"He claimed there was an overflow of 44,000 people outside a rally in Missouri, which, a local newspaper noted, would have meant a quarter of the city’s population had gone to the event."
Gail, I would like you to consider that, perhaps, people from others cities - or even states - attend these rallies. I have personally driven over two hours to see Trump speak. Trump was late for this event, having been in multiple states that day, but the crowd was warm towards each other despite the November cold. All types of people were represented. It felt like a party, like a family. I truly believe that any person, irrespective of factors like race, nationality, gender identity, and sexual orientation, would have been welcomed by that crowd.
Are we witnessing delusion on a national scale when we observe these rallies, or is there something more, something authentic taking place?
41
@Human -
It's great that you feel that any person, irrespective of "race, nationality, gender identity and sexual orientation" would have been welcomed at the rally you attended..
When I see photos from Trump rallies, I don't see many races represented. I see a sea of white faces.
And we don't seem to be very welcoming to other races and nationalities right now, unless you think separating children from their parents is a form of welcome. Is losing track of the kids our new way of saying "hello?"
If something authentic is happening at these rallies, I will stick with my delusions of a USA where families are cared for and crowds contain all colors of skin. And where victims of trauma aren't demeaned and violence isn't celebrated.
872
Human....almost every photo I've seen of a Trump rally has been a sea of white people.
The only thing authentic taking place is a traditional city slicker swindling of the gullible masses as the national treasury is emptied into 0.1% bank accounts in the name of God, Guns, Greed and White Power.
What about healthcare, education, living wages, income inequality, free and fair elections and man-made climate change ?
Your cult leader ignores all of these basic building blocks of a decent modern society as the hollow words 'Merry Christmas' ring out as the peasants are presented with honorary lumps of 'beautiful clean' filthy, fatal coal.
Enjoy the rebirth of the Confederacy.
1134
@Human - We see you, Kellyanne.
161
Mad as a March Hare. Or, as my grandmother would have put it, “Plumb slap nuts.”
23
Lying Trump is peculiar, but even more peculiar are his supporters.
Lying Trump's supporters are able to follow right along no matter how incoherent Lying Trump gets. That's because incoherence is what they are all about. That's why they voted for Lying Trump in the first place: he is the first liar to speak their language, which makes sense only to them.
But incoherent lies are not the only attraction Lying Trump has for his supporters. They also are attracted to his mean insults. They listen attentively, anxious to hear who he will insult and how he will insult them. Lying Trump supporters love to insult others and no one insults others like Lying Trump.
And that is why Lying Trump's supporters stick with him. They know that President Lying Trump is the greatest insult to America, the greatest insult to governance, the greatest insult to the educated, the greatest insult to...you name it, they are sticking it to any and all.
Lying Trump brings great joy to his supporters who have lived tiny lives of incoherence. Lying Trump has focused their incoherence into one giant insult. Lying Trump is a walking, stalking, blabbering, groping, bragging, blustering, lying insult to humanity. What else could his supporters want?
40
May I politely request that the NYTimes work to minimize the number of photos accompanying all articles that feature the Harasser-in-Chief? We’ve seen enough.
37
Trump rallies are the Sesame Street on Ice version of Fox News.
64
I always believed W was the worst President of my lifetime. Not particularly bright, easily manipulated (Cheney, Rummy, et al), unrepresentative of the country as a whole. BUT, then along came Trump. I would pray he is an aberration but we would still be left with a complicit immoral Congress and some 30% of the population who are allowed to vote and prevail over the majority of the country. Trump can be as stupid as he wants or just naturally is, but he could be contained if we had the wherewithal. It appears we don't.
33
Doesn’t anyone see the scary thing here? It’s not that Trump is nuts and rattles on and tells whoppers. No it’s the people cheering him on and chanting like an occult. That’s what’s wrong. Hillary was right there are the deplorable‘s and it seems like they are getting bigger. Meanwhile the republicans in congress just shrug there pitifully weak shoulders.
43
“Boom. Wrong. Right? Right, fellas?” I think that's what I screamed in horror when I learned that djt was declared POTUS. Give me a 'normal' president any day...
VOTE.
15
"...Who’s that? Who are they a relative of — oh, that’s nice. They weren’t worried about not planting a flag, right? You know them. He planted that flag, that American flag right on the face of the moon. There was no kneeling. There was no nothing. There was no games. There was no games. Boom. Wrong. Right? Right, fellas?”
