Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series (now 25 books!) has a hero who is closer to a superhero or to Tarzan than to an ordinary man. I am guessing that many American men who read these books (such as yours truly) wouldn’t mind being Jack Reacher even for a day.
Is it possible, perhaps even likely, that the President of the United States, Donald Trump, would also like to be Reacher? Is it possible that he stole Jack Reacher’s demeanor and evinced it during the recent protests? Did he borrow a litany of ideas from the second novel in the Reacher series titled Die Trying?
Read these quotes from Die Trying and then hear President Trump echo these very sentiments.
…need to get some dominance here. Situation like this, it’s very important…. Just do it okay? (page 64, Kindle edition)
…gain the upper hand. Establish dominance. Classic siege theory. (page 341, Kindle edition)
…kiss goodbye any hope of dominance. That was to lie down and roll over. From that point on you are their plaything. (page 341, Kindle edition)
A few weeks ago Trump wanted to use the United States military to “dominate” protesters and he seems to have also desired a dominating “occupying force” in America cities.
He tongue-lashed the governors of those states experiencing rioting and looting, telling them they were fools and jerks. “If you don’t dominate, you’re wasting your time. They’re going to run over you, You are going to look like a bunch of jerks. You have to dominate.” (Business Insider, June 2, 2020)
Later that same day Trump ordered that the protesters outside the White House were to be disbursed by tear gas and rubber bullets. It turned out that this was simply a method to clear the way for a photo session with a dominating Trump holding a Bible outside St. John’s Episcopal Church at Lafayette Square. The next day he and Melania stood reverently in front of the statue of John Paul II. What was the message he was sending?
Is Trump trying to be Jack Reacher? Has he bought into the idea that using the military might of America against Americans upholds the American way?
Does he want to dominate because he thinks not doing so makes him a fool and a jerk?
Did Trump’s tongue lashing of the Governors come straight out of a Jack Reacher novel? Is Trump actually preparing a new book titled The Art of the Steal?
Get Frank’s articles in your email. Sign up today.