Rodney Hide
Rodney Hide is former ACT Party leader and minister in the National-ACT Government from 2008 to 2011.
I like Trump. A lot.
For a start, he is very funny.
He was interviewed at the National Association of Black Journalists convention. That alone was entertaining.
Then he said, “I respect either one but she [Kamala Harris] obviously doesn’t because she was Indian all the way and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a black person.”
Epic. And cue the outrage. He doesn’t appear to care. That is high-level trolling.
Trump is the most gifted communicator of a lifetime. His policy on immigration when he first ran: “Build a wall!” Genius.
In three short words he explained his policy. The media outrage amplified his reach until the entire world knew Trump’s policy.
Ask another politician what their policy is and you will get a string of platitudes and stock phrases. You will be none the wiser. With Trump, you knew where he stood. And the world knew.
Three short words.
He was asked how he would pay for his wall. “I will make Mexico pay!” Double genius. Trump is a master class in communication and persuasion.
His presidency was a success in delivering four years of peace and prosperity. That was despite him having to endure unrelenting hoax attacks from state agencies and legacy media. The lies about him were unrelenting.
His big mistake was his Covid response. That stains his report card.
Here in New Zealand Trump is regarded with distaste. My experience is that his critics still follow TV news and newspapers. There is no need to. We can listen to his speeches and interviews directly and follow his posts on social media. What he actually says stands in marked contrast to what is reported. The news constantly reports the very opposite of what Trump actually says.
Is Trump flawed? Oh yes. Deeply.
But our heroes always are. Think of Odysseus and Hercules.
It may be that heroes have to be flawed. It’s their very flaws that allow them to overcome the great challenges thrust upon them.
We have a legion of Hollywood westerns with flawed heroes. The typical story runs thus: The town has gone bad. Outlaws run the place. The sheriff and his deputies are outgunned and the townspeople are afraid. The town is lawless with the bullies in charge.
And then in rides the western hero, the man with no name who doesn’t say much. He is clearly dangerous. There is a foreboding menace about him.
The man with no name is a gunslinger. He can kill without mercy and he is very good at it. He is pushed by the bullies and retaliates to clean out the bad guys and restore peace to the town much to the joy of the townspeople.
The hero is a killer with a dark past. He is flawed, but skilful with his gun, and tough. And just like with the Greeks, it is his skill and his toughness along with his flaws that make the hero heroic.
Once order is restored the man with no name must ride off. The job is done. He is not fit company for a town at peace. There are families, wives and children. He unsettles the men. He is a killer. And so leave he must.
A cold-hearted killer is what the Hollywood west needs when there is killing to be done. But once the killing is done he is no longer needed nor wanted.
That to me is Trump. He is not a nice politician. But he is the politician needed to clean out the swamp.
The man with no name is not scared. Neither is Trump. And there is a hardness about Trump in dealing to his enemies that we have not seen before and that we are not used to. It is that hardness that is needed just now.
I note too that Trump is generous to the townsfolk and magnanimous in victory.
Trump is not riding alone. He has a gang this time. JD Vance, RFK jnr, Vivek Ramaswamey and Elon Musk.
It is an impressive line up. There is no doubt the DC bandits know what’s at stake and will do everything by fair means and foul to stop him. It’s a heck of a fight.
But he has my support for this alone: he is going to stop men entering women’s sport and therefore he will defend all women. For that alone, flaws and all, he has my support.
I am sure Mr Luxon is a nicer politician than Mr Trump but Mr Luxon stands idly by while women’s sport and our women are destroyed. I have had enough of the nice and the useless. Bring on the gunslinger.
This article was originally published by Bassett, Brash and Hide.