Well, that last part is sort of useful. Every morning for the next two years I want you to stop at some point during the day and say: “Boom. Wrong. Right? Right, fellas?” It might be very calming...."
Oh, Gail, you are keeping me sane, lady.
41
With Trump it is very simple, supply him with either money praise or women (preferably blonde) and he is a friend, not for life but at least until a new thought pushes itself forward into his brain.
12
Trump rallies are the Redneck Games of politics.
Maybe real Redneck Games events should be held more often. People actually have fun, rather than revving up to some old fool jabbering about himself and trying to incite violence. And they get to wear their own worn-out clothes instead of dropping $25 on made-in-China MAGA hats.
They could even invite Donald. Imagine the crowds the promise of him doing the mud belly-flop in his skivvies would draw. For once, no "alternative facts" required.
15
Boom! Boom! Boom! That's me hitting my head against the wall.
102
There is no doubt these Trump rallies drive the Leftists nuts, thousands of people, unscripted and entertaining. And not every now and again, but one after another.
Quite a contrast from ridiculous image portrayed by the media, right?
8
To paraphrase Sean Spicer - “Trump has the dumbest, most deplorable crowds in history. Period!” - at his rallies.
31
Trump often sounds like a man who just awoke from a coma and is discovering words like it is the first time.
43
"The end is nigh." We can't go on like this, I've got the vapors.
33
We’re all deep cynics
5
Trump's "base" and all those rally boys and girls might want to be careful (though I know I'm speaking rhetorically). Setting aside the distinct possibility that they will become losers, to a significant degree, after the midterm elections, there's this fact: Their love for a bigoted narcissist who cages children, doesn't give a darn about a murdered journalist, is allergic to friends and sides with dictators, and revels in his amorality, makes them look like sociopaths. They may not all qualify for that distinction, but they are in that ballpark.
58
Amazing...how blatantly a Sociopathic Personality Disorder has not only occupied the office of “President” of the United States...
He has garnered a chronic audience of cheering followers.
Clearly diagnosable in his Sociopathy, he is enjoying his celebrity...only one obvious symptom, along with free-floating
Lying. He is year old citizen only hopes to again see, someday,
a President who chooses to Serve someone besides Himself.
28
Sooner or later even the trumpinistas will tire of this one act reality show.
27
Babbling is the Trump family native tongue.
Trump loves and praises the best family babblers aka Melania, Don, Jr., Ivanka and Eric Trump.
Trump loves and praises the best Cabinet and White House staff babblers aka Ben Carson, Betsy DeVos, Rick Perry, KellyAnne Conway, Sarah Sanders and John Kelly.
Trump loves and praises the best mass media babblers aka Fox News and the Wall Street Journal.
24
Bring out the cane, bring out the strait-jacket, bring out the nice men in white suits, and stay calm. This will pass. Om...
5
The emperor feeds on adoring crowds. Mindless, adoring crowds prepped by Fox propaganda.
94
Behold, the Trump rally: where Republicans incite their angry mobs of followers to commit violence against the American People. Every Trump rally is another Republican terrorist attack in the making, and they need to be shut down in the name of national security.
123
It’s funny how two seemingly unrelated stories in today’s NYT illustrate how a blustering clown like Trump can garner enough votes to end up in the White House. Because the baffling question about Trump is, “Who was stupid enough to vote for him?” His flaws are 50 stories tall. It takes thousands of words to list all the reasons he’s unfit for office. His character flaws, if laid end-to-end, would stretch from New Jersey to Florida. But many did vote for him, and some still show up for his rallies. Who are these dolts? They’re the same people who watch “Real Housewives”, as described in another story here. People entertained by shallow, shiny things. Trump, to them, is just another piece of “pop culture eye candy”. They don’t seem to notice, or care, that he’s destroying the country.
134
Don the con. How on Earth can anybody listen to this ignoramus. He did get one thing right. When he called the other people that have held his office the “normal presidents.”
12
Gail Colllins, I like the ways you write about 45 and show us what a disaster he is while giving us spme comical relief!
You are the best！
5
It's only the tiniest of baby steps to go from cheering on a man who body slams a reporter to enabling and covering up for a man who tortures, dismembers and brutally murders a reporter.
There is nothing funny about Donald Trump. He is pure evil.
