Joe Biden dropping out of the presidential race helped, but Trump’s dream of returning triumphantly to the White House in 2025 was already in trouble a year ago. The problem is not just the criminal indictments and gaffes at rallies. It is something else. The Trump act, the persona he created to run for president, has grown old. Like the characters on a sitcom that runs too long, Trump is no longer interesting.
Today even Trump’s most ardent supporters know what he is going to do next. That is why some attendees at his Wilkes-Barre rally last Saturday walked out while Trump was still speaking. They had heard it before. Maybe they expected something new. They didn’t get it.
The Trump Show has never been of interest to many voters. Some Democrats claim they never watch any Trump speeches, avoid reading anything about his proposals, and even his legal problems because, as they put it, “he is evil.” If more Democrats sampled what Trump is offering today, the result would be even more urgent efforts to defeat him. The more you know about Trump, the more obvious it is that he must be defeated.
What are the mainstays of the Trump Show that are turning off voters, including Republicans?
The name-calling. In Wilkes-Barre, Trump called Kamala Harris “a Communist” for proposing price controls. In other recent speeches, she was credited with inflation, opening the border, and called an idiot. Trump also suggests she stole the Democratic presidential nomination from Joe Biden.
In one of the more ridiculous, weird things Trump said at the Pennsylvania rally, Trump said he was better looking than Harris. (That must have hurt Harris’ feelings.)
Trump is recycling names. “Crooked” and “Crazy” are two mainstays. “Crazy” has been applied to Nancy Pelosi, Bernie Sanders, Harris, and others. Other favorites include “corrupt,” “fake,” and “lunatic.” And the list goes on and is tiresome.
Trump admits the name-calling is essential to destroying “the brand” of his opponents. Under the skillful hand of Kellyanne Conway in 2016, the ploy worked. Hillary Clinton’s favorability ratings plummeted.
Saying America is “broken.” The spiel, of course, is that Trump is the only person who can fix it. But people are tired of hearing that America is broken. People I talk to who comment on Trump’s claim about whether a 78-year-old man has time to fix it. According to Trump, the America that is broken includes the FBI, the Justice Department, border security, trade with China, America’s involvement/role in wars in Ukraine and Gaza, American cities, the military, the media, and more. Enough already.
Lying. Trump lies about everything, even when the lies make him look ridiculous. He is still lying about the 2020 election and his January 6, 2021, insurrection. Some Republicans might find Trump’s lying amusing, but most of us don’t.
Greed. Last week the Federal Election Commission released Trump’s required financial disclosures. The information got less media coverage than I expected. Trump earned hundreds of thousands of dollars from the sale of $60 bibles, non-fungible tokens (NFTs depicting himself as a superhero), and other Trump-branded merchandise, most of it bought by MAGA supporters. Trump is proving that it is more lucrative to run for president than to serve in office. (I wonder how Trump’s defeat in November will impact future sales or the value of these “collectibles.”)
Age-related decline. Why does Trump look frail these days? Is it Post-Traumatic Stress caused by the assassination attempt against him? Is it dementia? Is it mental illness? I will leave it to the professionals to diagnose Trump, but the ex-president is not looking chipper these days. He looks like an old man. He is not OK.
A couple of years ago, friends persuaded me to attend a performance by a long-retired TV sitcom actor, a comedian once heralded as “brilliant.” The actor gave the performance his best, but the jokes were old, the spark was gone, and the audience left saddened and asking why the actor chose to embarrass himself.
Trump is now an “old actor” without new material. Unfortunately, he is not pandering for a few bucks, but seeking a return to political power. That is why the current season of the Trump Show is not much-watch TV.
The spell has been broken. But the danger of Trump and Trumpism remains. Trump can still win in November. Only voters can stop him.
J.E. Dean is a retired attorney and public affairs consultant. He writes on politics, government, and, too infrequently, other subjects.
Trump is a joke. Our country cannot survive another 4 years of his lies and name calling, etc etc etc. Get this lunatic away from us once and for all.