Like so many people, I was horrified to see how reputable outlets like The New York Times framed Trump's push for the injection of chemicals. This framing is just lunacy and shows how far they're willing to go to frame his madness as legitimate.

3/
The truth is that the American presidency was transformed from an executive position to a symbolic embodiment of America, a really potent political manipulation that put the office above actual questioning as it became a symbol of America's greatness.

4/
The story, like so much of this, begins with Ronald Reagan, whose political apparatus specifically and openly strategized making Reagan the "embodiment of American myth" meaning any question of him was tantamount to treason.

5/
Reagan's campaign and presidency were focused attempts to reclaim what had been lost with Richard Nixon's public destruction. Reagan and his strategists sought to reinvigorate the presidency after that resignation and years worth of futility.

6/
With Jimmy Carter, America had a president who spoke openly and candidly about what was happening. He addressed specific issues and delivered hard truths to the country.

That...was not what Americans wanted. They wanted an inspiration metaphor, not actual leadership.

7/
Reagan offered an idealized, nonexistent America. He offered to Make American Great Again, in so many words.

Reagan was a metaphor without a reality. He sought to embody the aspirational America that had never existed and was, in truth, a living, breathing mascot.

8/
Again, the strategy of Reagan's campaign was to make him the embodiment of American myth and any opposition tantamount to treason.

This was written. Explicitly. Memos and memos of how the presidency should rise above a position and to the point of metaphor.

9/
Because Reagan was an actor and background in TV and movies, the presidency was treated like a television show, each day scripted, much like Trump wanted, as a program for public consumption.

Our media ate it up and transmitted these fake scenes.

10/
Reagan made for such better TV and copy than Jimmy Carter. Instead of actually addressing problems, it was a glamorous television show complete with scripted surprises and pep talks, all of it avoiding actual problems and turning the presidency into a product.

11/
The sad truth is that Reagan's presidency was a lot like Trump's. He lied constantly. Came to briefings unprepared, contradicted experts. But, because they had turned the presidency into a symbol of America, he was afforded a level of deference that gifted him legitimacy.

12/
Reagan's presidency set the terms. Presidents were to be mascots who championed the country's exceptionalism. They were judged based on that ability.

His successor George H.W. Bush was unable to continue that salesmanship, in part costing him a second term.

13/
Bill Clinton was an incredible salesman for American exceptionalism. His persona as a self-made man and continual reliance on quoting Ronald Reagan actually wrested control of Reagan to the Democrats for a short period of time.

14/
Clinton also relied on his ability to emote empathy, his presidency creating the position of the POTUS as the calming influence during tragedies like the OKC tragedy. The President was the spokesperson and public face of American exceptionalism and grief.

15/
Barack Obama was exceptional at all this. He constantly quoted and lionized Reagan and American Exceptionalism, giving proof to many that America's problems could be overcome and that the system could, at times, be fair.

16/
Of course, Obama was just as talented as Clinton as serving as the commander-in-grief, consoling the nation after a spate of tragic mass shootings.

The presidency was a guiding force through these tragedies and the role was cemented.

17/
Over this time, the symbols of the American presidency grew in stature and power. It didn't matter who stood behind it, the Seal of the Presidency granted legitimacy and, like Reagan's intention, meant that the President was the embodiment of America's goodness.

18/
Think of Trump hugging the American flag. A symbol. A piece of cloth. And yet, it's the American presidency personified. It is largely a ceremonial position synonymous with American greatness and unquestioning love of the country and its supposed ideals.

19/
When Trump takes the podium, behind the seal of the presidency and before the seal of the White House, he isn't just Donald Trump...to journalist and politicians he is the embodiment of the United States of America.

Just like Reagan's strategists intended.

20/
For these journalists and pundits and politicians, calling Trump the unhinged danger he is would be to call into question the entirety of American history and the office of the Presidency.

It is, like Reagan's strategists intended, transformed into a literal act of treason.

21/
Even as Trump contradicts experts and endangers American lives, journalists/pundits/politicians are just desperate to find any proof whatsoever that he is somewhat competent or capable, because if he isn't then it means the illusion they've covered for decades isn't real.

22/
It is a startling and troubling bit of dissonance that Trump presents. His blatant incompetence and constant danger present to the media the realization that the Office of the Presidency is not infallible or all-powerful and that America is a flawed country.

23/
The people who should be calling the Trump Presidency out as a societal and existential crisis find themselves incapable of reckoning with the reality of the situation and the true history of America.

It is a literal Emperor With No Clothes story and it endangers all of us.

24/
The divide between what is actually happening and how it is being covered is incredibly vast and crazy-making.

Make no mistake though. Trump is a madman and this is madness. Seal or no seal. Oval Office or not. He has killed already and he will kill more if allowed.

25/
We have to disabuse ourselves of these meaningless symbols and preconceived notions. What we think the American presidency is, and what we think America is, are illusions fabricated for political and financial profit.

We have to move past them. Now.

26/26
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