a A “beautiful” beach body and a “mentally disabled” partner. “A grueling hour” of police retaliation to stop criminals. Afghanistan’s “Rambo of a Million”. Haitian immigrants “eat dogs” and “eat cats.” Death by electrocution and sharks. Asylum, and of course the late, great Hannibal Lecter.
These are just some of the recent statements by one of the two leading candidates for President of the United States. Republican candidate Donald Trump has spent years saying unsaid things to entertain, provoke, and get attention. But his statements over the past few weeks have exposed new depths of absurdity and incoherence.
The 78-year-old president has increasingly slurred speech and stumbled over his words, raising concerns about his cognitive decline. He is trailing in the polls against Kamala Harris and knows that a loss could lead to criminal trials and jail time. Critics say that after a decade of dominating American politics, President Trump could be on the verge of a final collapse.
Tara Setmeyer, a former Republican communications director on Capitol Hill, said his arguments are now “complete bullshit.” “These are not the musings of a well-adjusted adult. He proves every day how unfit he is to hold the most powerful position in the world.”
Setmeyer added that the mainstream media largely gave Trump a pass because of the emphasis on Joe Biden’s age and mental strength when he was still on the ballot. “He is the oldest candidate in this race, so the focus is only on him right now. He is unwell and alone on the island, so his cooking is even more intense than before. It is attracting attention.”
True to this metaphor, Mr. Trump has always thrown a dead cat on the table, provided fans with the thrill of violation, and gleefully watched as liberals howled in indignation. His 2016 presidential bid was marked by racially divisive statements and a steady stream of controversy that dominated the news cycle and forced rival Hillary Clinton into a back-and-forth mode.
A Guardian analysis of President Trump’s October 2016 campaign rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, found references to “crooked Hillary” and “given what she’s done, they should lock her up.” I found the argument that “I should.” Even then, Trump was fixated on crowd size, media lies “poisoning” voters’ minds, and the illusion that “this entire election is rigged.”
He definitely missed a step, as they say. He’s certainly less consistent than he was four years ago.
Elaine Kamarck, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution
But Trump eight years ago also brought a more disciplined and focused message. He railed against bad trade deals, called for the biggest tax cuts since Ronald Reagan, eliminated regulations, defended religious freedom, supported law enforcement, repealed and replaced Obamacare, preserved the Second Amendment, and called for the “greatest” tax cuts since Ronald Reagan. He gave up a list of policy priorities, including appointing judges. To the Supreme Court.
Perhaps most strikingly, President Trump called on independents and Democrats to join him in the fight against a “corrupt system” that would give government back to the people. He concluded the speech in a relatively tight 40 minutes by denouncing the nation’s division and promising that “we will be a united nation, a loving nation.”
Trump’s rallies now tend to last between an hour and a half to two hours, and as Harris pointed out during the debate, some people leave before they’re over. He tried to defend his meanderings as “weaving,” claiming that all the threads would come back together and make sense.
But during a recent stop in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, “President Trump moved from topic to topic so quickly that it was sometimes difficult to grasp what he wanted to say,” the Associated Press reported. . There were digressions about the climate crisis, Harris’ father, how Harris had a better beach body than Biden, and the flies that were buzzing near him. “I wonder where the flies came from,” he said. “Two years ago, we wouldn’t have had flies here.”
Mr. Trump in 2024 also takes a darker tone as he struggles to define Ms. Harris by her nickname or brand. At Prairie du Chien, he tried a new insult: “Joe Biden became mentally disabled. Kamala was born that way. She was born that way. And when you think about it… , the only people who allowed this to happen to our country were the mentally ill. We all know that.”
At another rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, Mr. Trump painted an ominous picture of crime spiraling out of control, saying that if there was a “really bad, bad day” or “a really bad hour,” he would “right away.” “I can finish it,” he said. Some critics likened the idea to the dystopian horror film The Purge.
At a news conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, “Mr. Trump occasionally interrupted his digressions with yet another story,” according to the New York Times. He confused Iran and North Korea and had trouble pronouncing the name of the United Arab Emirates. He spoke passionately about the fighters in Afghanistan. “They could take a knife and it was like Rambo. It was just like throwing in a million Rambos. Good old Sylvester Stallone was a friend of mine.” But it was 100 It’s like putting Rambo on a million people. ”
The campaign is also punctuated by bizarre riffs about the 30-year-old fictional character Hannibal Lecter and whether it’s better to be electrocuted or eaten by a shark. President Trump used a debate watched by tens of millions of people to push the dangerous lie that Haitian immigrants are eating pets in Springfield, Ohio.
It would be a big mistake to just talk about Trump being out of whack or insane. We also have to talk about how dangerous and regressive what he’s saying is.
