My reaction to this:
President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday appeared as if he never ended his campaign, attacking “the extremely dishonest media,” boasting about his “landslide” victory, and dashing speculation he might pivot and start acting like a president. At a rally in Ohio billed as the beginning of a “thank-you tour,” Trump repeatedly pledged to unite the country and “find common ground.” But his rhetoric, almost word for word, matched the raucous and incendiary rallies of his campaign. from Huffington Post
From: Trump ‘Thank-You Tour’ Revives His Campaign Rallies’ Scariest Hits: He told some lies and attacked the media — pretty much like he did before he won the election.
Thank goodness Trump can't act. The Trump you see is the Trump that is. If he could "act" presidential he'd still be the same Trump we saw throughout the campaign, in his Tweetstorms, insults, thin skinned personality, lies and so on, and on, and on. If he could act presidential many, perhaps most people, would engage in wishful thinking.
Unless they're depressed, most people are optimists. Even people struggling to get by economically buy lottery tickets. This is the time for pessimism among progressives, because that is the only way you can feel when you are a realist. Even many Trump supporters, now reveling in joy, would be pessimistcs if they knew anything about what it will be like even for them to live in a faciscist state run by a demagog. They think their lives will be better. They aren't even sure what better means beyond feeling that they, as less educated whites, will be able to maintain the illusion that they are superior.
They have fallen for the con, they are under the thrall of someone they see as their savior. They easily dismissed his pussy grabbing, supported his racist and xenophobic rants, didn't care that he was living a hedonistic and gaudy lifestile that reeks of ostenatious privilege.
They don't care that he is bilking the tax payers by keeping his wife and son at Trump Towers, and they don't care about the conflicts of interest between his presidency and this businesses. In fact, if you add up all the reasons Democrats thought would derail his campaign, for those who voted for him they added up to zero.
As I watch MSNBC I find that it seems to finally be dawning on commentators that the campaigning Trump was the act, a brilliant strategy to put together a coalition of deplorables and decent Republicans who didn’t believe that raving rally egotist could be a real life person. It had to be a schtick, nobody who could be a success in business could be so addicted to the adoration of the crowd.
Now it’s only a matter of time for those rational Republicans who supported him to have a well deserved case of buyer’s remorse.
Now its time for Democrats to prepare for the worst case, 33 years late, 1984 is coming.
Now it’s time for the media to get serious