I & I Editorial BoardLast week, we published an analysis of President Donald Trump’s affordability speech by guest contributor Bob Maistros, who used his decades of communications, political, and speechwriting experience to argue that the speech missed the mark.
Bob’s piece got picked up by some other conservative blogs, which resulted in a flurry of negative comments on our sites and others. Comments along the lines of:
- “You are simply a hater as well as absolutely wrong. President Trump, on the other hand is absolutely correct. MAGA all day every day.”
- “Really? We’re talking about ‘tone’? That’s the bailiwick of unserious people. Y’know, like Obama.”
- “I’m sick of hearing how Americans want the president to hold their hands. Poor babies … a therapeutic presidency should step up to soothe our fragile sensibilities.”
- “I&I seems to have forgotten that Marcus Welby wasn’t on the ballot last November. Would they have preferred a bibulous Nurse Ratched explaining how we don’t realize how great a sixth straight year of 5% inflation is?”
- “Lots of Americans voted for Trump because they agree with what he says. Millions more Americans voted for Trump because of how he says it and how he acts. The beltway class despises Trump’s style, but Trump’s style connects with far more Americans than it offends.”
- “I’ve read some stupid [expletive deleted] in my day but this beats all.”
- “I&I continues to beclown itself, an amazing feat since they do not possess a sense of humor. I see a lot of therapy in their future.”
- “Getting so tired of pundits telling the President what he needs to improve on.”
See: Affordability-Addled Americans Want Dr. Marcus Welby, The Donald Gave ‘Em P.T. Barnum
We’ve written many, many times in this space about Trump Derangement Syndrome, and how it leads seemingly common-sense people into constant fits of rage. TDS makes it impossible for sufferers to credit Trump with anything. Even so-called conservatives can’t bring themselves to recognize that Trump has made more gains for conservatives than any previous president.
To them, nothing Trump does will ever be good enough. Everything else elicits yet another doomsday warning. (Just look at The Bulwark on any given day.)
The flip side of this – call it Trump Fanboy Syndrome – is almost as bad.
TFS sufferers act as though nothing Trump does is ever wrong, or misguided, or a violation of basic conservative principles. If Trump says the federal government should take ownership stakes in private companies, they cheer, despite decrying the industrial policies of Democrats. If he says we should slap massive tariffs on countries that have low barriers to entry, despite the harm it will cause to small businesses in the U.S., they say Trump knows best.
If you complain about a tone-deaf speech, as Maistros correctly did, they say, as one commentator did on Instapundit, that “Everything Trump does, he does for multiple reasons that aren’t necessarily readily apparent. Let’s wait six months and revisit that speech.”
Seriously? The 5-D chess cliché?
Trump gave that nationally televised speech precisely to reassure the public that – despite the constant blathering from the press – the economy is getting better. Did anyone get that message? Or were they put off by Trump’s unrelenting bluster? We suspect it’s the latter, in which case he failed to hit the mark and deserves to be called out on it.
Let’s state for the record, in case readers are confused, that we think Trump has achieved many great things. And we hope he continues for the next three years. His energy and determination are incredible. His willingness to tackle seemingly hopeless problems is inspirational. And he has suffered more obscene hostility – in the form of weaponized law enforcement, two assassination attempts, Deep State machinations – than any politician in our memories.
But he is just a man. He has flaws. Even Trump recently admitted that he has an alcoholic’s personality. His policy decisions are not immune to criticism. Nor is his leadership style, especially when it will likely affect the mid-term elections, and the next presidential election.
Trump will be out of office in just over three years, which will leave Never Trumpers in therapy for post-partum depression and Fanboys doing … what? … sitting at home not voting?
In the meantime, he will make mistakes. And when he does, we won’t shy away from pointing them out. Just as we won’t shy away from praising his successes.
– Written by the I&I Editorial Board
It’s true. Fanboy Syndrom is a good name for it. Trump is a machine and the man for the times, but a little criticism is sometimes necessary. He might actually listen and improve. We want him to succeed!
In fact they are not cut from the same cloth as they work off two different emotions, one negative/hate and one positive/respectful. Hate is too strong
an emotion to apply to someone you don’t know.
“Seriously? The 5-D chess cliché?”
Uh…yeah!
I take the writer’s point that there are some TFS supporters out there who embrace anything Trump says but how many times has Trump said something that sounded outrageous only to find out a week or a month or a year later he was absolutely correct?
