Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
The Crazy-Brave and the Phony-Tough
US Army M1A1 Abrams under the “Hands of Victory” during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Not Pictured: Donald J. Trump.
When I was a teenager in the late 1980s, my father handed me an old article from the Sept. 10, 1972 issue of Newsweek titled “Watergate: The Crazy-Brave and the Phony-Tough” by Stewart Alsop. My father was a banker. He was also a Marine Corps pilot who flew A-4s and F-5s, transitioned to the artillery, ran a USMCR battalion, and retired as a full Colonel.
My father’s particular pet peeve was tough talkers, especially in the corporate world. Every time a regional vice president would boast about the company being “in a war,” having a good “street fight,” or “taking it to them,” my dad would roll his eyes. “Guys,” he would say, “we’re talking about how we will adapt our sales pitch if the Fed cuts another ¼ point. Relax.” One day, after being told that the upcoming board meeting could be “bloody,” he wore his helmet and flak jacket over his Brooks Brothers shirt and tie. For some reason, nobody mentioned the upcoming “battle.”
Back to Alsop and his article on the “Crazy-Brave and the Phony-Tough.” He was writing in the midst of the Watergate hearings and asked a difficult question: “How could people who are clearly not morons have been such ___dam fools?” He suggested that the answer could be found by understanding two specific sub-species of the human race. The Crazy-Brave do things that ought to get them killed, but escape cleanly. In contrast the Phony-Tough aren’t brave but like the idea of it; their problem is that they can’t walk away from a challenge and are, thus, always getting into trouble.
I’ve seen this in my own life. The co-captain of my high school wrestling team became a Navy SEAL and did several tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He really is a killer. But if you met him today — surrounded by his wife and four daughters in southern New Jersey — you’d most likely remark on the sheer number of Barbie outfits in the living room. Meet him at a soccer game, he’d talk about the weather. He doesn’t even yell at the ref.
You can spot a Phony-Tough a mile away. During the Watergate hearings, the world learned that Chuck Colson wrote a memo about how he would “walk over his grandmother” to get Nixon reelected, or that John Ehrlichman’s proposal for Pat Gray was to “let him hang there, let him twist slowly, slowly in the wind.” The Crazy-Brave in the Nixon White House was G. Gordon Liddy, who said he was ready to take a bullet for his mistakes, and meant it. Phony-Tough John Dean, however, was ready to squeal on all his friends to avoid jail.
Which brings us to today. There is no greater Phony-Tough than Donald Trump. I don’t think it’s a statement that needs supporting evidence, but just for fun, here are a few things that come to mind. Trump was a rich kid who stayed rich. He never worked with his hands, never worked outdoors, was utterly unaccomplished athletically, avoided the draft, and — despite his conviction that “I’m the most militaristic person there is” — never served in the military and merely wore a cute uniform in high school. He’s run from marriages, business commitments, shareholders, and customers. To my knowledge, he’s never been in a fist fight, which seems confirmed by his constant talk about suing people, the adult version of “I’m gonna tell my dad.” He’s been a Democrat, an Independent, and now a Republican; basically, whatever is least hard at the time.
Understand, this is not a slight against people who haven’t worked with their hands, haven’t been in the military, or aren’t super athletes (I’m 0-3). It’s a slight against people who haven’t done any of those things but talk as if they have.
Trump’s “toughness” is based on a public persona that he has carefully cultivated over the years. One element of this persona is his appearances on the professional wrestling circuit, which (spoiler alert) is not real. The other is his hosting of The Apprentice for 14 seasons, which (again, spoiler alert) is also not real.
The Trump Phenomenon is sadly possible because of the devaluation in our culture of traditional manly virtue, and the insidious rise of the silly concept of the Alpha Male. The devaluation of manly virtues I’ll leave for another day, but I’ve always found the Alpha Male concept comical, because it’s applied to politicians! At debates! By reporters! Talk about a race to the soft bottom.
Before we knew it was a lie, Brian Williams managed to make himself look tough by saying he’d been shot at in a helicopter. But even if that had been true, he was just a dopey passenger. He wasn’t the pilot. He wasn’t a soldier who was going to have to defend the crash site if they went down. But — journalists being who they are — the idea of having been near danger is enough to make him seem tough.
So, back to our politicians. I’m sorry, but the debate club is not a bunch of ass-kickers. They may be the right people to run the country, but the Benghazi compound was not praying that a platoon of senators, legislative aids, and policy analysts were dropped into their midst.
So, how do we really know Trump is a Phony-Tough? Because when people in his audience start actually punching people, roughing up reporters, etc., he runs. Cancels the rally. A real tough guy would say “Yeah, that’s right, we’re mad and we’re taking the fight to the streets. Bring me a Molotov cocktail.” It’d be absolutely wrong for our civic discourse, but it would be authentic. Instead, Trump says he doesn’t know, or he’s not sure, or some other obfuscation. A tough guy would own it; Trump — as he has done so many times in his life — weasels out.
