The art of perfection: How Trump survives even his worst blunders through sheer repetition

is a master of revisionist history.

He can argue that TikTok is a national security threat and then that its crucially important to society.

Reminds me of when he famously said I could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose support and I thought hes probably right – now, at least, among the MAGA diehards.

And he does it through the sheer power of repetition.

How many times have you heard that the Jan. 6 rioters, who he summoned to the Capitol, are great patriots? Despite the fact that they attacked and injured police officers, invaded members offices and were calling for Mike Pences hanging?

When that happened, even many Republicans thought Trump was finished. Big-name members of the GOP, along with the Democrats, denounced him in harsh terms.

But Trump gave the same answer again and again. Flipping his usual law-and-order stance, he argued it wasnt really a riot. It wasnt that big a deal. After hearing him say that hundreds of times, some people thought, well, there must be something to it. He wouldnt just be making it up. For all his unscripted digressions, Trump has an uncanny ability to stay on message.

Hes like the boisterous guy in the Home Depot parking lot, using a megaphone to shout at anyone within earshot.

But hey, this is a guy whos still arguing about the 2016 election – which he won. Trump still says the 2020 election was stolen from him – though thats never been substantiated in court, and he was the one making calls to try to flip votes.

The latest uproar is about by creating a $1.7 billion fund that would be used for the benefit of the Jan. 6 protestors, even those convicted of serious crimes.

During his out-of-office years, Trump battled four criminal investigations, which everyone now agrees actually helped him by looking like political persecution. And that obviously fed his unquenchable desire for retribution.

During the first impeachment, the president, according to a transcript, asked to announce an investigation of Joe Biden and his son Hunter. This was after Trump personally ordered a freeze on nearly $400 million in congressionally approved aid to Ukraine. 

“I heard you had a prosecutor who was very good and he was shut down and thats really unfair,” a transcript has Trump saying. “A lot of people are talking about that, the way they shut your very good prosecutor down and you had some very bad people involved…

“Theres a lot of talk about Bidens son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that, so whatever you can do with the attorney general would be great. Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution, so if you can look into it… It sounds horrible to me.”

Problem? Nah. The president kept calling it a “perfect phone call.” Got that?

The Senate did not convict on the House impeachment charges.

Which brings us to the war in Iran.

The president has gone back and forth in his rhetoric so many times its downright dizzying. Trump said Then he kept extending the deadline. He said Tehrans response was “garbage” and didnt bother to read it.

The resumed bombing campaign was set for yesterday – but Trump agreed to a brief pause at the urging of the heads of three Middle East countries.

In terms of message discipline, Trump has said perhaps hundreds of times that the war is over, that he can get out anytime, that our military crushed Irans defenses, wiping out its navy and air force, and thats all true.  

Bursting with sarcasm, the president said on Truth Social that the “entire Military walks out of Tehran, weapons dropped and hands held high, each shouting I surrender, I surrender while wildly waving the representative White Flag, and if their entire remaining Leadership signs all necessary Documents of Surrender, and admit their defeat to the great power and force of the magnificent U.S.A.” that the press would still write Iran