october12–25, 2020 | newyork 19protectit.It startedwiththeclaimthat his
inaugurationcrowdwasthe biggest ever,
anassertionthat wasannoyingly under-
minedbya threefoldenemy—public testi-
mony,photography,andarithmetic. The
nextthreeyearswerethendevotedto chip-
ping away at the credibility of those
forces—demeaninganything anyone said
underoath,denyinganything caught on-
camera, offering different numbers from
those cited—so that a near majority of
people have now come to accept every-
thing he says. Some do it because they’ve
always believed him, many yield out of
sheer exhaustion.
Trump’s viral version of the truth has
infected reality for so many of us it can seem
there’s no point trying to resist. Trump has
won, irrespective of the election result. If it’s
declared for Biden, then the vote counters,
the commentators, the media are all hoaxes.
If the result is defended in court, the lawyers
are fake. If it’s upheld, the judges are impos-
tors. Won’t it then be easier to believe that
the election never happened?
Look at him now, outside on the White
House lawn, praising the miracle elixir that
saved him. Life will be sweeter, he’s saying,
if you believe in me. And so he beckons us
to come join him, and when we do, we’ll
have crossed over into the Promised Land
where nothing will trouble us, where we no
longer have enemies to deal with, where
Trump after Trump can look after us. ■Finally,day threesawtheemergenceof
thenewDonald,moreDonald-ythanever
beforeandwitha steelydeterminationto
liveandbreatheheavilyina worldinwhich
allthat’s happeneddoesn’t matter.A Don-
aldnowinsomeastral plane,glidingeffort-
lesslyina zoneof perceptionwherewhathe
thinksandwhatis realarethesame.
It ’s asif, duringthosecrucialthreedays
whenthepresidentwashiddenaway from
usinthehospital,hewaswrestlingwithnot
onlythevirusbutrealityitself. His wager
wasthatif heactedlike he’d beencured,he
wouldbe.Orthat,if stillcontagious,his
contagionwouldonlyspreadina worldhe
nolongerinhabits,a pussyworldwhere
idiotsandlowlifelosersscrambleforcover
anddoubleoverinpain.He,however,
wouldhavetransformedintoa god-thing
thatnolongerneedworry aboutgermsand
protocolandinfectionandwherethesheer
powerofthewillrazedoldreality tothe
ground.Thesuitableculturalreferencehere
wouldbeDoctorManhattanfromWatch-
men,who,like Trump,is a huge andpecu-
liarlycoloredguywhothinkshe’s unbeat-
ableandis anincorrigibledick-swinger.
LikeDoctorManhattan,Trumpclaims
toseealltimeatonce.He justifiedhisloop
outsidethehospitalbysayingthat if he
hadn’t doneit,themedia“wouldhave
[said]‘Rude!’ ” Soanabsurdeventwas
organizedinresponsetoa reactionset in
thefutureandforwhichtherewasnowayofprovingwhetheritwouldhavehap-
penedornot.
Thisis what hedoes.He positsanawful
futureandthenterrifiesusintoaccepting
hispropheciesasrealtojustify theactions
heneedstotaketoavoidthat future.Hence
thearmedmilitiasge ttingreadyto“super-
vise”votersandcalloutalltheballot-stuffing
thathasn’t happened;thesupporterscalled
ontovotetwicetocanceloutthe corrupt
voterswhovotedonce;therounding up of
destructiveanarchistsbeforethey have a
chancetocommitanarchy;themayhem
thatwillhappenfromNovember4 onward
andthatcanonlybestoppedbyhalting
time,andtheelection,onNovember 3.
Trump,hissupporters,andhis GOP
enablershavelongbeenconstructing this
two-worldsystemofreality inwhich they
gettodictatewhoinhabitstheone that’s
valid(theirs)andwhois tobecast out into
theonethatsucks(everyoneelse’s). Only
peopleinthevalidworldcanvote or take
office.Thoseintheothermay vote, but
theirvoteis nottobecounted.In the valid
one,emptychairsontheSupreme Court
canbefilled;intheonethat sucks, they
cannot.In theformer, youbelieve in
Trumpandarea patriot.In thelatter, you
disagreeandareconsidereda traitor.
All of Trump’s behavior has been
devotedto buildingthis kingdom on
Earth.Andwe’veallbecomefamiliar with
PHOTOGRAPH: ALEX EDELMAN/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES howhisalternativefactsstacktogether to
OCT. 4: Trump’s motorcade drove past crowds outside Walter Reed medical center.