Donald Trump needed to look and act presidential last night. That’s what the pundits said. And we all know he failed spectacularly.
Or did he? Don’t get me wrong: it’s clear he absolutely didn’t look or act presidential last night. He looked and acted like a know-nothing buffoon. The antithesis of the competent public servant.
But I submit to you: That is exactly what he wanted to be.
That’s his entire campaign pitch, after all: Donald Trump is Not a Politician! What support he has garnered (aside from racists and Islamophobes) is because he isn’t a politician; he doesn’t act like a politician, doesn’t talk like a politician, doesn’t look like a politician. Why would he risk that rabid support by all of a sudden acting, talking, and looking like the very politicians he’s been railing against for more than a year?
Politicians, Trump says, are weak. Trump, then, is strong. Politicians are ineffective; Trump will get things done. Politicians never say what they really think; Trump says everything he really thinks. Politicians don’t understand business; Trump is a successful businessman who understands business better than anyone. Politicians compromise; Trump, never.
And politicians practice for their debates. They study policy. They research issues. They consult experts. They respect their opponents. They speak in calm, measured tones.
So why would Trump do any of that? To do that would be to contradict the primary message of his campaign, and that is: “I am not a politician”.
So he didn’t fail last night, not from his perspective, or the perspective of his supporters. He succeeded, bigly, because he was Not a Politician.