The moonwalk is a flashy dance move, popularised by the legendary Michael Jackson, where one moves backwards while giving the appearance of moving forwards.
It is a tricky manoeuvre to pull off, but done right, the optical illusion is hard to beat.
Right now, senior Republicans are indulging in a little political moonwalking of their own – giving the appearance of moving toward a reconciliation with Donald Trump, their party’s presumptive presidential nominee, while really scooting away from him.
Leading this ungainly shuffling about is Paul Ryan, speaker of the House and the most powerful Republican in the United States. On May 6, he stunned Washington by admitting he could not endorse Trump for president.
The admission felt genuine, and was in keeping with Ryan’s previous remarks on the former-reality-star-turned-politician.
However, in the days following Ryan has sought to reword this initial outburst, claiming that he would get behind the party’s nominee so the GOP would be united for its November showdown against the Democrats.
Is he being sincere? Or moonwalking further away from Trump? Only time will tell.
However, a closer look at his words and actions reveal the odd clue.
For example, Ryan says he will be happy to give up his role as Republican convention chair – and with it any sway over what goes down at July’s nominating jamboree – if Trump wants.
This reads more as an attempt by the speaker to distance himself from Trump’s likely antics in Cleveland than a genuine show of good will.
Similarly, his media appearance on Wednesday struck an odd note.
Ryan professed to not knowing Trump personally and said he was looking forward to shooting the breeze with him when he sits down with the GOP leadership on Thursday.
He added: ‘We need a real unification [of the party] … I want to be a part of that unifying process so that we’re at full strength this fall. We cannot afford to lose this election to Hillary Clinton.’
Ryan may be playing the longer game here: preaching the need for unity now to cover himself in the eyes of Trump’s supporters, and therefore clearing himself of any blame should ‘the Donald’ crash to defeat in November.
This would leave Ryan untarnished if he decides to run in 2020, something the Washington chatterati believes is on the cards.
Note also the implicit threat in that final sentence of his: ‘we cannot afford to lose.’
In saying this Ryan is consciously raising the stakes for Trump, setting him up for the fall if the election results in a Republican massacre. Tying it all on the presidential nominee would then pave the way for a revival of the ‘true’ GOP – the party that existed before the Trump takeover.
Alternatively, Ryan may have simply been forced to backtrack by other members of the Republican leadership alarmed by his uncomradely sabre-rattling.
Reversing course so publically does not come naturally to many politicians, though, and Ryan is no idiot. He knows how to turn the party’s present challenge into an opportunity for Republicans – and himself – later down the line.
By indulging in a little moonwalking, perhaps Ryan can have the best of both worlds: appearing to back ‘the Donald’ while giving him the means to buy him for good after November.
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Louie Woodall is a member of Labour International CLP. He tweets @LouieWoodall
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