I think we might be seeing a more frustrated version of his typical self. The Coronavirus ordeal was the first time I've really seen Trump look tired. So, yeah, I agree that he's seemed more unhinged as of late, but I still think it's the same product. Just don't think he can be roped in by people.

To answer your question from the other thread. I don't think Trump is intentionally divisive. I think he has his opinion, and he doesn't feel like he needs to hold back. When you listen to his former friends talk (like Larry King), they will say stuff like Trump has always been the same guy: Narcissistic and brash. Those are two of his negative traits. So, I think it's fair to say, Trump highly values his own opinion, and because he lacks a filter (and doesn't think he's wrong) he doesn't hold back from stating it. In today's world of team politics, any disagreement over ideology is considered divisive (I personally believe this originated from the left, but is spreading to the right). So, to the degree he differs with leftist ideology is the degree to which he seems divisive.

This is not exclusive to the left. A good example of this happening in reverse is when Barrack Obama said Trayvon Martin could have been his son. A lot of people on the right thought he was being divisive, even though they could have understood what he was trying to say if they gave him the benefit of the doubt. I think this is true for a LOT of what Trump says and does. Not all. There are several things he says that I can't support. I try to imagine how people would react if he was a democrat, which isn't hard... we know how he was treated before he became a Republican. Furthermore, we see the way they treat democrats who wore blackface or say incredibly demeaning things about blacks (predators, you ain't black, etc).

What makes Trump worse is not only that he differs, but the way he differs. He is unapologetic in the way he disagrees. This is unlike the politicians we've grown accustomed towards. I think this adds a level of insult to the disagreement that has not come from the right before, which, btw, is what his supporters love.

So, yes, he is divisive, but it's not a one way street. A lot of these troubles are exacerbated by the MSM and establishment elites that hate him, and hydroxychloriquine and his recent Mount Rushmore speech are good examples of how these people take anything he says and does and make it divisive.

To put it in an analogy, some dude is running his mouth at a bar at a specific group of people. Some people at the bar even agree with him. Most people at the bar are either indifferent or too intimidated to speak up. In walks a guy that tells the dude to get bent. Now things get hostile. The first dude starts yelling at the second. And the second starts yelling back. People start taking sides, because there's no room for moderation. If someone walks in or wasn't paying attention until things got really heated, they would think they are both divisive. The group of people that agreed with the first man would see the second guy as hostile. If the group disagree with the first man, they would see the second as a leader, even if he wasn't the best example. At least he would fight.

This analogy, flawed as all analogies are, is a snapshot of what I think is happening in our country. Republicans are desperate for a person who will fight for their traditions, and Trump is the guy. I am afraid of what comes after Trump.

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