Harping On It

 I felt Jon Ossoff was a strong 2028 contender before last week: swing state, popular, mediagenic, handsome, can wield a soundbite. He's also a Jew who takes a dim view of Netanyahu, which could help him escape that particular problem.

His actually rather tepid attack on Trump's relationship with Natalie Harp was a wink-wink, nudge-nudge line in a broader attack on corruption (which has to be message number one for the next two years). He did not imply a sexual relation, and many observers doubt that there is one - though it's Trump and we shouldn't rule anything out. 

What is making this story have legs is not Ossoff's single phrase but the White House's response to it. What started, perhaps, as a throw away line to a friendly crowd has become a central news story, because the White House has made it a central news story. Harp herself is not universally loved in the West Wing (far from it, apparently) and the leaks of her bizarre stalkerish behavior are dribbling out. News outlets that might not have touched her devotional scribblings to Trump now almost have to cover it. That's the story of the moment.

A few broader notes. First, did Ossoff know this would happen? Trump is incredibly predictable, and Ossoff's team did share the clip on social media. Was this a set-up? Make a sly remark and get Trump to freak out? Harp is a central part of Trump's social media team, so she would be central to the response. Her craven sycophancy is exactly what appeals to Trump, so the idea that they would let this slide seems remote. Still, that would constitute Game of Thrones level sophistication in plotting.

Second, the media have come to assume that Trump is a genius at social media and communications. How else can the scandal laden oaf continually weather gaffe after gaffe, setback after setback? Trump really is bulletproof for millions of Americans. However, some of this really is just a byproduct of Trump's pre-presidential public persona. He was a celebrity and once that image is burned into people's minds, fact can be hard pressed to counter that narrative. "Of course he's a business savant. I saw it on NBC." 

At some point it really feels like either Trump will finally truly come crashing down into 27% crazification factor or the American Republic will crease to exist. We cannot continue as an electoral democracy if someone like Trump can transfer his malevolent mendacity to an heir. Yet, his constant attacking has worked. Maybe Harp is the moment that tactic backfires.