BERLIN — I think it was in the final chorus of Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer,” perhaps during the third or fourth time that it played over the loud speaker in Stephen Decatur High School’s gymnasium that I fully appreciated the grandiosity of Donald Trump and his impact on the political world.
As each classic rock hit ended, there was a sudden rush of anticipation that you could literally feel in the crowd as thousands of people simultaneously craned their necks and their cell phones towards stage left where the GOP frontrunner was set to emerge. The pungent concoction of excitement, body odor and patriotism filled the hot room and the temperature only intensified the moment Donald Trump took the stage.
While there were many in attendance who were undoubtedly there to see their choice for the next president of the United States, and others who were there primarily to voice their opposition to the idea of “President Trump,” there were many more who were only there for the sheer spectacle of it all.
As I stood in the crowd after slipping past security in the media barracks, I nestled into the crowd near a group of young African-American girls who were busy taking selfies with Trump’s podium in the background.
I asked them why they were there?
“He’s famous,” said one girl.
“He was on television,” said another.
When I asked them about their feelings about some of the disparaging remarks Trump has made toward women and minorities in the past, their response was quick and somewhat surprising: “uh, we don’t know anything about that.”
I’ve been to many campaign rallies in my years as a journalist and being at a Trump rally is kind of like being on set of a reality show, getting front row seats to a monster truck rally or watching the WWE on television.
It’s a spectacle, and it’s impossible to look away.
Donald Trump is an unbelievable showman. He played to the crowd better than many rock-n-roll frontmen that I’ve ever seen with a charisma that is part Tony Soprano, part Mick Jagger and part Stone Cold Steve Austin. Yet, whether or not his ideals or his personality would make him a good president is another question entirely. The question I kept asking during his speech was “how?” I think a good candidate for the highest office in the land should state what they want to do and then immediately say how they are going to pay for it, and other than the “we-are-going-to-build-a-wall-and-Mexico-is-gonna-pay-for-it” bit, Trump’s speech was devoid of details about how he is going to live up to any of his promises.
But, that didn’t seem to matter. It was more “what he said” which immediately led to raucous applause and not “how he’ll do it,” which would have taken much more time, and that would’ve taken the life out of the crowd. Sadly, this unfortunate fact makes Trump very much like the “establishment politicians” that he often criticizes. His celebrity supersedes his policy, but the sheer brightness of his celebrity has made politics entertaining again, and we love to be entertained. It’s about the show, and Trump, more than any political figure in recent memory, puts on one hell of a show.
All the sights and sounds that have become Trump rally “mainstays” were there: lines of thousands waiting to get in, hundreds of red “Make America Great Again” hats, sleeveless gun lovers in camouflage, people being escorted out of the building, and chants of “Trump, Trump, Trump” and “build that wall” echoing throughout the crowded hall.
On a night when someone as famous as Donald Trump, who also happens to have a double digit lead in the GOP Presidential race, comes to our small coastal community, the Decatur bro-dawgs who melted like 15-year-old “Beliebers” when Trump gave them a nod to their “build that wall” chant with a “thanks guys” were put on par with a notable elected official in the VIP seating area who was snapping selfies and pictures for his social media feeds like his grandkids likely do.
Truly, Trump unified this community to get off its collective you know what’s and react to the fact that he was gracing our community with his presence, and the promise that maybe we all could get on television for a brief moment and warm ourselves in the glow of his celebrity.
Whether or not you want Donald Trump to be president is of no matter. That’s your business and your right as an American. Either way, you have to appreciate the sheer spectacle of it all, and realize that our country’s political process has shifted from the usual horse race to something that kind of resembles “Celebrity Death Match.”
Donald Trump told the crowd, “you are going to remember this night,” and he is undoubtedly correct.
He came to our little town, he riled up his supporters and his haters equally, and unknowingly posed in the background of many people’s selfies, and camera phone pictures.
Perhaps, the real question is how many retweets did your selfie get on social media?
Hopefully, your numbers were “yooge.”