The Democratic and Republican opponents of Donald “The Ringleader” Trump mistakenly believe they are involved in politics. In fact, they have stepped into the wrestling ring, a place where belittling nicknames, outlandish bragging, arrogant personalities, and verbal put-downs are the norm. Does Donald “Tag Team” Trump know professional wrestling? In 2013, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Trump has picked Linda McMahon, the matriarch of that wrestling empire, to lead the Small Business Administration of the United States of America. Nicknames No one yet has succeeded in giving Donald “Teflon” Trump a nickname, a ring name that catches his character. He gives low-life names to opponents and uses them consistently, remorselessly, often to punishing effect: Lyin’ Ted — Little Marco — Low-Energy Jeb — Crazy Bernie — Crooked Hillary — Pocahontas Warren. What have Trump’s opponents called him? Narcissist, misogynistic, sociopathic, homophobic, and xenophobic. If they could think of a five-syllable word for racist, they would use it. Lame! They simply do not get it. Bragging and Smack Talk Donald “His Greatness” Trump does nothing that is not huge. Say it! One syllable. Bragging is what wrestlers do to heighten the drama, to outrage their opponents, and to stir up the fervor of their fans. Truth is irrelevant. What is important is the stunning verbal effect of the boast, and of the put-down. Yes, wrestlers put down their opponents. They mock the weakness of their opponents. It is called “Talking Smack”, as in, “I am going to smack you down, you whining, miserable excuse for a pencil-necked geek,” and is similar to trash-talk in other sports. According to Wikipedia, “Although the practice of trying to distract opponents by verbal abuse is common to virtually all sports, other sports sometimes have their own terminology for verbal abuse: for example, cricket calls it sledging and in ice hockey it is called chirping.” Now smack talk has entered politics. What should we call it? Trumping? Donald’s opponents imagine a world where we are united in a common struggle. “Stronger Together” was Hillary’s pitch. Donald “Grip The Reins” Trump celebrates a nation where each person is welcome to struggle for their own success and where the best individuals rise to the top. America will be great when individuals aspire to greatness. That is Trump’s message. It is an inspiring message if you think you and yours have what it takes to step into the ring. Distinctive Arrogant Personalities Wrestlers look for arrogant personalities to distinguish themselves from the hundreds of others in the ring and to give their fans someone special to cheer. You may be offended by their preening vanity and smugness, but their fans love it! In the world of wrestling, they do not hand out prizes for participating. Respect is given to those who can walk the walk, talk the talk, and make their opponents cry for mercy by using a Texas Cloverleaf or Crossface Chicken Wing hold. Hillary is history. Who now dares to climb into the ring? Politics in the Wrestling Ring Opponents of Donald “Heel Face” Trump need to understand his wrestling style. They need to understand that successful wrestlers often are booed more than they get cheered. They need to understand that bad guys (the heels) often make illegal moves and call in additional wrestlers to do their work for them. Most of the time, Trump is playing a good guy (a face) but in wrestling roles are easily reversed. He does not mind getting booed. Let the liberals howl! Let the media fulminate! They are playing to his script. The opponents of Donald "The Wrestler" Trump should at least call him out, point out that he is treating politics as if it was a wrestling match. Of course, we liberals do not want to join him in such low-life antics. There may not be a need to, but there is a need to recognize how our president fights and come up with suitable escape moves.
The Links The 50 greatest ring names ever! http://www.wwe.com/classics/classic-lists/the-50-greatest-ring-names-ever There's an interesting reason why Donald Trump’s nicknames for his enemies are so effective. http://www.businessinsider.com/why-donald-trump-gives-nicknames-to-his-political-enemies-2016-11 Trash-Talk entry on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trash-talk Heel (professional wrestling) on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heel_(professional_wrestling) Top 25 most devastating submission holds http://www.wwe.com/classics/top-25-submission-holds/page-15 Trump taps Linda McMahon, Pro Wrestling Maven, to head Small Business Administration http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-taps-linda-mcmahon-pro-wrestling-maven-head-small-business-n693331 WWE Superstar Donald Trump http://www.wwe.com/superstars/donald-trump VIDEO: The Battle of the Billionaires takes place at WrestleMania. Trump delivers head blows and humiliates his opponent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NsrwH9I9vE VIDEO: Steve "Stone Cold" Austin takes down Donald Trump https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUnVDs7PmLk
Danny N. Schweers © 2017 Danny N. Schweers teaches photo classes at the Delaware Museum of Art, is a member in the Washington Printmakers Gallery in D.C., and is president of the Brandywine Photo Collective.The author’s fans call him “Double Nelson” because his father’s name was Nelson and his middle name is Nelson. They also call him “x2” because, whatever his enemies dish out, he gives it back times two. If you believe either of those statements, you do not understand wrestling.
He was a staff member of the original Austin Sun.