Trump’s ‘Phantom of the Opera’ Masquerade

Fear of seeing the reality which surrounds him. Perhaps this was what made Donald Trump scorn the virus which came from China and forced us to self-isolate. Trump emphatically denied denied the existence of COVID-19, just like Jair Bolsonaro, and encouraged people to take up the most absurd anti-virus treatments. Could Trump be afraid? Afraid of the virus, afraid of losing the election to Joe Biden, despite the fact that he has declared exactly the opposite situation in his intimidating fashion, forgetting that the United States is the United States and not Russia, Turkey or North Korea.

Trump is not a brave man, but a fearful madman. Is he now sitting on Melania’s lap, regretting all the nonsense he has spouted since the pandemic began? Trump ignored science, health, doctors and specialists; he made fun of face masks, just like other politicians did in Portugal, and in that regard, it is worth remembering the socialist speaker of the Republic, Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues, when he coined the term “masqueraders” for those who want to prevent the possible contamination of Parliament.

Masqueraders. Each one with their mask. The masks of politics, the arts, sport, the economy, secret societies and the media. But masks cannot hide truth or knowledge. Masks highlight intelligence, prudence, courage, a lack of prejudice and a total embrace of democracy and freedom.

“Hide your face so the world will never find you,” the phantom of the opera sings. It is a prescription that will not work during in this pandemic. “Look around, there’s another mask behind you,” the phantom says. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s lyrics are brilliant. Unmask the masquerader. “Run and hide – but a face will still pursue you!”

Biden will be that face for the next long month. (Americans go to the polls on Nov. 3 to choose the president for the next four years.) In this week’s debate between the two candidates, Biden may not have shown the fervor that political analysts expected, and he was criticized for it, but Trump’s lack of civility overcame everything else, and the mask dropped away. The insult-ridden debate, unfortunately, was a defeat for democracy.

The Democratic Party candidate will have to distance his platform from the one the “masked” one presents. The incumbent president seeking reelection could not resist playing to his base, and insisted on calling into question Biden’s mental acuity, going so far as to suggest that the Democratic Party candidate could only perform with the help of stimulants and by getting directions through a set of headphones. At a masquerade ball, anything goes, even if the dancers bear such illusions.