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Irish Times

Trump's perfectly landed swear word was his best performance yet

It's been nearly a year since a gunman attempted to assassinate Donald Trump , leading to the most memorable photo op of all time. It left me considering a similar Trumpian superlative: is he the greatest media performer of the 21st century? I have seen little since to disabuse me of the notion: the YMCA, the McDonald's stunt, the nutty Truth Social posts that cut through and generate their own column inches in newspapers. It's a self-sustaining, organic whirlpool of attention. And on Tuesday he gave the world his best performance yet. Standing on a lawn in front of a helicopter, unable to corral his anger at Israel breaking the terms of a ceasefire hours after it was brokered, he told reporters: 'We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the f**k they're doing.' It at least made this writer – no acolyte of Trump – mutter, 'You know what? Fair enough.' Trump's speeches are convoluted, confused, long-winded, undulating and lack any beginning, narrative arc or obvious end point. These are not the traditional characteristics of a great speaker. His writing is frenetic and too reliant on the CAPS LOCK BUTTON to demarcate him as a great literary talent, or even a competent one. And yet it is impossible to look away. Pages are dedicated to parsing his social media posts. When he speaks, everyone listens – in a way that was not true of Joe Biden , as just one example. So what is the secret? He is funny – the nicknames for political opponents may be puerile but they do elicit a smirk. He is casual – you could hardly say many of his rhetorical interventions feel scripted, or prepared. He is extraordinarily rude – a recent screed about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez read: 'Stupid AOC, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the 'dumbest' people in Congress, is now calling for my Impeachment, despite the fact that the Crooked and Corrupt Democrats have already done that twice before.' READ MORE 'Funny' and 'casual' might be desirable qualities in a friend. 'Extraordinarily rude' is an undesirable trait in anyone. All three at once in a politician of Trump's rank? Is that genuinely unprecedented? But more importantly than all that, as far as his fans are concerned, Trump never veers towards the worthy or po-faced. He does not launch moralising invectives. He is not burdened by a humourlessness otherwise endemic to the Democrats, the Irish left, and indeed the left almost everywhere else. I suspect the left – unless they sort this out – will be condemned to trail in the populist right's wake for eternity. Take the Social Democrats in Ireland. The party should be sweeping at the ballot box: there is a young captive audience who lean in its political direction. On Gaza alone they could galvanise large numbers, not to mention cost of living, housing, and their leftish side of the culture wars. And yet the party couldn't even make 5 per cent in last November's election (if this is the Soc Dems' best ever electoral performance, something significant has to change). [ The idea that the Kremlin has kompromat on Trump seems increasingly plausible Opens in new window ] I am thinking of Holly Cairns 's speech at the Social Democrats' conference last year. She is presentable, sharp, professional and oh so worthy (furrowed brow, enumerating Ireland's failures, I did not laugh). In fact, all the Soc Dems are so rhetorically staid they somehow manage to make the top brass of Fianna Fáil look like raconteurs. This is a shame: first, because it is not inevitable that the left be devoid of fun while the right hoovers up attention; second, because it is an act of political self-harm. [ 'I couldn't think of anything worse to attend': Some Opposition TDs snub invite to US Independence Day celebration Opens in new window ] And now look to London: Keir Starmer's Labour is nearly as unpopular as the moribund Conservative Party , only one year into office. There are plenty of reasons: flip-flopping on welfare; an insurgent Nigel Farage ; running a government full of MPs who are very used to opposition and completely unfamiliar with power. But the scaffolding holding this coalition of bad qualities together is Starmer's buttoned up, staid, uninspired method of talking. There is no story, no tie-loosening, no flair; there are no jokes. Donald Trump expressed frustration at Iran-Israel ceasefire violations, by dropping the 'F' word when being questioned by media on the White House lawn And back to Trump, who disarms the viewer and demands their attention because he subverts expectations. He feels like a person – an odd one, no doubt – more than a media-trained politician. And with all of that he exposes the staggering rhetorical limitations of the Democrats . They lost last year because the establishment conspired to keep Biden in position way longer than was ever suitable. But they are still losing now because they cannot speak to the country like Trump. Either they don't know how, or they will not permit themselves to. Trump's rhetorical talent is not something to be celebrated. He has taken a sledgehammer to European security, political propriety and American civil norms. That he does this all with a wink and a wry smile and a perfectly landed swear word is impressive – and disarming. Changing language will not rescue the politics. But the left – or the centre, or even the centre-right – can meet the threat of the populist right with a bit of a lighter tone, a joke or two, and less moral posture. You can ventriloquise the problems of a nation without a permanently furrowed brow; it is not illegal to crack a smile.