So, a discussion of Trump and the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks can start with either his narcissism or his dishonesty. It certainly can’t be about a solemn expression of commemoration, nor of any act of honesty or genuine national unity.
So, I guess it is on to first the narcissism, as reported by the NYT: Trump Plans to Mark 9/11 at the Pentagon, Not Ground Zero.
President Trump is not planning to attend a ceremony in Manhattan for the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, in part because he wanted to deliver a speech and the annual event has long barred remarks, according to four people with knowledge of the events.
[…]
The president’s interest in speaking on Sept. 11 was conveyed to memorial planners in recent weeks, three of the people with knowledge of the events said. But since 2012, politicians have been barred from speaking at the site. The National September 11 Memorial and Museum, which oversees the site, has worked rigorously to keep the venue nonpartisan and focused on the solemnity of the day.
Mr. Trump, a native New Yorker who talked often about the Sept. 11 attacks during his 2016 presidential campaign, is now expected to commemorate them at the Pentagon, two of the people with knowledge of the events said. The Pentagon also came under attack on Sept. 11, 2001.
So, as a general matter, commemorating the events of that day in New York, at the Pentagon, or in Pennsylvania would be appropriate. However, there are two major problems, in my view, with his approach; both underscore Trump’s deep narcissism.
First, this was an opportunity to join with the other living presidents in a moment of national unity. But, of course, we don’t do national unity in the era of Trump, and we certainly never expect him to serve his role as the leader of the nation as a whole, rather than his party (or his faction thereof, i.e., “real America”) or, really, just himself.
Of course, just sitting with the other presidents would have required Trump to acknowledge he is just one small piece of the broader American story, and he isn’t going to do that.
Second, the notion that he has to speak as part of this commemoration is astoundingly self-centered on a day, and as part of events, that are supposed to be memorials for the dead. It seems worth emphasizing that he just finished two days of a convention rally wherein he was the focus. If he had something worthwhile to say about 9/11, he just had a very public mic. Indeed, as president, he can pretty much make a speech any time he wants, so having to hog attention on a day of commemoration is a glaring example of his lack of character and his utterly narcissistic personality.
But, of course, here’s Trump narcissism on display twenty-five years ago.
He has always been exactly who many of us keep saying he is.
And then there are the lies about his relationship with 9/11. See the following:
- Trump’s Top 10 9/11 Lies
- Ground Zero construction crews, firefighter hoist: Fact-checking Trump’s 9/11 response stories
There is an amazing amount of pure fabulism in those links. It is the kind of stuff that would make you seriously concerned, if not fearful, if your neighbor or relative was spouting it, but hey, if the President of the United States does it, it’s just Friday. No big!
Here’s the latest:
I totally agree with Lisa Neeham writing at Public Notice: The muted response to Trump 9/11 fantasy is a media failure.
The mainstream media is, unsurprisingly, not covering itself in glory as it struggles to avoid saying that either the president’s brain has completely left the station or that he’s a mendacious liar who knows no bounds, or both.
So the Washington Post went with saying that Trump was repeating his “disputed account of his role in recovery.” The New York Times went with calling this slop “a series of questionable and provocative statements to burnish his political brand.”
[…]
In the end, it doesn’t really matter what is going on inside Trump’s skull. The words coming out of his mouth are what matters, and they show a man completely deluded, characterologically unable to tell the truth, awash in fictions of his own making. And as long as he’s surrounded by people who will let him live in that world, we’re all stuck in here with him.
And, sadly, we are seeing on a daily basis the cost of allowing such a person to be the president, not once, but twice.
It will come as no shock that there are reports that he dozed off this morning while attending the Pentagon ceremony.
It would be nice if the massive weight of the narcissism and lies (and not just about this topic) would open the eyes of millions, but instead it is such a ridiculously huge mass that many people, including the mass media, just ignore it.
