The January 6 committee formally subpoenaed Donald Trump last week, though its members are well aware that it’s unlikely they’ll be able to get him to testify.
However, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is attempting an unconventional tactic to prod Trump into testifying before the committee: questioning his manhood.
In a recent interview with MSNBC, Pelosi stated, “I don’t think he’s man enough to show up.” Because he must testify while being sworn in, I don’t believe his attorneys will want him to appear.
We’ll see if he’s man enough to come up, Pelosi said, in case you missed it.
This is an intriguing ruse to a) catch Trump’s attention and b) persuade him to consider testifying if you know him.
Trump exudes pure macho bluster. He made a point of portraying himself as a macho man, a tough guy who couldn’t stand what he saw as the softening of American men, throughout both the 2016 campaign and his four years in the White House.
As I noted about Trump’s preoccupation with masculinity in 2020:
His perception of toughness and strength has been severely warped by years of self-assurance and swagger. You see, for Trump, being powerful and aggressive are closely related to succeeding, dominating, and employing extreme force to achieve a goal.
“Might makes justice in his eyes. The world is divided into those who are willing to abuse their authority over others and those who are too terrified to do so.
His most recent history is filled with obsessions with manliness.
Mehmet Oz praised Trump’s testosterone level in particular when he revealed portions of his medical documents while appearing on his TV show. Oz stated, “Your testosterone is 441, which is actually wonderful,” before continuing, “It.” (Oz is currently the Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate.)
Trump felt compelled to defend his hand size during a 2016 campaign debate against criticism from Florida Senator Marco Rubio. He hit my hands, I have to mention that, stated Trump. “I’ve never had somebody hit my hands. This one is brand-new to me. Seen those hands? Are those tiny hands? He also said that if my hands are small, then something else must also be small. There is no issue, I promise. I can assure you.
As the country struggled to deal with the coronavirus outbreak, Trump frequently made fun of Joe Biden for donning a mask, implying that it was anything but manly. Trump declared, “I don’t wear masks like him. “You always see him wearing a mask. He may be speaking to someone 200 feet away and then suddenly appear with the largest mask I’ve ever seen.
The question of whether Trump felt emasculated by being banned from Facebook and Twitter was put to the then-Trump spokesperson Hogan Gidley shortly after the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. The President of the United States is, in my opinion, the most manly person to have ever occupied the White House, Gidley said.
Pelosi is thus getting right to the core of what makes the former President tick by doubting Trump’s manhood. And, she hopes, makes him so furious that he disregards any advise he might be getting to avoid the January 6 committee as much as possible.
Will it function? Most likely not. But Pelosi’s gambit is quite interesting.