42
This isn't a presidency it is a cult and Trump is the leader collecting billions of dollars in deals while playing to his base audience who could care less if he acts unhinged and wanders incoherently into irrelevancy.
This is not normal not even by Putin's standards which is why he and others won't leave our social media, they are having way too much fun with this bellicose, belligerent, banal, buffoon.
Most people would be ashamed to be a Trump but not him, he carries that name proudly and so won't his kids and grandkids evidently as it will be a name of shame for generations to come.
There are not enough billions in the world to clean up that name or to change this malicious monster into a real man and president. He is too old to grow up as he is 73 and facing the end of his run time here on earth.
He only feels that he is alive if he is soaking up all the attention around him 24/7. He really is pathetic, desperate and needy as well as crude, rude and lewd.
God Bless America!!
45
"And they’ve got Trump banners and Trump hats and Trump tattoos. …”
Trump tattoos? Are you sure? More likely Stormy Daniels' tattoos!
11
Among Trump’s myriad personality disorders is the fact that he is a sore winner. He cannot leave well enough alone and forever sleep with a photo of Hillary and his electoral map under his pillow. For a real education, watch Trump at a rally and mute the remote: What you see before you is a frightening spectacle — a near unhinged madman parodying, grimacing, gesticulating and smirking. It’s like watching a weird fusion of the People’s Temple’s Jim Jones, and Benito Mussolini. Lucky us!
85
Bill Maher described it best....these are "daddy needs love rallies." Cult 45.
79
I get the feeling that for your next column all you will need is a transcript of Trump's "speech"
20
I heard Nuremberg had some fine rallies back in the day.
The Don loves a good hate filled rally, I wonder if he has seen the news reels.
14
I like it when you make fun of Trump based upon reality.
NYT reporting about Hillary's emails was NOT based upon reality.
The time and money used to report about Hillary's email could have been used in 2015 to report about the tax evasion of Fred Trump and the uncharged felonies of Donald Trump, his children, and his organization. The Times decided to give Trump the benefit of the doubt.
The Times NEVER gave Hillary the benefit of the doubt.
Surprise us Gail. Apologize for doubting Hillary and trusting Trump.
24
Given that these rallies are in the godforsaken boonies and a whole lot of babbling is going on that not even his most rabid fans can stand a lot of, it begs the question why does the Times do him the favor of sending a correspondent to edit his unpalatable offerings into something quite yummy that everyone can enjoy.
Who benefits from this offering? In a word - Trump!
32
I’m in my late eighties and I love Gail Collins..Always have. Because I’m old, I can remember the yesterdays Trump fans think would be great. The Jewish boy in my eighth grade class who had to stand out in the hallway when we said the Lord’s prayer, the “gay” boy who was frequently pelted with rocks on his way home from school, attending church on Sunday because the neighbors might “shun” you if you didn’t. Amending our coins and the pledge and everything else with the “under God” phrase. I lived through the 60’s with teenage children. Bill Clinton certainly wasn’t perfect, but he was 10 times the man Trump is. And, our Obama was so beautiful. Trump is ugly, and taking us back to the past is obscene. The people at these rallies are disgusting relics of the past...Trump has got to go and maybe take his followers with him. They are living in a make believe world.
399
Why are we, the tax-paying public, providing this guy with a plane and staff to do little else but travel around the country campaigning? At some point, he needs to be told to either stay at home and do what real presidents do, or pay up for the costs of his Hitlerian rants.
31
It is easy to see through Trump. He is disgusting, dishonest, and focused only on himself. His dream is to be an Autocrat.
What is more puzzling, and more frightening is to see so many Americans cheering him on! Really? They cheer at roughing up reporters? At kidnapping children from their families who are fleeing to American and desperate for safety? Really? Have the hearts and minds of so many Americans really become this evil and self focused? All the while they then go gather in their churches and claim they are Christians?
Meanwhile the Republicans keep shafting all those that fall in line and cheer Trump along. Tax cuts: For the Rich. Deficit Ballooning: Ha ha ha... Guess who will pay rural North Carolinians... Jobs at Carrier... HA... yep they went to Mexico.... And who is paying for the Wall?? NOT Mexico.. then who?? Its YOU!! You voted for him. You got stuck with the bill. Health Care? Too bad, gone... That is the Republican way. Next up: Taking away your Social Security, and Medicare. That IS the REPUBLICAN AGENDA!!
