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I had wrestling on the brain during the final night of the Republican National Convention.
And can you blame me? Three of the speakers have been WWE fixtures — Linda McMahon, Hulk Hogan and Donald Trump himself.
True wrestling fans will recognize these three for having sold some of the worst Stone Cold Stunners of all time, which is damn near a sin. But that’s a conversation for another day, I suppose.
Much has been written about how the world of professional wrestling — with its faux machismo and scripted outcomes — can help with understanding Trump as a politician. And that came to mind as I watched Trump’s lifeless performance last night. For all the talk after last month’s presidential debate about how President Joe Biden must drop out of the race because of his mental state, Trump’s speech should at least draw the same scrutiny — I’d argue, significantly more.
That’s why Trump’s speech, with its bigotry and lies and also its lack of energy, reminded me of a past-his-prime wrestler whose catchphrases don’t hit like they once did, and whose tedious and meandering promos bore audiences half to death.
That’s why Trump’s speech, with its bigotry and lies and also its lack of energy, reminded me of a past-his-prime wrestler whose catchphrases don’t hit like they once did, and whose tedious and meandering promos bore audiences half to death. He made sure to include some of his usual (albeit deranged) talking points, including tangents about sharks and Hannibal Lecter, and nods to his purported toughness. But dispatches from inside the room suggested that Trump’s own followers were growing restless as he droned on in what became the longest nomination acceptance speech in history. As NBC News’ Garrett Haake reported: “The first half, I saw a lot of wet eyes. The second half, I saw some closed eyes.”
At this wrestling-infused convention, Trump’s speech offered shades of the Ultimate Warrior’s infamous World Championship Wrestling promo from 1998, which is notorious for being extremely long and extremely boring. (Coincidentally, Hulk Hogan was a witness to that disaster, too.)
Echoing others who’ve analyzed Trump’s speech, I, too, think that the listless performance should inspire confidence in Democrats and the Biden-Harris campaign. It proved that, just like wrestlers, Trump’s image as a formidable and unstoppable political force is largely contrived — and bolstered by a team of people deeply invested in convincing the public it’s real.
Remarkably, on a speaker schedule that included Hogan, Trump sounded more like a washed-up wrestler than anyone else.