MILWAUKEE: At the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week, a fashion trend with a difference has emerged fake ear bandages, donned by attendees as a symbolic ges­ture of support for Donald Trump.

Trump has appeared at the convention wearing a large bandage where a would-be assassin’s bullet grazed his right ear at a rally on Saturday.

“We’re helping President Trump set a new fashion statement,” said Arizona delegate Susan Ellsworth.

“We’re standing in solidarity with him for his wound. And we just want him to know how much we love him.”

Delegate Michael Schafer, sporting a bandage taped to his right ear, said the trend was not quite the same as the ubiquitous red “Make America Great Again” hat.

“I think it’s something that’s of the moment,” he said.

Personality cult

Trump’s brush with death has fuelled the growing quasi-religious fervour among the party faithful, elevating him from political leader to a man they believe is protected by God.

“Trump, Trump, Trump,” attendees roared at the convention in Milwaukee when he appeared each night this week to listen to speaker after speaker intone reverentially about him and reference God’s hand in his survival from a would-be assassin’s bullet.

Republicans are uniting behind him this week. With most dissent quelled and his grip on the party never tighter, Trump will be in a much stronger position than in his 2017-2021 term to follow through on his agenda if he wins the November 5 election.

Untrammelled by the internal divisions that sometimes stymied him in his first term, Trump would be free to pursue hard-edged policies that include mass deportations as part of a crackdown on illegal migration, aggressive trade policies, and dismissing government officials seen as insufficiently loyal.

Even if Trump retakes the White House, Republicans take control of both houses of Congress, and conservatives go on holding a Supreme Court super majority, there would still be institutional checks on a second Trump term.

He could be kept in check by Congress, the courts and a public that elects a new Congress every two years and a president every four years, constitutional experts say.

Nevertheless, many Trump supporters want to see a powerful president.

“You need a strong leader at the top,” said Bill Dowd, a 79-year-old lumber business owner who was a guest of the Colorado delegation in Milwaukee.

“I’m a very, very big Ronald Reagan fan. Ronald Reagan pulled the party together also,” Dowd said.

Dowd acknowledged that some of his Republican friends feared that Trump might try to abuse his power. He said while he did not share that fear he believed that dissent should not be stifled in any party.

For Trump’s critics and political opponents, this is a dark and disturbing moment: they see the modern Republican Party as a cult of personality, a base from which Trump could pursue extreme policies and create America’s first truly imperial presidency, threatening the future of its democratic norms.

“Donald Trump has called for the termination of the constitution, promised to be a dictator on day one, and now his Supreme Court justices say he can rule without any checks on his power,” said Ammar Moussa, campaign spokesman for President Joe Biden.

Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2024