Tedium as Transformation: an Inauguration

I have a friend who's been asking about "the Nazi salute" that Elon Musk is reported to have given on Monday, at the Inauguration. I am no expert on Totalitarianism, but I am getting up to speed.

Elon Musk has ignited controversy after performing two back-to-back gestures at United States President Donald Trump's inauguration, leading to him being accused of making a Nazi salute.

One lesson I am learning — the late Hannah Arendt described this eloquently — is the contradictory and chaotic nature of the Totalitarian leader, who must perform in a bold and grandiose way, and make outrageous claims, and will gather others to assist him.

Getting the Job Done

What does it accomplish, all these outrageous and unbalancing theatrics? Arendt tells us they serve as a test of loyalty, and that loyalty will be tested constantly. People will be fired. Those who are not fired must remain both compliant and vigilant. It is striking how well this works.

Contradictory actions and a chaotic, unstable atmosphere also make the Totalitarian leader a constant source of conversation. This is essential for continued rule, as the actual effect on a country of Totalitarianism is contradictory at best. If things calm down, people assess what is actually happening, apart from the rhetoric ("He's saying this is better, but isn't it worse?" etc.)

Chaos and instability make it easier to push ahead with controversial actions. Notably, this kind of rule, Arendt tells us, is never about policy, though we will strain and try to make out what policy there might be: if there is "a plan."

What the Job Entails

Totalitarianism is about power. In its classic form it is first about taking over a government, and then it is about power. We will see how successful Trump is at the taking over-over-the-government part. He is certainly making no secret of his intent.

The Nazi salute (if that's what it was) creates a contradictory, nightmarish image for Israelis, watching for signs of what Trump has in mind as a 15-month long war shows signs of expiring.

Other signs emerge, which are also ambiguous and charged. On Day One of his new presidency. Trump, though he had earlier promised to end the war in Ukraine before he took office, dissed Putin, and said Putin was "destroying Russia" with his war on Ukraine.

So ... Trump is ending the war? He's continuing it? A huge number of people are straining to make out a signal from the noise.

Among qualities which the Totalitarian leader must project, Arendt observed, there will be no clarity or consistency. Compassion, too, will be missing. There will only be the performance of it. This lack of feeling, the absence of ordinary motivations (which you and I, and most people, possess) can be hard to imagine.

Trump and The Bishop

On Tuesday — Day Two of his reign — the Episcopal Bishop of Washington, Mariann Budde, looked to Trump during her sermon at the National Cathedral and chastised him. For Trump to be reminded publicly of the tenets of Christianity was as rare as to read that Trump has been critical of Vladimir Putin, who he has repeatedly said he admires. Bishop Budde, however, seized the moment:

"Those targeted for deportation may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors.”

She added, “I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away.” There was also a plea to have compassion for gay, lesbian and transgender children, "some who fear for their lives."

This has not led to mercy, and it has not led to compassion. But it did spur Trump to write a lengthy post on the social media platform he owns, saying the Bishop was a "Radical Left hard line Trump hater," and that she was "not smart."

Trump has high regard for people who he believes are smart. Elon Musk, who made a gesture several times on Monday said to be a Nazi salute, is someone Trump considers smart, and "a genius" (his highest form of praise).

There was one other insult Trump unfurled after he found himself in the crosshairs of the Bishop's plea for clemency at the National Cathedral. He said her sermon was boring.

Tedium is Useful

If we can, we should recognize what we are dealing with is not extraordinary. This story has played out often, even if we are less familiar with Totalitarian rulers here in America than we should be. But once one "has his number," as they say, things become tedious.

This is what Trump fears most. That we will become bored. That his schtick will grow stale, even with those who were once enthusiastic. Where boredom sets in, irritation follows quickly, then expressions of outrage and betrayal.

Apprenticeship

This fall from grace happened with Senator Joe McCarthy. There were a few years that coincided with the trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg when Americans — many of them Jewish, many active in the motion picture industry — were brought in for public questioning by Senator McCarthy, who accused them of being communists, part of the so-called Red Menace.

Americans believed (as McCarthy told them so) that there was real cause for concern: a "Threat from Within." At his peak, a Gallup poll found that 50% of the American public supported McCarthy, while 29% had an unfavorable opinion.

In June 1953, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed for conspiracy. Disgraced on national television not long thereafter, McCarthy was formally censured by his fellow Senators. The spell had broken.

A recent film about Trump ("The Apprentice") delineates a connection — a kind of telephone line through history — which was established forty years ago between McCarthy and the current President. This was by way of the infamous, reviled Roy Cohn. Cohn was McCarthy's chief counsel during the Army–McCarthy hearings.

Years later, in the 1970's, he met Trump in New York City when Trump and his father faced a race discrimination suit.

Roy Cohn had three rules for success in business, and in politics, and he didn't mind sharing these.

"The first rule is Attack, attack, attack. Rule two: Admit nothing.?Deny everything. Rule three: Claim victory and never acknowledge defeat.?You have to be willing to do anything to anyone to win.’’

How extraordinary that through the intercession of one venal and cruel attorney, a series of events were set in motion that are now, this week, contributing to the upheaval and dread so many are experiencing.

Hannah Arendt's essay "What Is Authority?" appeared in 1954, the same year that saw Senator McCarthy fall into disgrace.

About That Salute

Trump supporters and Elon Musk supporters have both been incensed that Musk's gesture was seen as "a Nazi salute." Though Musk hails from South Africa (and, as such, would seem to qualify as one of the immigrants Trump is warning us about) there is another curious fact, apart from this, that seems to go unmentioned in the debate over grotesque hand signals. Trump's Deputy Chief of Staff, Stephen Miller, is a well-known supporter of of white supremacists and neo-Nazis.

In a profile of Miller that appeared in the NYTimes seven days ago, we learn that Kevin McCarthy, the former House speaker, calls Miller "Trump’s brain," and that he — as the Times puts it — "quietly cultivated a relationship with the richest man in the world, Elon Musk." The Times calls Miller, in this same article, "the most powerful unelected people in America."

Is it possible that Miller had nothing to do with arranging events at the Inaugural ceremony, and did not speak to Musk about his contribution to the ceremony? Certainly. That is possible.

What Was Wrong Is Right. What Was Criminal Is Sanctified.

On the first day of his return to Washington, Trump issued a blanket pardon to the people who had been previously arrested and brought up on charges for storming the Capital. Some were already in prison. As the BBC put it: "He issued a handful of commutations and a blanket pardon that effectively freed all the rioters and erased the work of the largest criminal investigation in US history." We should remember that the January 6th, 2021 Capital Riot was also an event argued over, like Elon's salute, and is now said, in Orwellian fashion, to have several interpretations. Trump now says this "Day of Love" took place unprompted by anything he said or did.