A man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest.— Simon and Garfunkel, “The Boxer” (1970)
No one could say that Donald Trump has not made politics interesting. In so doing, he may well have distorted it, mangling its practice with ingredients of corrupting alt-reality. That same process has seen a distinct cheapening as well, but it could not be anything else.
Trump has revealed, within political practice, the virus that has afflicted it, the theatre that takes place from the White House, to Congress, to the Deep State. Life may be a stage, but Trumpland is a flickering pantomime, destroying any pretence of virtue in politics. There are only positions, opponents, and resolutions through bullying force.
The entertainment reality show got another instalment on Thursday with the testimony of former FBI director James Comey before members of the Senate intelligence committee. The various birds of prey wishing to find smoking carrion were left only partially satisfied. The Republicans were left confused, and the right wing media felt that Trump had been exonerated. There was something for everyone.
Comey did serve a few titbits, and in a political environment rich with conspiracy and assumption, these were converted into main courses. He did not, for instance, suggest that Trump was literally the subject of a counterintelligence investigation (go for the “satellites”, urged the former director), but garnished it with the following:
As I…