So go cheer on Trump... then get ready for poverty in your retirement.
34
Please make America "normal" again. Vote!
8
Lots of creative comments here about the article. Most have veered totally off the original question of Gender being at the base of so much Trumpian rage and vile commentary.
Once again, wait in line, ladies.
9
I would enjoy seeing Nancy Pelosi dressed up as the Wicked Witch, green makeup and all, when she makes her first address in the next congress as the new Speaker of the House.
48
30% of the nation has always been crazy. Always will be.
The problem in 2016 is that JUST ENOUGH sane people sat home on election day. Or even worse, they actually bothered to vote but got confused with Russian propaganda and 30 years of Republican orchestrated hate mongering and threw their precious votes away on some absolutely hopeless and hapless third party ding dong demagogue.
We need to put our thinking caps on tight real soon. Like say November 6.
144
Trump the Divider. Trump is making our nation oh so much worse than ever before. Not great again. Worse. Trump is the worst. Right? Right fellas? Sad.
38
Just imagine Rip VanWinkle arising from his long slumber to find himself in the presence of the Lightening Rod from Queens, NY and a thunderous crowd chanting lock her up! Rip would more than likely imagine that he had awoke at the gates of hades. A good many of us find ourselves sitting amidist a crowd of fools chanting to the babbling of a man with an orange face. Poor Rip, poor us.
15
Trump's "landslide victory" is just one more alternative fact in the warped alternative universe of Donald Trump. His rallies evoke eerie images of Hitler's orating to his zealous admirers. But with the passing of each day, Trump is demonstrating the characteristics of a dictator. He's in love with heinous tyrants. He appoints family members to executive positions. He puts his name on every building he owns. He calls for military parades in his honor. He lies pathologically, denying things he says that can clearly be observed on tape. He assails the media for being the enemy of the nation. Those are the behaviors of a dictator, not a president of a constitutional democracy.
117
When my New York Times newspaper is delivered I always read the article written by Gail Collins and I always read her articles first.
24
At last Ms. Collins characterizes herself as the imperial "We." No need to think for yourself libs, she and her ilk will do it for you.
About this she is right, however: There sure is a whole lot of babbling going on. Her own, and the blabbling babbling of the three Democratice Dunces: Clinton, Warren and Waters. We are not certain about Waters, as no one is sure about what she is babbling.
Where's Joe when you need him?
5
Can you imagine? Just a couple of weeks after Jamal Khashoggi was murdered and Trump is boosting a Republican who is best remembered for seriously assaulting a reporter. Any other president we have had, having said such a base filthy thing, would have gone home and hanged himself to relieve the tidal wave of self shame. Why won't Trump do the right thing?
33
Trump is a con man who believes his lies, repeats his lies, embraces his lies, and he believes other con men's lies--Kim, Putin, Duterte, MBS. But notice how many of his followers and confidants turn against those lies and the fraud that tells them. The truth is taking him down slowly but surely.
6
Also...... Wow, what a photo, Mr. Mills. Powerful. The “great” leader pointing his dictatorial finger over all his flock. A photograph that captures what Trump’s game is all about. This depicts the tyrant at work. Vive the NYT!
5
To all Republicans :
In the name of decency, for the sake of our children, for the sake of the country and the planet for once do the right thing. Put this madman away-be it in a mental hospital, a prison cell or locked in one of those obnoxious towers.
19
Bloomberg 2020!
2
A well-known comic recently referred to these rallies as 'hillbilly Nuremburg'.
24
“The Babble”...might it be the Trump cult’s Holy Book ?
5
It astonishes me that, even after Trump’s entire life story has proven to be a fraud, people ignore the facts and latch on to the fantasy instead. But there’s no denying it: Trump is a lousy deal maker, and, without hundreds of millions of dollars from his father, would be just another wealthy yet worthless rich kid who blows his fortune on stupid ideas.
Forget the Mueller investigation. Dragging Trump and his parasitic family through the state tax courts now looks like our nation’s only path to salvation. Hundreds of millions in evaded taxes should speak louder than this crook’s lies.
25
You mean, a whole lotta mocking going on: Mark Jacob, the Guardian reporter who was assaulted in Montana, Christine Blasey Ford, Elizabeth Warren to name a few.
This babbling “useful idiot,”stable genius, knows how to make his crazed mobs dance to his incoherent “lock her ups.”
