"These rhymes are the very essence of Trumpism: never let outsiders get too close, or you'll be repaid in venom. No hugs, just extraction. It's how he sees business, politics and, naturally, immigration. His recital on the White House video is overlaid with images of brown-skinned men in handcuffs getting hauled away. Watching his extraordinary speech this week at the UN, I thought again of The Snake. It is the perfect depiction of the dynamic between Trump and the British establishment."
"Last week he was Keir Starmer's most honoured guest, enjoying a banquet at Windsor Castle and wooed by King Charles as the closest of kin. One return flight later, Trump tore into his host I hope the prime minister's listening and lumped the UK among those Old World shitholes going to hell. You've bitten me, but why? And you knew your bite was poisonous and now I'm going to die."
Donald Trump frequently performs and cites the poem "The Snake," which narrates a tender woman betrayed by a venomous outsider. The poem frames outsiders as poisonous and ungrateful, a metaphor that aligns with Trump's approach to business, politics and immigration. The White House released a short film of his recital that pairs the poem with images of detained brown-skinned men. The poem's theme also maps onto Trump's relationship with the British establishment: lavish hospitality and state honors met by subsequent insult and denunciation. Keir Starmer pursued close ties and economic favors, only for Trump to deride the UK publicly.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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