So yeah, let’s wait six months and then revisit that speech.
Trump enjoys broad support and well-earned, god bless the trump administration and may many thousands follow in rosie odonnels footseps and good riddance
Trump will be out of office in just over three years, which will leave Never Trumpers in therapy for post-partum depression and Fanboys doing … what? … sitting at home not voting?
You all are Idiots if this is what your take is about fanboys.
It’s true. I am not TDS-oriented, and I am a fanboy of Trump. This is one reason why: Like the comment before me says, even his most outrageous predictions are proved to be accurate months later.
We then see what he saw months earlier.
To give an example, I just read I&I’s latest column on Trump owning the economy-and he does. GDP in the 3rd quarter is 4.3%.
Only Trump saw the boom coming. Many Democratic and University economic analysts said the tariffs and health-care were going to depress the economy and lead to a crisis in affordability. They saw the Biden instigated inflation rising as high as the sky while seemingly ignoring the potential rise in wages.
Meanwhile, Trump didn’t!
So, this is what I’ve learned: Trump is (arguably-and you’d probably lose that argument if you had bet against him) the most successful businessman in the US. He sees things (and I’m also sure he has more information than I do).
So leave him alone. If we could be as successful in business as he we would all be billionaires. As I said: Leave him and his analyses (whether geo-political, economic or domestic) alone.
This also must be added: I’ve never seen (outside of John Wayne or Clint Eastwood films) the fighting spirit that he has. I don’t know of anyone (fiction or non-fiction) who would have outlasted the NYT or the Washington Post and their Russian Collusion pretexts. Could anyone have dealt with the lawfare practiced against Trump?
As another example of Trump foresight (and perhaps he will be proved to have been wrong-but I wouldn’t bet on it): I wouldn’t have let China buy Nvidia’s high-energy chips. However, Trump did. He’s also done things-which 6 months later-make a lot of sense-and shows he was absolutely right in his analysis.
Many MAGA-rooters say he plays 5 level chess-and he does seem to. But more to the point: His vision is telescopic, while the rest of us (including-and especially including-Democratic politicians and some in the media) have normal or (compared to what Trump views) microscopic vision.
Normally I’d end this comment with: “Give Trump another chance,” but I feel I should end it with: “President Trump, give us another chance.”
Both perspectives are rooted in bias, an understandable shortcut of which we are all guilty to some degree, but one that prevents discernment when it’s most needed.
I think “Fanboys” is a bit dismissive and contemptuous of an entire voting bloc (men over 30 of all races, to be specific) that was marginalized and mocked for decades and found, in Trump, a plain-talking, ballsy leader who celebrates their sacrifices and upholds their values. They appreciate that. They’ll cut him some slack on other, less important stuff (like “tone”) because of that.
That’s a supporter. Maybe a fan. Hardly a “fanboy.”
I would add to the kind words of I&I’s editors that I, on these very pages, have referred to The Donald as “The Orange Colossus straddling the world stage” who “can no longer be anticipated – nor contained.” Which I’ll admit sounds rather fanboy-ish.
But I often take on the role of speech reviewer for I&I based on my many years of writing and coaching at very high levels of politics, business, faith and the non-profit sector. In which role I must “call ’em as I see ’em.”
As my article last week also reinforced in bringing up his 2016 stump speech references to “forgotten Americans”, in that role I’ve offered high praise for the Chief Executive’s speechifying when appropriate. (another example: https://issuesinsights.com/2025/06/22/donald-trump-on-the-iran-strikes-pithy-powerful-and-to-the-point/ )
And in that role, I declared (and was not alone in this) that the President’s speech last week was a clunker… the right facts, but the wrong tone and wrong, hyperbolic embellishments at the wrong time. I’ll not budge an inch off that judgment.
Mr Maistros,
I didn’t see the entire speech, but I have seen excerpts. And Trump seemed tired, angry, and Biden-like in his refusal to accept that people are hurting economically.
Left and right wing mags and internet blogs say this: That there really is-and people feel-the affordability crisis.
However, recently we learn that GDP last quarter rose to an astounding 4.3%. This is one example of Trump being right on our oncoming economic strength. Perhaps it hasn’t affected wages yet-but like a locomotive-it’s coming.
Anyway, I enjoyed reading your comment and agree that President Trump is right nearly all the time on his analysis of the facts (no matter how outrageous it seems), but I also agree with you that his petulant demeanor during his speech was off-putting.