said of Trump and he has said of himself, he’s a counterpuncher. Warren, however, threw the first punch. Bloomberg was a political opponent, and she could have challenged him on ideological grounds or challenged his managerial style or effectiveness. But that’s not what Warren did. Out of the blue, she went straight for the jugular and gnawed away at it until he was bleeding on the debate stage. It was ugly, mean, and angry.

Second, Trump has a defter touch, which we saw in Thursday’s town hall. Trump, after referring to Biden’s most recent gaffes regarding Super Thursdays and millions of gun deaths, gave voice to what everyone is already thinking: “There’s something going on there.” He didn’t need to be vicious. That was enough.

Third, Trump is as willing to poke fun at himself as he is at anyone else. Most politicians take themselves very seriously. Trump doesn’t and his supporters understand that. Sure, he boasts about his accomplishments and extraordinary abilities, but Trump fans know that this is a persona. Salena Zito nailed it back in 2016 when she said, “[T]he press takes him literally, but not seriously; his supporters take him seriously, but not literally.”

We who like how Trump is conducting his presidency are in on the joke. He’s not always nice, but when he’s mean, it’s in service to the country, not in service to himself. That’s why it’s funny when he says he’s a nice guy – we fully understand that he isn’t always a nice guy, but we know that his barbs are always directed away from us and, instead, are targeted at those, both foreign and domestic, who wish us ill.

Once again, Trump nailed something fundamental about a political opponent, poked fun at himself, and entertained his supporters. He’s a rare bird, not always easy to understand, but always putting America first.