In my view, Jerry Lewis’s Julius Kelp/Buddy Love characters in THE NUTTY PROFESSOR mirror Trump’s attitude about himself, women, and negotiation. If you haven’t seen it, or haven’t seen it in ages, you really should.
In the motion picture — which is a comedy based on DOCTOR JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE — Professor Julius Kelp is a weird-looking, slow-witted professor who manages to stumble on a formula that separates him into two personas.
His alter ego, Buddy Love — handsome, dashing, debonair — is a malignant narcissist, madly in love with the way his looks attract women into his web of self-serving intrigue. But as soon as he opens his mouth, a smart woman would intuitively realize he’s bad news. But because less discerning, needier women are intrigued by his looks and self-confidence, they linger a little longer until they just can’t take his boorish behavior anymore. They realize that his facade is just that: an attractive, alluring storefront that completely misrepresents the malignancy that engulfs his soul. Buddy Love — in stark contrast to nerdy Julius Kelp — cares about no one but himself. His desires and goals are all that matter to him; any collateral damage to other people’s lives are his playthings, his cruel personal delights. He’s the kind of guy who would tear the wings off flies just to get off on their death throes.
But Trump is Professor Kelp, too
Julius Kelp knows keenly where and how he doesn’t measure up. He doesn’t like or respect himself much. But discerning women find him weirdly charming. He’s bumbling, stumbling, buck-toothed, and his hair and glasses don’t mitigate in any way against his obvious external discomfort and internal self-recriminations. He’s hesitant when it comes to relationships because he doesn’t know what he has to offer: a good heart and charming deference. (Donald has money and status — or had it before his facade started crumbling as 88 indictments for criminal acts wend their way through court systems; Julius Kelp doesn’t even have those as bargaining chips.)
Donald Trump knows who he is. He knows his petty heart, his disdain for powerful women who “have his number” and for people of any color who aren’t filthy rich and can’t help him get richer. He knows he’s been defrauding contractors and ripping off his cult for years. All of those lives are collateral damage in service to his voracious need for power and prominence in the media (which is the same thing). He doesn’t care about anyone other than himself. He never has. He never will.
JD Vance is Trump II
With JD Vance as his running mate, the GOP ticket has WEIRD and WEIRD the Successor all planned out (with the help of SCOTUS, Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, and other mind-numbingly-rich oligarchs), yet another voracious control-hungry white male supremacist who seems to have a crusade against any woman who isn’t willing and eager to become a baby factory for some Tom, Dick or Harry who wants to procreate. His “family values” appear to be “control every woman’s body, choices, and life trajectories.”
Trump/Vance Ladies (and you men who love them), listen up! I don’t know if you have daddy issues, insecurity issues, or what your particular tendency might be, but Trump and Vance are BAD NEWS for you, your friends, and your loved ones. They do not care about you. They want to control you. They want to destroy democracy so you can’t vote them out later. Understand the assignment. If you don’t stop them this time, you won’t get another chance.
If this sounds like Chicken Little The-Sky-is-Falling propaganda, look up well-regarded historians’ stances on what’s at stake in this election. Try Ken Burns, Heather Cox Richardson, Jon Meacham, Walter Isaacson, and every other living historian you can think of. They are all sounding the alarm!
THIS IS NOT A DRILL.
THIS IS A REAL CRISIS FOR THE COUNTRY YOU SAY YOU LOVE.
DO YOUR RESEARCH ON PROJECT 2025/AGENDA47/THE 2024 GOP PLATFORM, TOO.
This isn’t about Red or BLUE. This is about the red, white and blue. What kind of nation do you want to be living in in 2025? A country of chaos and division, or a country that recognizes we’re all in it together and we can help each other out and become FRIENDS again. Give it a try. Look how joyous,united, and glowing the alternative is to what Trump and Vance offer.
It’s the difference between midnight and daybreak.
I encourage you — I implore you — to walk into the dawn of a delightful, energizing new day!
