Veteran foreign affairs journalist Adnan Khan penned an article for Maclean’s published on Friday in which he argued that Donald Trump has been “steadily unmasked” in the recent months of his presidency as his polling numbers decline.
Although Khan noted that the president has managed to avoid many setbacks and roadblocks as a real estate mogul, he argued that the commander-in-chief has been unable to escape accountability amid the current political landscape, which has been shattered by the coronavirus pandemic.
“As a businessman, even as incompetent as he was, Trump had been able to maintain the illusion of invincibility. The masks never came off. Even when it seemed like he was on the verge of being outed as a shyster, he stayed in character, forever the bigwig blessed with a golden touch. But as president, the opposite has happened: he has been steadily unmasked.”
Khan claimed the real estate mogul’s alleged physical and mental decline — which he contrasted with the 1997 New Yorker profile — is revealing his true nature. The writer concluded Trump is an “angry man-child” who was the product of being “poisoned by privilege and racism.”
“The more he fails — against the pandemic, against America’s racial reckoning, against the polls — the more desperate he appears to become, and the more transparent,” he wrote.
Khan believes Trump is turning to people like him who feel they are in danger of losing their privileged position — a purported demographic that is allegedly one-third of American voters. Despite this population, the journalist believes it will not be enough to allow the president to be re-elected in November.
As Trump purportedly becomes unmasked, Khan pointed to polls that suggest nearly every demographic has been fleeing the president. Regardless of his recent dip in the polls, he continues to double down on appealing to his core supporters. Khan concluded that America finally sees the “real” Trump, which he said is a “sad, frightening, unhinged image.”
Amid a reported decline in polling support, Democratic strategist Kevin Walling argued that the president is either unable or unwilling to prevent his downfall. Walling said that Trump’s recent fall in support is due to his tone-deaf handling of the Black Lives Matter protests, as well as his administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite concerns over the direction of Trump’s campaign, a White House official and outside adviser allegedly claimed that the president is content to appeal to his white base and keep trusting his gut, The Washington Post reported. This strategy, the pair suggested, is what Trump believes will secure him a victory in November.