He planted the flag on the face of America, the Russian flag, when he welcomed Putin to interfere in our elections. The only one Trump kneels to are the autocrats. Boom. Wrong? Right? Right, fellas.
12
Is this someone with, not to put too fine a point on it, "the face of a dog", carrying a grudge ?
Bite him, Gail.
5
We have never seen such crudity and ignorance in a POTUS. Those who voted for this lout should be ashamed of what they have done to our country. They are just as ignorant and biased as he is !! A true reflection of themselves. Just look at the vapid expression on their faces during the Trump "rallies". They will believe ANYTHING this con man tells them. As PT Barnum once said, "there's a sucker born every minute". Unfortunately, they get to vote as well........
15
Gail, you need a vacation. You sound a little exhausted, and what 'normal' person wouldn't be after suffering through the tornado of Trump's hot air? I'm a little worried about you making it through the election without brain damage.
2
Can some clever investigative reporter check the donations to U of P when Donald was there? There is no way this halfwit was able to get in, or graduate from, Wharton without his father building them a new wing. Idiocy unbridled. Does anyone remember Hillary having to apologize for her basket full of deplorables comment? Apparently, she was right.
17
The dregs of the earth are people too.
2
Propaganda and you repeat it for him. Watch as #MeToo becomes a joke in November. Women put and keep Republicans in power and white women...hopeless. I predict total victory for Republicans in November.
2
I'm sorry but anyone who believes Trump's mindless babble, let alone cheers it, is stupid in my book. There, I've said it: 40-42% of our populace is stupid. I also wish newspapers and cable TV would stop covering his endless rallies since that just helps to spread his constant lies.
27
What you see at Trump rallies is the collective filth of America, planted and harvested by right-wing media for last 35 years.
23
Trümp.
5
So embarrassing to have this boorish man sitting in MY White House.
17
Boom. Wrong. Right? Right, fellas?
I would like to ask Gail her permission to put this on t-shirts and hats.
What inane ramblings from the Current Occupant of the Oval Office!
2
There's only one way to "Make America America Again" and that's to defang the madman in the White House.
VOTE!
15
All I can see is a tiny mushroom who still thinks he's a big shot. Take him down, folks. It won't take much. Just vote.
15
“Boom. Wrong. Right? Right, fellas?”
Oh my gosh...I have a new mantra!
You're the goods Gail!
4
“Boom. Wrong. Right. Right fellas?” I called that out to neighbor from my balcony this morning and she said, “Stop it Trump!” Gail strikes again!
8
Please please NY Times, identify the writer of the column with the headline on the Opinion page of the IPad app!
7
And don't tell Trump Ryan Gosling is a Canadian.
11
“Donald Trump? He’s a song and dance man!” - Mel Brooks
3
Let the base fawn over & cheer the Republicans' useful idiot.
Let the educated Republicans & moderates and the democrats who were bamboozled in 2016 by Trump's faux populism, vote.
Blue wave here we come.
6
So sorry you have to listen all those speeches. How do you protect your brain cells? How have you been sleeping lately?
please wear protection from trump over exposure, I hear it can cause ear cancer.
7
President Pinocchio and his flock of parrot puppets.
9
It ain't funny folks. If you don't get to the polls and turn the House over to the Democrats, Trump will be handing out "brown shirts" at these rallies very soon. You are not just a witness to fascism taking hold. You will be a victim.
19
The GOP Frankenstein is destroying the Village. But instead of fleeing, the villagers stand and watch, and cheer the Creature on. You truly can’t fix stupid.
27
I took the NYT's advice a while ago and stopped watching any Trump appearance. Yet the inevitable happens and my remote stuck on a station airing Trump at one of his rallies. And he did make it all about him by saying, 'Remember, if vote for _____ is a vote for me.' Novermber is Coming. Will we be forever doomed to suffer the Joffreys?
6
Trump’s “tendency toward incoherence” is very-very deep state countermanding democratic principles— a Trumpian “deep state” that is not about intelligence agencies but about idiotic babbling and bungling, and moronic self aggrandizement, about ties to Putin, the House of Saud, the mob, the NRA, David Duke, the DeVos’, The Koch’s, Kim, and a cast of luscious porn stars.
5
Trump is the stupidest person in the USA appealing to a captured audience. What does that tell us about the IQ of a significant portion of the electorate? Anti-intellectualism is rampant in America, and Richard Hofstadter is no doubt spinning in his grave. Lucky him.
