The Atlantic

Trump Is a Secessionist From the Top

The president proved once again that he regards himself as a wartime leader of Red America against Blue America.
Source: DOUG MILLS / AFP / Getty

President Trump read a boring speech badly last night. The long recitation was punctuated by odd comprehension errors. At one point, “walled-off cities and communities” came out sounding like “Waldorf cities and communities.”

Through most of the long recitation, the members of the partisan crowd seemed quiet, even listless. But there were rare sparks of enthusiasm, moments when Trump excited them. Near the end of the hour-long address, Trump intoned: “This November, we must turn the page on this failed political class. The fact is, I’m here”—and suddenly, he , turned theatrically to his left, and extended his hand toward the South Front of the White House. “What’s the name of that building?” he extemporized, and the crowd cheered, laughed, and whistled. here—and they’re not." Louder cheers, standing ovation.

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Atlantic

The Atlantic4 min read
Hayao Miyazaki’s Anti-war Fantasia
Once, in a windowless conference room, I got into an argument with a minor Japanese-government official about Hayao Miyazaki. This was in 2017, three years after the director had announced his latest retirement from filmmaking. His final project was
The Atlantic7 min readAmerican Government
The Americans Who Need Chaos
This is Work in Progress, a newsletter about work, technology, and how to solve some of America’s biggest problems. Sign up here. Several years ago, the political scientist Michael Bang Petersen, who is based in Denmark, wanted to understand why peop
The Atlantic4 min read
KitchenAid Did It Right 87 Years Ago
My KitchenAid stand mixer is older than I am. My dad bought the white-enameled machine 35 years ago, during a brief first marriage. The bits of batter crusted into its cracks could be from the pasta I made yesterday or from the bread he made then. I

Related Books & Audiobooks