It’s not new that GOPers love strong, “tough guy” candidates. Well, at least those who project such an image. If you’re old enough you remember how Bush 41 had to fight (even within his own Party) the “wimp factor.” Regardless of what you think of his political views this guy volunteered while young to not only serve in WWII but become a Naval Aviator. He even got shot down on a mission and only incredible luck got him rescued by an American sub before a Japanese ship got to him. He’d go on to a successful business career dealing with some nasty folks (like the Saudis) and did a sting as CIA Director. Wimp? Yet Reagan, who spent WWII making training films in Hollywood while in uniform was the GOP’s choice. HE was able to project the “manly,” “strong leader” image.
“Strong Leader.” It’s something Gallup and other reputable organizations have measure in polls of Presidents and Presidential candidates for as long as I can remember. When you think about it makes sense that we’d want someone that has the quality of what in my days in the service was called Command Presence. A Leader one could be confident of being able to sort through what needed to be done and organize what was needed to accomplish things. Trying to wrangle an unruly Congress (with some of the “ruly” being from their own Party I must note) takes true leadership. A strong leader with gravitas. Command Presence. Also we, like any other country wants our President/Head of State to project strong leadership on the world stage.
So it makes sense that pollsters would poll to see voter’s opinions on this trait, or quality. The problem is that voters can be stupid. Mistake bluster and bullying for strong leadership. Most of the time, but sadly not always those who would be President (or Prime Minister etc.) in democratic countries are able to see through the fakes, the pretenders to being “Tough” and “Strong.” It’s important because going back to both wrangling a legislature or representing a country internationally others, including world leaders and especially dictators can spot a phony, a pretender in a heartbeat.
That leads to a bigger problem. The supposed leader is ineffective because too many people, not voters but people with some power and influence can yank their chain. Even take advantage of them and their country. Just like some countries did to the U.S. under Trump. Before politics Trump had assets in the form of money and power handed to him by his father who’d built up a lot of both, and despite misgivings didn’t have an heir other than ole Donnie to hand it over to. Trump bullied his relatives into giving up whatever interests they had in the Trump Org and Fred Trump’s assets and the whole shebang became his. It was enough that despite his lack of business acumen he was able to wield against others who were either less wealthy/connected or even more highly leveraged (and in need of a deal even if not to the terms they wanted) deal.
Politics, and especially Presidential politics is NOT business despite Republicans spending my entire life trying to convince voters were the same thing. There are elected people on the Hill who’ve spent decades amassing power and influence and they tend not to react well to some outsider whether a former Governor or a businessman trying to push them around. The same is true of other world leaders. Unfortunately politics, both domestic and international has become partly about how things play on TV screens. And, like I said voters, large numbers of them can be pretty stupid. (Not just in the U.S. either!) They want a “strong leader” and mistake bluster and bravado for actual Command Presence and ability. That’s how our country got Trump, Florida got DeSantis, and yes, New Jersey got Christ Christie. DeSantis is a political dead man walking and everyone but him (and his wife) knows it. Most of the rest are weak, and their palatable fear of going after Trump and hard on what he’s done, and what he DIDN’T get done is why no one is near him in GOP primary pollling.
But there is former NJ Gov. Chris Christie. Like Trump he’s at heart a bully, and one who will throw others under the bus if needed to cover his own butt. “Bridgegate” proved that one. Also, like Trump ole Christie has succumbed at times to a sense of entitlement, of “rank has its privileges” hence those pics of him looking like a beached whale on a public beach that was shut down to the public. He’s got stuff that WOULD come back to haunt him in a general election. Hell, it’s likely to in the primaries.
However, unlike Trump Christie isn’t afraid of a fight. A political barroom brawl. A WWF cage match. Unlike Trump, Christie wants such a thing. He’s got scores to settle with Trump and this is his chance.
Trump can and likely (although I don’t think it’s a sure as many do) will win the GOP nomination. He’s got no chance in the General election assuming the normal, sane people in the country get out like we did in 2020. Trump caught too many folks asleep at the wheel in 2016 but despite his increasing his vote total he got wiped out by Biden’s voters. I’m not satisfied with that. We need to kick Trump’s and the GOP’s butts even worse next year but that’s for another time.
The point is that when it comes to a true political fight, Trump is all bluster. A fake of a “tough guy” and even some GOPers will realize it. With every debate he skips, despite Christie taunting him it will weaken Trump. Even MAGAs don’t show up in force enough to fill a regular arena as last night in Erie provide. (after a similar not all that bid crowd in SC) He’s wounded and the hits are gonna keep coming. By the time Christie is done whupping on him Trump will be well under fifty percent on the “Strong Leader” metric and that means no second stint as President.
