As the Trump presidency comes to an end here’s a quick look back at the most inexplicable images and moments from the last four years. Put this one in the time capsule because without video and photographic proof no one will believe it really occurred.
It’s not easy to find a single picture that best defines the Trump years, but, in my opinion, this one comes the closest. It would be in the top ten if only for the image of a president, as a cheap, carnival barker-like figure, preparing to serve fast food to the NCAA football champions, Clemson Tigers, at the White House. But what puts this one into the pantheon is the portrait of Abraham Lincoln, perhaps the greatest American president, who saved the union, peering down at the worst American president, who almost tore the country asunder.
There are so many reasons to love this picture. The first, and most obvious, is that the Easter Bunny, in all its anthropomorphic form is all of us, mute with horror that the person standing next to him is the president of the United States. The second, is the headline on this CNN article accompanying this picture, “Trump touts economy, military at Easter event.” It speaks to how inured we all became to the Trump horror show.
Over the past four years, we have been regularly reminded of several salient facts about the president. First, he’s not too bright …
… he’s pathetic.
… he’s a jerk (here he is brusquely pushing the leader of Montenegro aside at a NATO summit).
… he doesn’t know how to shake hands.
… though other heads of state grew wise.
… in general, however, he did a poor job of making friends among other world leaders.
… with one notable exception.
… he cannot dance.
… he refuses to ever admit he’s wrong (here he’s used a black Sharpie to extend the forecast map for Hurricane Dorian so it includes part of Alabama, because days earlier he’d wrongly tweeted that the state was in the path of the storm).
… he has the impulse control of a small child (here he is looking directly a solar eclipse after being instructed not to look directly at a solar eclipse).
… he struggles to drink water.
… he has a weird predilection for hugging flags.
… he refuses to condemn neo-Nazis.
… he alienates those around him.
Early in his administration Trump traveled to Rome and met Pope Francis. This infamous shot not only captures Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and his daughter Ivanka, meeting the head of the Catholic Church, but it also provides the perfect pictorial representation of an individual, the Pope, saying to themselves “this guy.”
Late in his administration, Trump sat behind a tiny desk.
In between he confused a lot of people
In 2017 Trump traveled to Puerto Rico to inspect the damage from Hurricane Maria. He threw paper towels into a crowd at a relief center.
He held a bible upside down at a church across the street from the White House after police violently cleared the area of demonstrators.
Then there are the moments that can be defined by just a word or phrase.
For example, “The Orb”
“Covfefe”
“Tan line”
“Four Seasons Total Landscaping”
“Lawnmower Boy”
“Goya”
In 2018 Trump met North Korean strongman Kim Jung Un and saluted a North Korean general.
He referred to Hurricane Florence as “one of the wettest we’ve ever seen, from the standpoint of water.”
He gave a cringe-worthy speech to the Boy Scouts National Jamboree in which, among other things, he talked about a friend who liked to have orgies on his yacht.
He mocked a seven-year old for believing in Santa Claus
While visiting survivors of the El Paso mass shooting he posed with a baby whose parents had been killed - and gave a thumbs up.
While hospitalized at Walter Reed Medical Center, after testing positive for COVID-19, he took a joyride in a hermetically-sealed limousine.
The White House released photos of Trump working in the hospital.
… the papers he was signing were blank.
When Trump returned to the White House, he removed his mask for a photo op - providing a telling reminder of his refusal to follow basic health restrictions during a pandemic that has killed more than 400,000 Americans.
Still, for all the unimaginable moments of the Trump presidency these two video clips are my hands down favorites.
First, the legendary Mike Pence water bottle video
And lastly this clip that, in only three seconds, defines the Trump presidency.