Cracker Barrel didn’t ask for this.
Just a couple weeks ago, it was a restaurant where patrons could play checkers and eat Chicken n’ Dumplins. That changed when the chain removed an image of a man sitting next to a barrel from its logo. The restaurant endured cultural backlash from conservatives, including Mr. Trump’s eldest son, who accused the company’s executives of supporting diversity efforts.
After a call with White House officials and a logo change earlier this week, the company unwoked itself to President Trump’s liking.
“Congratulations Cracker Barrel!” read the statement from Mr. Trump, who celebrated the old barrel man’s return to the logo. “All of your fans very much appreciate it.”
It used to be that you could switch off the so-called culture wars, or at least find a place to mute them for a little while. Cracker Barrel was actually one of those places. But now, not even something as low stakes as a company’s logo can escape the gaze of a president bent on changing — or forcing — American life to reflect his own views and tastes, which often mirror the far-right ideological movement that fueled his rise.
The White House declined to comment on why this matter was worthy of the president’s time, and why officials had held the call with Cracker Barrel. But an official passed on a statement from Mr. Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, who praised the president’s “unmatched business instincts.”
The logo debacle seems like a small thing, but really, it shows how Mr. Trump is now using his power to reshape all aspects of American culture, not just American policy. He has not hesitated to retaliate against those who disagree.
He has effectively taken over the Kennedy Center, where he will decide what art is appropriate to receive national recognition, and where he will host the annual awards ceremony. (No “wokesters,” he said of the recipients.) He is reviewing Smithsonian museums and exhibits “to assess tone, historical framing and alignment with American ideals.” He issued an executive order requiring that all future federal buildings eschew modernist architecture. He called in the National Guard to control Washington’s crime, and now its members, some with little to do, are spreading mulch in parks downtown.
He has returned to earlier threats to investigate or exert control over television networks. After crowing over the cancellation of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” whose host is an ardent critic, Mr. Trump vowed to investigate NBC over extending the contract of the late-night host Seth Meyers. (His contract was extended before Mr. Trump took office for the second time.)
Golf buddies have also been given the benefit of the presidential bullhorn. Mr. Trump has demanded that Roger Clemens, the former major-league pitcher whose career was overshadowed by steroid suspicions, be elected to the Hall of Fame, “NOW.” (Mr. Clemens played golf with the president recently.)
Turn off the television and he’ll turn up at your college football game talking about transgender people in sports. Try to do some doomscrolling on Instagram and there’s Sydney Sweeney, she of the “Good jeans” American Eagle ad. Mr. Trump proudly claimed recently that she is a registered Republican with the “HOTTEST” commercial going. Mute social media and he’ll be onstage at the Kennedy Center, praising the physique of Sylvester Stallone.
Steven Levitsky, a professor of government at Harvard who studies authoritarianism and threats to democracies, said that Mr. Trump’s impulses have led to unprecedented attacks on American institutions, and that the early months of his term appear to have emboldened him.
“We have a lot of muscle in American society,” Mr. Levitsky said. “It’s a very wealthy society and a lot of highly skilled lawyers, and it is well organized. The United States has the raw materials to push back. It’s just not doing it.”
Mr. Levitsky predicted that Americans might be finding the cultural overreach into their homes and televisions and social media accounts “annoying.” But he said there was little to stop the president from continuing his disruptive cultural campaign.
Mr. Trump’s criticisms and demands have evolved since he was a pop culture obsessive who lived on Twitter to comment on the news of the day. When he entered the White House, he used the presidential bully pulpit to attack a dizzying range of critics, from celebrities to former members of his first presidential administration.
In some cases, the line between his political opponents living under mere threat of retaliation and those actually facing it is growing thinner.
A number of former Trump administration officials whom Mr. Trump has considered insufficiently loyal have had their Secret Service details pulled, including Mike Pompeo, the former secretary of state, and Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the former government scientist. They are part of a growing list of Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris, who’ve also had their details revoked.
A number of other perceived enemies of Mr. Trump are facing investigations, including Lisa Cook, a Fed governor the president has accused of mortgage fraud. (She has not been charged with a crime.)
Others have been threatened without evidence, including former President Barack Obama, whom Mr. Trump has accused of undermining his 2016 presidential campaign. Mr. Obama’s office called those claims a “weak attempt at distraction.”
Even his old pop-culture Twitter foils have faced increasingly dark threats. Rosie O’Donnell, a longtime and very vocal Trump critic, is now living in Ireland. Mr. Trump has mused about revoking her American citizenship, which is unconstitutional.
One former target who got off relatively easy was Taylor Swift, the pop star who recently announced her engagement to Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs. Ms. Swift did not endorse Mr. Trump, and he has attacked her before. This week, in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Mr. Trump magnanimously offered her good luck with her engagement. But not before pointedly wishing Mr. Kelce good luck.
