१० ऑगस्ट, २०२१

"Doing his best Mussolini imitation, he took off his mask in a macho display of invulnerability. He clenched his teeth and jutted out his jaw..."

"... just as my grandmother did when she was biting back anger or clamping down on her pain. In Donald, I saw the latter.... I have asthma, so I am acutely aware of what it looks like when somebody is struggling to breathe. He was in pain, he was afraid, but he would never admit that to anybody – not even himself. Because, as always, the consequences of admitting vulnerability were much more frightening to him than being honest."

Mary Trump has a new book, quoted in "Trump was ‘in pain and afraid’ during post-Covid display of bravado, niece’s book says/Mary Trump’s new book The Reckoning, seen by the Guardian, describes a national trauma worsened by her uncle" (The Guardian).

What is the value of Mary Trump's writing? The writing style isn't horrible, but she didn't have access to him. She was just watching him on television like the rest of us, right? Purporting to know the workings of his mind makes her less credible than those of us who would add phrases like "I think" to assertions like "he was afraid" or who would change that "was" to "looked." 

There are other efforts to bolster her authority. In that brief passage, I note "just as my grandmother did" and "I have asthma." Let's examine those 2 notions. 

1. "just as my grandmother did" — This must be a reference to Mary's grandmother who was the mother of Donald Trump. Mary has observed her grandmother and perhaps knows a style of holding her mouth and can say that Donald Trump's mouth has the same look. She implies that there are family mouth positions and other members of the family know what they mean. So Mary has special expertise at watching Donald Trump on television.

2. "I have asthma" — Mary claims a sort of medical expertise: "I am acutely aware of what it looks like when somebody is struggling to breathe." Really? You're aware of "what it looks like"? No, you're not looking at yourself when you are having an asthma attack. You are acutely aware of what it feels like, not what it looks like. Unless you do your asthma attacks in front of a mirror.

ADDED: I could write a book about Mary's book, in which I use Mary's approach to observational expertise against her. I would go through the book paragraph by paragraph and find every turn of phrase that I can characterize as evidence of the traits that she finds in Donald Trump and I would repetitively bolster my points by reminding the reader that Mary and Donald belong to the same family, so we can presume these are family traits. Whatever she says about him I can observe in her, and the only evidence I will need is her own book.

२९ टिप्पण्या:

Anon म्हणाले...

When she has established her anti-Trump bona fides with, "Doing his best Mussolini imitation, he took off his mask in a macho display of invulnerability," does she need any further "authority"?

A further Althousian question might be: what and who is this writing for? Why is it published, and publicized, and consumed somewhat eagerly by some people? Cui bono?

Leland म्हणाले...

"What is the value of Mary Trump's writing?"

She has legal use of the name "Trump" to sell books.

Temujin म्हणाले...

I have asthma as well and have had it since childhood. I've not once stood to look at myself in the mirror fighting for air. I don't have it much as an adult, but even so I could not tell you what the look would be or if there even is a look of asthma. (reminds me of the song, "Look of Love":The look...of asthma, is in your eyes....".) After his post-covid speech, there were reams of articles claiming that Trump was acting out as Mussolini or some such dictator and that's just who he is and how he thinks.

And many of us called that bullshit. Mary apparently liked the Mussolini comparison and used it here. But to me, and I'm just a simple man, Trump was going to put on a show of strength to let Americans know that getting the disease is not a death warrant, and that with the proper care and allowance for a drug cocktail that works, we can survive it. Doesn't sound dictatorial to me, but then I'm not as sophisticated as those who attend parties on Martha's Vineyard.

It was a show of optimism from an optimistic guy. The Left hates optimism. Optimism doesn't elicit hand-wringing and there is no activity more treasured by those on the Left than hand-wringing.

Mike (MJB Wolf) म्हणाले...

Salient points Althouse. Mary, like Stormy and Anonymous and Avenatti, will be discarded by The Media Monolith just as soon as the Left has wrung the last useful quote from them or they flame out and are memory-holed like Abortion Barbie and the fierce moral urgency (the Ldft is always insistent that things are urgent) of Cindy Sheehan. “15-minutes of fame” is the only ‘60s era prediction I can recall coming true.

Mark म्हणाले...

Donald Trump certainly does bring out the knee-jerk animus in some people, doesn't he?

Patrick Henry was right! म्हणाले...

