Ties, misspellings, typos

Richard Thompson Ford wonders:

Mr. Trump’s tie symbolizes one of the central questions of his candidacy, and now his presidency. Is his seeming ineptness genuine? Or is it part of a contrived performance, designed to deploy the symbols of power while rejecting the conventions of civility that have traditionally defined and constrained them?

I’ve wondered in the same way about the seeming ineptness in all those misspellings and typos. Are they genuine mistakes, or are they calculated distractions meant to incite mockery and thus make Trump’s supporters feel that they too are being mocked? I can imagine what someone might say: “You know what? I don’t spell so great either.” Snooty elites!

But I’m probably overthinking. When I read about aides who cannot figure out how to turn on the lights, I tend to think that the evidence of ineptness is genuine — and sad. Dunning K. Trump: sad!

Related posts
“I’m not running on a platform of correct grammar”
Jon Stewart’s “super-long tie”