So there’s THAT problem for the GOP.
Now, let’s take a (shorter) look at Christie. Chris Christie has actually willingly walked into the arena relishing the prospect of a fight. The dude was a successful federal prosecutor up in NYC and put up with all the threats many of those cases prompted and didn’t bat an eye. His brashness got him into the Governor’s mansion in NJ, where he would act like the a-hole he is and to the point of getting himself into legal hot water. Fortunately for him, having been a prosecutor he had better protected himself and was also smart enough to work fully with his lawyers and let them do the actual work of making sure he skated. But in the end, even though he’s much smarter than Trump and also loves a good ole fashioned brawl AND is much quicker on his feet on say a debate stage than Trump he’s not likely to get the nomination. All he can do is clear the decks for a “rescue” candidate if he mortally wounds Trump. I happen to think he knows that. He’s politically savvy enough I think to lure Trump into some of the debates, with a combination of taunting but also sounding apologetic at times.
However like Trump, Christie can’t win in a general election.
Hence the GOP’s problem. They want, they CRAVE a “tough guy” and only one of them is actually “tough” when it comes of old-school brawling politics. Trump likes to claim if he takes a punch he will hit back harder. I’ve yet to see it. Have you? Christie however knows what it’s like to take a hard punch and then turn right around and come back and actually hit back. Harder. I said recently that if on the stage Trump would be wetting his Depends, trying to decide whether it was best to try to stomp off in “anger” which everyone would know would be literally running away, or stand there and do a Roberto Duran “No Mas” and force the ref. to call and end to things.
We know plenty of reasons why Trump will lose in the general election. I mentioned a couple of big scandals in Christie’s past, and along with his general personae he’s got no chance either.
They’ve only got two “tough guys” running and neither one will be worth, as a former VP said “worth a warm bucket of spit” in the general. Or a huge warm pile of brown organic animal waste when you get right down to it.
And those who haven’t declared, but are waiting in the wings to “step up?” Don’t make me laugh. As long as we fight like we have in general and special elections like we have since Trump slimed into the WH we can send the GOP to electoral hell.
The GOP’s got problems. “Bigly” ones.
Tough guy?
A guy too unfit to walk around a golf course, or down a ramp, spends an hour a day, at least, on hair and makeup, has lost more money in business than anyone else, (according to his own tax returns), and has never been in a fist fight in his life?
That guy.
Their idea of ‘tough’ is like everything else they’ve got. It falls apart under the tiniest inspection.
It’s nothing new for Republicans, and a lot of Independents for that matter. Reagan was a solid journeyman actor. Nothing special but he “hit his marks” as the expression goes. Problem is, many don’t understand all those movie fights like in westerns he did is carefully choreographed and includes stunt doubles for stuff like crashing down on a table so hard it breaks, or sound effect that make it sound like real punches are being landed. Or that in the movie about Knute Rockne that Reagan wasn’t getting hit/tackled. That movie probably more than anything got him his “big strong American guy” image and it was all phony.
Gerald Ford on the other hand was a real life, hard nosed tough as nails lineman at Michigan in college. A big time player in a big time program and a truly gifted athlete but hey, he was long past that by the time when he was President and still phyiscally fit and agile but had a few unfortunate stumbles with the cameras rolling and got turned into the butt of jokes. Just once it would have been fun for him and Reagan to put on pads of the type worn back when they were in college and get into a three point stance and go at it. Ford would have laid Reagan out! Sadly, reality that gets sold to voters in the TV era is as different from reality so much of the time as movie magic (guns that never run out of bulllets for example, or exploding cars (it almost never ever happens in real life when a car flips) is real. Hell, people think “reality” TV is real when in fact it’s scripted!
I recall the end of The American President when Michael Douglas says America is advance Democracy and that you’ve got to want it bad because it’s going to put up a fight. As I’ve gotten older voters in increasing numbers don’t want it bad enough to look past what candidates and their handlers are presenting and find out what part of what they are being sold is real and how much is just telling voters what they want to hear just to get their vote.
Good post. But Christie was a federal prosecutor in NJ, not NYC.
A) Christie lost any “tough guy” credentials when he became cravenly subservient to former guy,
B) former guy has never been tough the first damned day of his life,
C) the ‘pubes do not demonstrate any knowledge of simple vocabulary such as “tough”.