Four Years, Two months Ago

The billboard in “The Great Gatsby” (directed by Jack Clayton, 1974), “T.J. Eckleburg, Oculist.” Screenshot by author, courtesy monocledmutineer.co.uk

April, 2020: Almost four years to the day that Hope Hicks, former Communications Director in the Trump White House arrived at Manhattan Criminal Court to testify in the “hush money trial,” Ms. Hicks returned to the White House after a hiatus to help redirect the Trump candidacy which was foundering.

The following is an essay I composed in April of 2020, about the same time during the runup to a Presidential Election.