You just might find: you hate what you get
“You can’t always get what you want”. This old hit of the Rolling Stones was used by Donald Jumanji Trump during his campaign for president that never stopped even when he was elected president. The Stones weren’t amused, but since they’re even older than Trump it took them till june 2020 to force the Donald to get rid of his campaign closer.
And as we see the end of the Donald Trump presidency: him not conceding, much like Bill Maher has predicted for years, and inciting an insurrection that was as predictable as it was hopeless, folly and – much like his bid for president – still more succesful than it should have been in the first place, I think back on this song.
It may symbolize the Trump era as a whole: Trump grabbed it, and when you are a star, they let you do it. He’s used it for years at the end of his never-ending campaign rallies, even as people were dying in them. And when finally someone stopped him, it was too little, too late. “Gone, gone, the damage done”, as per Neil Young. Something tells me the US will be assessing the damage for years to come, because most of the damage will not be in the form of broken glass at the capitol.
To me, the song always sounded like a two trick pony trying his flirt routine at the bar on the last woman that had a little too much, convincing her to take a chance. And somehow, that’s exactly fitting for Donald Trump. A two trick pony convincing a drunk nation that it’s either him or not getting laid at all. Well, as I’m pretty sure any woman settling for the last availabe guy at the bar ’round closing time knows, the reality has a different lyric. “You can’t always get what you want. But you can try some time, you’ll prolly find: you hate what you get.” Quod. Erad. Demonstrandum.