I wrote a book of my own on Donald Trump which, if you ask me, is still about the best book available on America’s 44th president: The Art of the Impossible: A Blog History of the Election of Donald J. Trump as President. Also published by Connor Court as is this one, a book that was reviewed a few days ago at Quadrant Online under the heading: Donald Trump, Magnificent Vulgarian. The book was written by Richard Alston, who ought to know something about politics but perhaps has lost a bit of feel for the subject in his years on the sidelines. Is Donald Trump’s appeal all that difficult to understand? Seems so:

Alston is no apologist for Trump. Quite the contrary. While seeing Trump as the ultimate political risk-taker, trailblazer and disruptive contrarian, Alston lists many of Trump’s personal character failings on no less than a dozen occasions, including: ‘not only an amoralist but a true vulgarian who fails the character test’; ‘brutish vulgarian’; ‘eccentric high achiever’; ‘disorganised’; ‘vindictive’; and of having the ‘morals of an alley cat’ to name a few. To counter these character failings, Alston does however describe Trump as having a ‘magnetic attraction’, acknowledges his ‘political bravery … [and] invaluable business experience’, and his ‘strategic and deliberate’ approach.

There may be no one in Australia who has paid closer attention to Trump than I have, with the added advantage that I grew up in North America and watched the American political system from close at hand, although admittedly from the northern side of Lake Ontario.

This is how the review ends.

Much commentary in this area indulges in disgust for Trump’s personal qualities. Alston records his distaste for Trump’s character, but as a prelude to a serious review and critique of Trump’s record in office. While the dust is a long way from settling on the Trump presidency, Alston’s contribution is a stake in the ground. It is now on others to offer their qualified opinions.       

You want my opinion. Alston is pandering to the left who could find no policy issues to argue against so chose to argue about Trump’s personality. And as it happens, Trump, the greatest American president of my lifetime, may yet return to the White House in 2024.

I will just note that the comments on this review at QoL largely take my side of the issue, with this one mentioned not just because I agree with it but also because it is short and to the point.

By the living daylights you lot are hard markers. For one, he [Trump, that is] is conservative in his economic policies and pro business. Secondly, he has incredible poise. Witness when he arrived for the State of the Union address. OK, he’s a New York property billionaire, however being President of the most powerful nation ever in the history of our world is another thing altogether. He arrived in the room as though it was his parent’s home. Totally self assured and confident in his bearing. This behaviour is not presidential? So is speaking at Klu Klux Clan [sic] funerals presidential [here reminding us that Biden spoke at Robert Byrd’s funeral]? Which President had an Italian opera singer sing Ave Maria on the White House portico? So is Christian and proud of it not Presidential?

It seems commentators compete to damn him for what are essentially peccadillos. It not as though leaders of the western world are thick on the ground.

Exactly as I think of these things myself. I will add in the last of the comments since it also gets to the point that needs to be made.

To say the obvious, Trump would not have become president were there not a deep underlying comprehension among many US citizens that the Left is Evil.
And so, the Left had to destroy Trump. Which they did.
The mainstream media is 90% Evil Left – as it is in Australia too, of course.
It’s just in Australia too few non-Leftists can see this, or rather are too complacent to bother to look.