Photo/Illutration Media representatives gather outside the Manhattan Criminal Court in New York on March 31. (AP Photo)

During her 16 years as chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel found herself making the most thorough preparations ever for a first-time face-to-face meeting with a foreign leader, in this case U.S. President Donald Trump.

Former President Barack Obama, with whom she had a close relationship of mutual trust, reportedly advised her to the effect that she should first establish some sort of dominance (over Trump) and hold onto it, according to Hungarian-American journalist Kati Marton’s 2021 book titled “The Chancellor: The Remarkable Odyssey of Angela Merkel.”

Merkel also sought other world leaders’ opinions of Trump, read media reports about him and his published account of himself as a dealmaker, and watched him on television.

But at the start of the meeting, Trump, who was only two months into his presidency, refused to shake Merkel’s hand. I can still recall the look of surprise on the face of the usually unflappable chancellor. This awkward moment startled everyone who saw the scene.

Trump was indicted by a New York grand jury on March 30, becoming the first former president of the United States to face criminal charges. I suspect that most people are not particularly surprised by the development, inured as they are to “Trump shocks.”

Initially, Trump was not considered a serious candidate for the 2016 presidential election. But after winning it, Trump continued to defend far-right groups and viciously denigrated women and people with disabilities with his words and deeds.

And just before his term was to expire in January 2021, he inflamed his supporters to “fight like hell” as they prepared to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6.

An encyclopedia explains that becoming inured is the result of diminished reactions to the same stimuli that are applied repeatedly. For instance, a newly hatched chick will show alarm at every shadow that crosses above its head, but will stop reacting to the leaves of trees and small non-predatory birds after it has been exposed to them repeatedly.

This is not so far from how we have become inured to Trump’s shocking words and deeds.

However, none of his signature “America First” policy, divisiveness and obsession with conspiracy theories can ever be shrugged aside as “tree leaves.”

Whatever may come into light as a result of the March 30 indictment, we must not trivialize the outcome by thinking: “We’ve seen it all. What’s new?”

--The Asahi Shimbun, April 1

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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