Politics

Intimidator-in-Chief Takes Aim at the Cast of Hamilton

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President-elect, Donald Trump, our Twitter-wielding intimidator-in-chief, has turned his ironic rage toward the cast of the Hamilton musical.

Last night, vice-president-elect, Mike Pense, attended the musical Hamilton. After the performance, actor Brandon Victor Dixon (who plays the character, Aaron Burr), recognized Mr. Pence from the stage. As some audience members booed, Mr. Dixon said, “There is nothing to boo here ladies and gentlemen, there is nothing to boo here. We are all here sharing a story of love. We have a message for you sir and we hope that you will hear us out.” Mr. Dixon then continued with a message for the VP-elect:

“We sir, we are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights, sir. But we truly hope, that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us.”

In my view, Mr. Dixon was civil, respectful, and straightforward. He had an opportunity to exercise is right to free speech and be heard by Mr. Pence. But you don’t have to take my word for it. Here is a recording of the event. Judge for yourself the tone and delivery.

But our president-elect, our intimidator-in-chief, took to his communication platform of choice, his 140-character sniper rifle, to fire off a couple of counterfactual shots at the Hamilton cast.

The cast of Hamilton did not “harass” Mr. Pence. Nor were they “very rude.” On the contrary, actually. But truth and honesty seem unimportant to Mr. Trump when he is spinning a message, deriding an adversary, or riling up his base. He knows that he can say anything. (Or, even “stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody” and not lose any voters.)

It was just over a week ago, when Mr. Trump, in his election night victory speech, promised to heal the divides of a wounded nation:

Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division. We have to get together. To all Republicans and Democrats and Independents across the nation, I say it is time for us to come together as one united people. It’s time.

I pledge to every citizen of our lands that I will be the president for the American people. For those who have chosen not to support me in the past, for which there were a few people, I’m reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so we can work together and unify our great country.

But, no. Mr. Trump does not really believe in that. That was only something he said.

The cast of Hamilton offered the number two man in the new administration an honest, civilly delivered, expression of their concerns and anxieties spawned from the often-divisive election rhetoric. Mr. Trump might see that as an attempt to offer guidance, so we can work together and unify our great country. You know, like he said in his victory speech. But, no. Mr. Trump does not really believe in that. That was only something he said.

The irony is palpable. Mr. Dixon expressed the truth that many citizens do not feel safe in their own country. In response, Mr. Trump accused Mr. Dixon of creating an unsafe place in the theater. Mr. Dixon seeks safety from various forms of discrimination, harassment, deportation, even physical violence. Mr. Trump seeks safety from hearing thoughtfully expressed concerns from his constituency.

As a kid, my mom taught me that actions speak louder than words. Mr. Trump claims to have the best words. But his actions speak much louder. And his actions are saying something loud and clear. He is not a unifier. He is not a healer. He is an intimidator. And come January, he will be our intimidator-in-chief.

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