There is a name for this stuff, it's right at the tip of my tongue...... wait, I think it's agitprop. Maybe Big Lie works, too. If the leftist establishment could, just once, argue policy regarding President Trump. But they can't.

Charlie म्हणाले...

Too bad the media isn't interested in Joe Biden's family. I guess we're all just going to ignore his son and his brother (to name two) and the treasure trove of private info we have on them?

Joe Smith म्हणाले...

Who reads this crap? She shares the same last name, and by all accounts they are not close by any means. I have cousins I haven't seen in decades, not because of any animosity, but just because of life. I would never think to write anything about their lives of which I know nothing, let alone anything judgmental and for profit.

This only bolsters my opinion that the best thing to be in life is extremely rich and extremely anonymous.

Readering म्हणाले...

I guess when your first book sells more than a million copies, and its subject remains in the news bigly, agents use their powers of persuasion on you. I didn't get the first one, but I've had several people tell me it's a good read.

Dave Begley म्हणाले...

Mary Trump is just filling a market need for Trump hating books based upon speculation and gossip. It's a big market.

Got to make hay while the sun shines.

I soon expect her to be on MSNBC pimping her book.

Ron Winkleheimer म्हणाले...

If he was afraid and in pain he was correct to keep it to himself. He was the President, showing fear would be likely lead to panic. In all the leadership classes I attended while I was in the military not once was I advised to let my subordinates see me cower in fear in order to inspire them to bravery.

Chuck म्हणाले...

There would be two things that Mary Trump's book has, that an Althouse book about Mary Trump's book would never have.

One is that unlike Mary Trump, Althouse have a lifetime of knowledge about Mary (or Donald) Trump's family, with the attendant first-hand experience of the family's (and Donald's) personal responses to certain dramas, tragedies, milestones and conflicts.

The other is that unlike Mary Trump, Althouse does not possess a PhD in clinical psychology, with years of experience in psychological counseling, research and writing.

I am not suggesting that Mary Trump's book -- or anyone else's book -- is beyond criticism. And Althouse is an excellent critic of things like Mary Trump books. Which brings us to a subject that Althouse has blogged before; the American Psychiatric Association's "Goldwater Rule." (Mary Trump is not an MD psyciatrist; the American Psychological Association has no "Goldwater Rule." I always had considerable respect for the Rule, particularly as I was a fan of Senator Goldwater and thought that the one-off 1964 Fact Magazine hit piece on him (a survey, basically) was garbage. A 30-year career in the Senate, 20 years in the Air Force, a candidate for the Presidency and decades on the national stage; all proved how non-psychopathic Goldwater was.

But the claims of Donald Trump's psychopathologies are not limited to just a single magazine survey of 1187 practitioners. We have now seen years of Trump in public life, including some exposures of his private life. The Goldwater Rule notwithstanding, I think that there would be broad agreement among clinical psychological professionals that Donald J. Trump suffers from a mental disease or disorder. Worth at least some investigation. And yet I pride myself on intellectual consistency, so it is difficult for me to suggest that the Goldwater Rule should have been applied to Barry Goldwater but not Donald Trump.

The Lawfare blog posted an interesting review of the book by Dr. Bandy X. Lee about Trump's psyche; I'm not comfortable with all of the review, but it's worthwhile in advancing the discussion:

https://www.lawfareblog.com/psychiatrists-goldwater-rule-trump-era

Chuck म्हणाले...

Dave Begley said...
...
I soon expect her to be on MSNBC pimping her book.


That started a week ago.

https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/watch/trump-s-niece-mary-trump-calls-former-president-much-worse-than-a-sociopath-in-new-book-118020677789

Fox is pimping Tucker Carlson's upcoming book before it is even released.

Chris Lopes म्हणाले...

I would think that after the first book her access to the Donald and family would be limited. Therefore, her "insights" into his current state of mind are suspect.

Dave Begley म्हणाले...

FWIW, it is collateral stuff like this which will probably cause me to vote for DeSantis. There is too much TDS baggage with Trump. With DeSantis, the Fake News and Dems will have to invent drama e.g. tax returns, Russia.

Jerry म्हणाले...

@Ron Winkleheimer - "If he was afraid and in pain he was correct to keep it to himself. He was the President, showing fear would be likely lead to panic."

Very true. He was elected to a leadership position, and he did a good job leading, IMO. To project fear and uncertainty may have been what the media wanted, so they could establish a narrative that he was completely unsuited to manage the crisis and we needed someone like Fauci or Cuomo running it all.