And that is what he will do when it comes to anything his supporters are counting on him to do. The wall will not get built, trade with China will not be modified, Iran will not be dealt with. Not because these things don’t need to happen. It’s just that Trump doesn’t actually have the stones to do it.
Published in General
Like
And if he’d held the rally and several hundred people got hurt, you’d be blasting him for his irresponsibility.
Right. And a tough guy wouldn’t care what a goofy guy like me on a political website thought. Trump cares immensely.
Double Like.
Thanks for sharing your father’s wisdom.
I’m reminded of Margaret Thatcher’s quote that “Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t”.
When the “battle” (notice the quote marks) is one of words, the guy who talks toughest wins.
Perhaps Jeb Bush was tougher than Trump, but Trump neutralized Hillary’ “‘war’ on women” meme in about three tweets, whereas many of us get the impression that if Trump weren’t in the race that the accusations of GOP sexism would have been coming nonstop since last December.
“Phony tough” may be useless in a fistfight, but in politics it’s a lot more useful than the “genuine cowardice” we’ve gotten from our leaders these past couple of decades.
I think we like to pride ourselves on “speak softly and carry a big stick”. Problem is we speak softly and carry a toothpick.
Better “phony tough” than telegraphing weakness.
Whoever Has Ears Let Them Hear.
Trump is no tough guy, but he plays one on TV, surrounded by Secret Service agents armed to the teeth.
Trump is not a tough guy but he stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night. In fact he lied that he owns it.
Like very much.
OBJECTION!
As a fan of professional wrestling, I will have you know that, while the outcomes are scripted, the stunts are real, and often quite painful:
Of course, Donald’s involvement was not nearly as extreme:
All “phony tough” DOES is telegraph weakness. And phony tough guys get stuck and stay in too long. Remember,
I’d prefer we didn’t get into conflicts due to Donald’s ego
This is a great post.
Trump is an interesting character. I’ve been curious about his high school years in a military academy. This article gives an interesting view, although it is a campaign year and it must taken with a big grain of salt.
I’ve known so many Phony-Tough people who are really belligerent. Trump certainly is at times.
Not quite. A dog may growl because it feels threatened, doesn’t want to fight, and thus “telegraphs weakness,” but it might also mean the dog is genuinely eager to rip a throat out.
Trump may be full of bluster, but the rest of the GOP is full of the opposite, giving every impression of weakness at every turn (Boehner’s orange tears). McConnell may not be “phony tough,” but he looks and talks like a wimp. Even if he’s not getting rolled as often as it seems, he looks like an easy target.
Trump may look to the ref too often when he’s not getting hit below the belt, but the rest of the GOP lets itself get nailed in the gonads and refuses to call on the ref because of some skewed sense of honor. It loses but then pats itself on the back for how virtuous it is, because even though its writhing on the mat in pain, at least it’s not like Trump.
And Trump actually hits back. We don’t. Trump’s response to a sucker-punch is another sucker punch. The GOP’s is to whine “that’s not fair.”
Oh wait, “Fightin'” doesn’t want us using violent metaphors because it means you’re weak.
I actually had a line in the original piece (yes, it was actually longer) agreeing with just this point.
Pro wrestlers most certainly put their bodies on the line. Trump is really Jimmy Hart without the charm.
Trump doesn’t hit back. Trump has never hit back. Trump mocks, whines, and ridicules. It’s really not the same thing. I have no problem with anyone saying that McConnell is a sissy and Bohener couldn’t lead a cub scout den. Fine. Got it. My problem is that Trump is weaker than all of them.
Thank you, as this has bugged me immensely.
Agreed wholeheartedly. I’ve known a bunch of people who have done stuff that in places where we we’re supposed to be doing stuff, and they are, to a man, quiet, competent and assured. Heck, it started at an early age for me, where the chief enforcer on my church’s hockey team was the point man for the local RCMP special tactics squad. He never started a fight on the rink, but by God, he ended them.
Quickly.
The personalities of men (and women) like that are the exact opposite of Trump’s. Trump is an expert at being Donald Trump and making sure people know how big of a deal Donald Trump is.
And that’s about it.
Agree and like.
And the (faux) video of Donald Trump attacking the guy in the suit is just…
You know, if I hadn’t decided to get involved with you people, and remained a liberal, I would be so much happier right now…?!?
