The Monocle Minute

Since Donald Trump narrowly escaped assassination on Saturday, there has been voluble indignation from his political and media allies regarding the allegedly inflammatory rhetoric of their opponents. This is, to put it charitably, risible. When Trumpist militiamen plotted to kidnap Michigan’s governor, Gretchen Whitmer, Trump scoffed. When a conspiracy theorist emerged from the online swamp that roils around Trump and attacked the husband of house speaker Nancy Pelosi, Trump joked. When the American people voted him out, Trump incited violent insurrection.

Trump’s line ahead of this week’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, during which he will be confirmed as the party’s candidate for November’s presidential election, has been uncharacteristically conciliatory: he has promised a revised acceptance speech calling for unity, offering that his brush with death has “had an impact”. All such mollifications should be treated with the same scepticism as every other utterance that Trump has made in decades of prolific goading, grifting and fibbing – especially as it is easy to identify the example that will be lit upon by American media desperate for a redemption narrative (the desire for Trump to become suddenly “presidential” has been a chronic weakness in coverage of him).

In 1972, George Wallace, governor of Alabama, was shot while campaigning for the Democratic nomination for the presidency; he was left paralysed from the waist down. Wallace, a bellicose populist and inveterate race-baiter, seemed changed by his dreadful injuries. He undertook considerable efforts to make amends with his black fellow citizens – to the extent that when he won Alabama’s governorship again in 1982, he did so with 90 per cent of the black vote.

Like other American demagogues since, Trump has borrowed heavily from the Wallace playbook: stoke fear and division to consolidate a base; flood the discourse with paranoia and nonsense so that nobody knows what to believe; present yourself as saviour from the chaos one has created. The jury remains out on whether Wallace was converted to decency by political expediency or genuine remorse. The person who takes at face value any professions of contrition from Donald Trump is likely a graduate of Trump University.

Andrew Mueller is a contributing editor at Monocle and presenter of ‘The Foreign Desk’ on Monocle Radio. For more opinion, analysis and insight, subscribe to Monocle today.

As political turmoil engulfs two of Ukraine’s big backers – France and the US – Poland is stepping up its support of its eastern neighbour. Polish foreign minister Radosław Sikorski confirmed at last week’s Nato Summit that his country has begun to train and equip a legion of volunteers to be deployed on the front lines of Ukraine’s war with Russia.

The initiative, which is part of a security agreement between Warsaw and Kyiv, has received thousands of applications from Ukrainians living in Poland. Sikorski also announced that Bydgoszcz in northern Poland will host the Nato-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training and Education Centre, deepening the connection between the military alliance and Kyiv. As others falter, Poland is making strides on the international stage with its bid to keep Russia at bay from Ukraine’s borders – and its own.

According to Japan’s latest box-office figures, 15 of the 20 highest-grossing films so far this year are homegrown. Anime is doing particularly well in the world’s third-largest film industry. Topping the list of this year’s money-spinners is Detective Conan: The Million-Dollar Pentagram, which is based on a manga series featuring a diminutive detective and is closely followed by high-school volleyball vehicle Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle.

The latest instalments of established franchises, such as Doraemon and Demon Slayer, have also been popular with cinemagoers. Eighth-placed Oppenheimer is the highest-grossing foreign film, despite it causing controversy in Japan for its depiction of the events that led to the devastating bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the Second World War. A booming local industry and rising interest for Japanese movies abroad could make 2024 a banner year for the country’s film industry.

Lisa Jackson is vice-president of environmental policy and social initiatives at Apple. Following a stint in the US government during the Obama administration, as part of the Environmental Protection Agency, she made the jump to the private sector and has spent the past 11 years with the technology giant. She stopped by Midori House to talk about her role at Apple and the company’s wider goal to have themselves and their suppliers run on completely clean energy by 2030.

Are there any initiatives that you’re particularly proud of from your tenure?
There are many. Since 2015, Apple’s carbon footprint has dropped by 55 per cent but our revenues are up by more than 60 per cent. This sets an important precedent. In the past we didn’t have an environmental-initiatives programme that the consumer could see and understand. We were doing great work then but there is more visibility now and people can see that we are incredibly committed.

Having seen both sides, how does your work interact between the public and private spheres?
There has to be a dialogue between the two. Bureaucrats – the people who put environmental regulations through, often working for less money than what they could make elsewhere – introduce these changes for the love of the country and the wider good. But it is also dependent on businesses. In the private sector there is a responsibility to adapt to these challenges and requirements. Crucially, that shouldn’t be a difficulty; but there will always be a push and pull.

The goal for 2030 was penned some time ago. Is it still viable?
Yes. Optimism, to me, is a belief that the future can be better. The only combative argument to that point is if you’re the kind of optimist who sits still while hoping that the future will get better on its own. I’m working on making things better for my children. For my grandchildren, someday. Optimism must be mixed with hard work.

To listen to the full interview with Lisa Jackson, tune in to the latest episode of‘The Entrepreneurs’, on Monocle Radio.

New York-based artist and musician Cassandra Jenkins discusses her new album, My Light, My Destroyer. The spellbinding new record is a tangle of cranked guitars, close-mic confessionals and wonderfully melodic songwriting. Plus: we celebrate To the End, a new documentary about Blur, with the film’s director, Toby L.