And that... wow. Wouldn't THAT have upped the death count?

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves म्हणाले...

ah - more jerkyboy hearsay for the Trump obsessed hate filled left.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves म्हणाले...

Temujin-
That cocktail of drugs was drowned in the bathtub like an unwanted baby by the collective left because and only because - Trump said the drug therapy worked.

Same reason the collective left placed "law and order" in the trash can. Trump said he was for it.

Mikey NTH म्हणाले...

To me, this is very odd, this combination of fear and hate focused on Donald Trump. I get this idea that there is a need in the media that this fulfills. It must be terrible to be so dependent on hate and fear that way. How did these people get to the position that they need a focus for their daily hit of hate and fear?

Yancey Ward म्हणाले...

Temujin beat me to it- there was at least one article, and probably dozens of others, that described Trump's appearance at the White House balcony as Mussoliniesque.

I don't know what kind of person would pay for this book- probably Chuck.

wendybar म्हणाले...

The Democrats don't care. She hates Uncle Trump, so she is important to them. Talk about group think. Mary needs to grow up and get a life...and stop being jealous of the rest of the Trump family.

wendybar म्हणाले...

Chuck said "But the claims of Donald Trump's psychopathologies are not limited to just a single magazine survey of 1187 practitioners. We have now seen years of Trump in public life, including some exposures of his private life. The Goldwater Rule notwithstanding, I think that there would be broad agreement among clinical psychological professionals that Donald J. Trump suffers from a mental disease or disorder. "

Now do Biden.

Pianoman म्हणाले...

Mikey NTH said: "I get this idea that there is a need in the media that this fulfills. It must be terrible to be so dependent on hate and fear that way. How did these people get to the position that they need a focus for their daily hit of hate and fear?"

See "1984", specifically the parts about Emmanuel Goldstein and the Two Minute Hate.

John henry म्हणाले...

The insane (Goldwater rule? We don't need no Goldwater rule) fear of our once and future president is endlessly entertaining.

Chuck म्हणाले...

wendybar said...
...

Now do Biden.


I'd love to. But this is a new, cleaner, Althouse commenting era. And going pretty well, I'd say. So invite me to another forum that you know of, to do that. (Preview; you may suggest that Biden is a senile old tool. And I will laughingly respond that Trump lost to that senile old tool.)

Critter म्हणाले...

Mary Trump only amplifies her perception and the perception of those on the left who read her that Donald Trump is a great man. Don't be fooled by her putdowns. One doesn't write such drivel about an uninteresting and unimportant man.

Chris Lopes म्हणाले...

Just in case Chuck missed it, Biden is the president now. Orange the Clown, for all his faults, is a private citizen all mentally healthy people can ignore. Grampa Simpson on the other hand, has the ability to start World War 3. I know whose mental health I'm more interested in.

StephenFearby म्हणाले...

Chuck said...

"...The other is that unlike Mary Trump, Althouse does not possess a PhD in clinical psychology, with years of experience in psychological counseling, research and writing."

Chuck inferreth too much. Mary Trump doesn't have "years of experience in psychological counseling" because she would need a state license to do that. In New York State, among other things, that requires a year of supervised training after obtaining a Ph.D. degree:

"...In addition, New York psychologists have completed two years of supervised experience, including one year after the doctoral degree. They have also passed a national licensing exam."

http://www.op.nysed.gov/prof/psych/psychbroch.htm

Since Mary never bothered to do that, she never received a license to practice psychology.

Instead, (from a 2020 biographical article in Forbes): "According to a LinkedIn profile that has since been disabled, Mary Trump works as a certified professional life coach and served as the chief executive officer of The Trump Coaching Group, a New-York based life coaching company she started in 2012; her level of involvement in the coaching group today is not immediately clear."

https://tinyurl.com/445xe2cu

Advertising yourself as a "Life Coach" doesn't require a license in the State of New York. Neither does calling yourself an Astrologer.

Diploma Mills issue Professional Life Coach Certifications. There are lots of them out there, in case anyone is interested.

Robert Cook म्हणाले...

"Donald Trump certainly does bring out the knee-jerk animus in some people, doesn't he?"

You shouldn't assume all the animus against Trump is knee-jerk. He's had decades in public and business life to create well-founded animus among many who have dealt with him,(such as the many employees, contractors, lawyers, and assorted business partners who say he has stiffed them out of pay over the years and have sued him for compensation).