I know. It’s not about me. But still…
Real and Crazy-Brave:
My father (USMC, wounded in Korea)
My father-in-law (served on a submarine in the Pacific in WW2)
My late husband-the-State-Trooper (E.O.W. 4/15/96)
The game wardens I work with
The Maine National Guardsmen my son has written about
And I’m not unique, or even unusual: all of us have the real thing right in front of us—especially, one would think, those of The Base who, we are told, along with drawing the short straw in the global economy also disproportionately serve in the military. I can see a bunch of Cambridge liberals mistaking Trump for a genuine Macho-Man, but why isn’t Trump’s false and puerile machismo obvious to people who could (or should) have a basis for comparison?
Well, we’re happier with you here, so thanks for sticking around.
-E
Those are some beautiful tanks. And tanks are fantastic. Look, as I’ve said, I’ve pointed out many times, tanks are great. I love tanks. I dated a few tanks in my time, and I’ve always said tanks are fantastic. But there’s a problem. Everyone knows it. Those tanks, they are made to punch someone, and they aren’t punching someone, and that’s a problem. That’s a real…listen…as I’ve said, and I’ve said it many times, that’s a real problem. I’m gonna get those tanks out punching someone. And we are gonna come so hard at people it will make their heads spin. It will be fantastic.
Not sure I agree with this. These protesters are gutless cowards in their own right. Escalating with them does not impress me as tough in the slightest (Molotov Cocktail reference). Any leader worth anything remains calm to the task and leads his people effectively with forethought to steer clear of the idiocy we are now seeing. Yes, you hold the event but you prepare your people to act with real courage and manly dignity. What we are seeing with Trump is cowardice on many levels but barring a serious threat, you treat these idiots with a laugh.
I would personally have my supporters prepared and with the slightest hint of any of these idiots I would shout “You want your government cheese? Let’s give em’ what they want!” At which point thousands of people would start hurling pieces of cheese at the protesters as they are being sent away.
Like, like, like. Really tough guys don’t walk around talking about how tough they are. Really tough guys don’t bluster and act like a blowhard. Really tough guys don’t throw a hissy fit when a female reporter asks them a tough question, and start accusing her of “bleeding from her orifices,” and then run away from the next potential confrontation. Really tough guys aren’t thin-skinned bullies.
I think it was Fonzie who once said that if you are going to get a reputation for being tough, you have to beat the crap out of someone at least once. Apparently, Fonzie was wrong.
I’ll let this gentleman speak for me. Worth a read.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2016/03/14/my_dad_and_donald_trump_129964.html
Yes, he (metaphorically, obviously) hits back. Hillary accused him of sexism, he brought up Bill’s sordid history. That’s a “hit,” and it stopped Hillary’s attack in her tracks far more quickly than just about anything other Republicans have ever done.
Mocking and ridiculing are actually pretty similar to “hitting” when what you’re responding to is others’ mocking and ridiculing you. Somebody does something Trump doesn’t like, he mocks them, they stop (or at least become more circumspect). For months the other candidates and press treated him with kid gloves because they were afraid of him.
Ummm, Martel, I don’t know what television channels you watch, if any, but I’ve been watching Fox News this morning and it has been wall to wall coverage of Hillary attacking Trump. I can’t listen to Hillary’s skreech for very long, but whenever I do hear her, she’s attacking Trump. The notion that Trump stopped Hillary “in her tracks” is another one of Trump’s fantasy stories, that bears no resemblance to reality.
Some of the best Trump analysis that I have read is by Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert. He is not a fan of any of the political candidates, but through his blog, his take on Donald Trump’s persuasive skills is brilliant. http://blog.dilbert.com/
If you go there, don’t stop at one post.
I àgreed with everything the OP said except for the last couple of sentences. He probably cancelled the event because other people would get hurt, not him. Now maybe you don’t believe that. But I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
I’m not sure what’s happening today, but Hillary stopped “in her tracks” of accusing Trump of sexism.
Well, when she is accusing him of leading a pack of jack-booted thugs, the sexism thing is probably just too mild to mention. Come to think of it, if anyone has backed away from anything, it is Trump. I haven’t heard Trump attacking Carly’s looks or Megyn’s periods lately.
Don’t get me I wrong – I appreciate the irony of Hillary attacking Trump for being a fascist, even as her supporters (and Bernie’s) are rioting outside a Trump rally. But my point is only that Trump has by no means silenced Hillary.
I’ve heard the tough talk from individuals that I’ve arrested. One young man I stopped got out of his car said he was going to kick my a@#. I told him let’s not go down that road. He took a swing and found himself down on the pavement and handcuffed. When we got to booking I sat him down on a bench in cuffs. He told me that when I took the cuffs off he was going to fight. I looked at him and said you lost the first fight and that’s why you are sitting here in booking in handcuffs. Let’s just call it a night, let’s not do this all over again. He said, maybe you’re right, I’ll give you a break this time. Sounds good to me was my reply.