[NR] Don’t discount the man’s ability to schmooze. The stale, clichéd conceptions of Donald Trump held by both Left and Right ‐ a man either utterly useless or only rigidly, transactionally tolerable ‐ conceal the fact that the president does possess redeeming talents that are uniquely his, and deserve praise on their own merit. One is personal friendliness and charm, particularly in smaller settings.During the campaign, I remember a conservative pundit asking his audience to imagine meeting either Hillary or Trump, and then imagine which candidate would appear to enjoy the experience more. The answer went without saying. Trump is a man who backslaps, who laughs, who makes silly jokes (yes, even self-deprecating ones), engages in amusing small talk, and tells fun stories. It’s easy to lose sight of that these days, as most of the president’s persona is now presented to us in the form of rambling, off-the-cuff press conferences or meandering braggadocio at campaign-style rallies, neither of which is particularly compelling.
Partisanship and memories of the Access Hollywood tape have similarly soured some to the point where it’s impossible to imagine anyone enjoying his presence. Yet one does not become a global celebrity of several decades’ standing without developing some skill at schmoozing, disarming, and seducing at the individual level, and this is not worth nothing in the world of politics.