Alan Lichtman of Washington American University
This week, President Trump was the subject of chilling criticism on Comedy Central’s satirical news program The Daily Show. Host Jon Stewart played a clip of an interview in which he asked President Trump about the specifics of how prices would come down.
His answer is: “First of all, she can’t be interviewed. They ask questions like, ‘Please be specific,’ so she couldn’t do this interview.” ”He then rambled on about how much Russia had taken from Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. President Trump said, “If President Trump was here, Russia wouldn’t have taken anything.”
Stewart had created a table showing his answers on “policy details.” I immediately replaced it with a graph that said, “Huh?” “Looks like I had the wrong chart,” Stewart said.
He then played another video of Trump zigzagging around in response to questions about his parenting plans, saying, “Parenting is parenting.” A third video showed Trump being asked about his claim that he wants to ban in vitro fertilization. Again, his answer deviated greatly, and he settled on the conclusion that “there is no tax on anything called a tip.” Stewart reached for a new chart that read, “What’s the real f#@k you talking about?”
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Democrats see Trump as a declining politician. “He’s definitely missed a step, as they say. He’s certainly not as consistent as he was four years ago,” said Elaine Kamarck, a former senior official in Bill Clinton’s administration.
“He used to insult people in a way that would get into one of their problems, like ‘Little Marco’ (Rubio), but now he just insults people randomly. Kamala. Say what you will about Harris, she’s not mentally ill. It’s crazy. Many have noticed that he can be off the wall at times, and now it’s even more noticeable. It seems so.”
Mr. Kamarck, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington, said that in 2016, President Trump could read from a teleprompter, as he believed, but now he doesn’t want to be here. I remember when I hear it. “When I hear this word, it reminds me of a sixth-grade boy reading something to the class, angry that he was there instead of on the soccer field.”
Still, the former president’s rallies still draw large audiences, and many of his supporters appear to be amused by Trump’s rants. Kamarck added, “One of my friends, who is not in politics but is a film critic, watched a Trump rally and said, “Look, he’s literally an entertainer, and he does things like this to get laughs and applause from the crowd.” That’s what I’m saying.”
“Yet, those of us in this industry take him seriously. Part of that is his base loves him and loves his entertainment. They’re Kamala Harris. doesn’t support her – they don’t think she’s mentally ill – but they like that he “calls it out like it is”. They don’t take him too seriously, but they like his straightforward way of speaking and think it shows trustworthiness. ”
What Donald Trump is saying isn’t just some crazy shit. It’s dangerous
Tara Setmeyer, former Republican communications director
However, this shitty humor also has a sinister side. President Trump continues to demonize immigrants, pushing falsehoods that they spread disease, steal jobs from Americans, and traffick in racist stereotypes. He has spent much of the last decade addressing white anxieties and grievances. A lawsuit filed in court this week reminds him of the legal risks he faces if he loses the election, and he is preparing to make a last stand.
“He’s definitely more undisciplined, more agitated, more deranged. He always had that tendency, but as he got older,” said Alan Lichtman, a history professor at American University in Washington. The trend has gotten even bigger: stories about Hannibal Lecter and sharks vs. electrocution are insane, insane, and should be discussed on that basis.
“But it’s a big mistake to just talk about Trump being upset or insane. We also have to talk about how dangerous and regressive what he’s saying is. We must also highlight the extreme racism and misogyny.”
Lichtman, known for his election prediction models that favor Harris this year, added: “Mr. Trump’s statement that Kamala Harris is mentally ill, mentally disabled, and was born with these defects is the worst and most It repeats one of the old stereotypes that has degraded and oppressed black people throughout American history. That is, black people inherently lack mental capacity and are unable to perform the same tasks as white people. I was surprised to see a candidate for president of the United States reiterate those horrible old slurs and stereotypes about black people. ”
The latest national poll average from a week ago showed Harris with 48.2% and Trump with 44.4%, giving the Democratic Party a 3.8 point lead. But she describes herself as an underdog and the race in battleground states remains too close to call. And this week, President Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, delivered a sophisticated debate performance that critics called “brainwashing.” This was an effort to make Trump seem moderate and likable, even though the substance was just as provocative.
“Many of us are filled with frustration, misogyny, “We underestimated how deep the scars of racial hostility were.” This country and Donald Trump give voice and aid and comfort to the worst among us. This is the ugly reality we face in America.
“We are being tested, and our democracy is at stake, because what Donald Trump is saying is not just some crazy rant. It’s dangerous. It’s anti-democratic. It’s an ideology of hostility toward others. Trump thinks we’re not all equal, and what kind of country do American voters want to live in? We need to decide what kind of future we want to leave behind.”
