We hear it again and again both from Trump surrogates and both Democratic and supposed neutral commentators. “Trump has to start acting presidential.”
His diehard fans like him the way he is. They like the real Trump. Hell, some of them love him. I use the word “fans” because the people like those we see and hear in his rallies are best described as fans rather than only as supporters.
Politician or not, we all act. We adopt various personas depending on the social situation we’re in. Some people rarely if ever reveal their true selves. The most transparent people are seen as genuine and natural. They rarely have to act.
Hillary Clinton is learning to act more effectively in front of an audience. It’s not a stretch because her presentation isn’t far from her true self. When she’s excited or angry she tends to raise her voice, and this doesn’t go over well when speaking into a microphone. To some people she sounds strident.
Trump’s presentation is an act too. It’s a schtick not unlike a rant from D list comedian Gilbert Gottfried combined with hostility that makes Don Rickles look like your kindly uncle. He’s like a stand-up comedian who feeds off the crowd.
Every time I turn on the TV or radio I hear talk about whether or not Trump will be able to act more presidential. How gullible can anybody be to believe Trump wouldn’t still be the still unbalanced and unhinged man he is even if he morphed into Raymond Massey or Daniel Day-Lewis (portraying Abraham Lincoln), Ralph Bellamy or Kenneth Branagh (as FDR), or the many actors from Henry Fonda to Martin Sheen who played fictional presidents