Ecce stultus - Trump dabbles in the arts
Our stable genius produces more portraits of himself, plus more men in drag at the Kennedy Center
By Sam Bellamy
Donald Trump, renowned connoisseur of the arts, recently regaled the board of trustees of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with a collection of his finest bitching about the alleged theft of the 2020 election.
Amid a rambling and, of course, false boast that he’d landed both the Olympics and the World Cup for the United States during his first term, Trump recalled that he was disappointed when he realized he would not be president when either event took place.
“And then they rigged the election, and then I said, ‘You know what I’ll do? I’ll run again and I’ll shove it up their ass,’” he told the audience.
This anecdote, beginning at about the 25-minute mark in the video at the bottom, drew laughter and applause from the crowd, vividly demonstrating the wisdom of his firing the previous trustees and replacing them with sycophants who appreciate both his fine sense of humor and his appreciation of the arts, especially his expertise in the gold-plated items bearing his own name and image.
In his speech, Trump also praised himself for his heroic rout of what he regards as un-American and downright unnatural shows at the Kennedy Center, including an “all-lesbian Shakespeare” production.
“Who thinks of these ideas, really?” he asked.
It turns out he does. He’s apparently referring to & Juliet, an award-winning musical comedy that imagines what might have happened to Romeo’s smarter half if she had not killed herself. The plot does involve a lesbian relationship, but it doesn’t appear to have been an “all-lesbian” show because the cast included several men. (Republicans often struggle with gender identity, so perhaps they can be forgiven.)
Trump and the Kennedy Center’s new executive director, a gay conservative named Ric Grennell, also mentioned their successful elimination of “drag shows” at the Kennedy Center.
Well, almost successful. The upcoming season created under their leadership includes Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Chicago, Spamalot and Mrs. Doubtfire, all of which feature men dressed in women’s clothing. Perhaps Grenell can at least ensure none of the actors is actually LGBTQ. Those people have no business in the theater.
In other art appreciation news, Trump is redecorating with the West Wing with portraits of himself. Last month, he unveiled a painting of himself raising his fist in the air after last summer’s assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.
The painting is based on a widely circulated Associated Press photograph. That would be the same Associated Press that Trump has barred from some events at the White House because its editors refuse to use the term “Gulf of America.” No one can accuse Trump of excessive self-awareness.
The newest painting depicts Trump standing in front of Ronald Reagan and Abraham Lincoln, whom he regards as pretty good presidents, albeit not as good as he is. Oddly, it appears Trump is not wearing his elevator shoes. With Reagan and Lincoln towering over him, he looks a bit like a schoolboy about to go on a shopping trip with his two dads.
These two paintings are not the only portraits of Trump at the White House. I don’t have an official count – it’s likely he has a few strategically placed in the Resolute desk in the Oval Office so that he can see himself when he opens the drawers – but I count five based on news accounts.
One depicts his infamous glare in his Fulton County, Ga., mug shot. Another is a painting that shows an America flag superimposed over Trump (or maybe it’s the other way around). It is displayed on a wall at the White House between portraits of former First Ladies Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton. I’m not sure what the significance of this placement is, but with Melania frequently MIA, perhaps Trump considers himself to be his own First Lady. (Might think about it a lot, actually. All those nice gowns at the Smithsonian a fellow might look good in.)
In addition to the paintings in the White House, Trump has developed an interest in curating how others depict him.
A couple of months ago, he launched a tirade on Truth Social about a painting that hangs in the State Capitol in Colorado. He looks youthful – his preferred image of himself – but his cheeks look rather full, as if he had been caught in mid-chew whil eating incriminating documents he didn’t want to land in the presidential library or a special counsel’s office.
Trump demanded a replacement portrait, which prompted a person identified as Qult Headquarters on Reddit to come up with a version based on the notoriously bad restoration of a fresco of Jesus in Spain called Ecce Homo.
I think it captures the Trump presidency quite well.