11
Hey, hey, Ho, ho, Lyin' Con-Don has to go! Our rallying cry for the next 2 years.
8
What will we do when he starts ordering the murder of journalists? Or one of his idiot supporters does it for him? His soft pedaling the Saudis for Khashoggi’s assassination is beyond terrifying, and a few days ago he praised that idiot in Montana for body-slamming the reporter from The Guardian. Why aren’t we in the streets? Are Americans just too fat and lazy to be bothered? We have a brazen criminal in the White House. Isn’t anyone alarmed enough to do more than whine to fellow Times fans?
25
The continual shame of having such an imbecile as "president" is hard to bear. Trump is a serial liar, folks and a world-class conman. Why on earth would anyone take the time listen to the drivel that pours out of his mouth?
13
He'll be in Houston on Monday for Lyin Ted Cruz. Culberson, another GOP Congressional candidate, is not attending because it would just provide fodder for his opponent when he has to stand next to the idiot in chief and smile while Trump blathers nonsense, misogyny and racism.
11
That's great, keep focusing on incoherence, narcissism, hyperbole, and misogyny instead of waking up and helping Democrats focus on real issues that will resonate with enough voters in November to make a difference. At a time when the Country needs to be put back on an even keel Democrats once again keep going back to topics and issues which are either divisive or low priority for millions of Americans outside the MSNBC echo chamber.Tragic.
1
Boom, right.
My deepest gratitude, even beyond the unexpected ability to laugh even now, is your "that's what we're here for" and thus your bravery in listening to him.
The can't pay you enough.
10
Donald trump aka John McCain’s boy. Remember Sarah Palin. This is the core of the Republican Party. The intellectual grounding of conservatism in full naked expression. Few care to say, what trump is doing is calculate, intentional, and purposeful. We allow the constant lying. We allow a destructive partisan Benghazi investigation, we allow birtherism, we allow the partisan email investigate, we allow 150 fake and vacuous votes to repeal obama care, we allow massive tax cuts for the wealth, we are even going to allow total and direct involvement of the Republican Party with Russia to overturn a Presidential election, we allow the appointment of a totally unqualified Supreme Court justice, we allow massive voter suppression. We think there is something legitimate about the Republican Party when in fact it is an orchestrated criminal enterprise and has been since Nixon. Every word that comes out of their mouths is a lie and Donald trump speaks for them all. He is their soul. Watch them all cheer. John McCain’s legacy! And we should be very afraid because I do truly believe we are in danger of losing what little remains of our democracy.!
7
Whoever runs for office has to present an attractive program that supports the needs of people.
The candidate ought to avoid mentioning Trump; he or she ought not acknowledge his existence. Coke does not mention Pepsi.
7
Few of the commenters noted the misogyny you point out at the end of your essay. I am puzzled at the media's and the citizenry's failure to notice how misogynist rhetoric and ferocious attacks on women politicians are landing when similar racist attacks are constantly called out. It's all cover for the greed of the Republican party's wealthy donor base, but somehow the misogyny, which grows more vicious every day, is less unacceptable than the racism.
5
I don’t understand why people go to a rally to listen to a rant similar to what a drunk uncle would give at Thanksgiving - after downing a few. And, supposedly, Trump doesn’t drink. He must be on some drug. Better to stay home, read a book, think about things.
6
If these rallies don’t scare you, you either just arrived on planet earth or are purposely denying history. Trump whips up the crowd into a frenzy anger, resentment, seething to grab their pitchforks and go after all the straw tigers “Hollywood”, “Intellectuals”, “Environmentalists”, “Feminists”, “Minorities”, “Refugees” and of course “The Media”.
America First, Trump joyfully proclaims at his rallies is making a come back - great slogan, but anyone aware of American history knows that it was nothing but an Isolationist ideology of those Republicans who saw no threat from Fascism. Fascism that engulfed Europe and threatened world domination, while those trying to flee for their lives stood on lines wrapping around long city blocks hoping against hope to obtain a Visa to the U.S. that was more often than not denied - thanks to an immigration policy more concerned with quotas than saving human lives (sound familiar?)
plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose
4
Gail, I have always enjoyed your tongue-in-cheek articles. The problem is that this is no longer funny. Trump is trying to send this country back to the 1950s, back to a time of racial division, white dominance and an economy based on industries that should have become extinct years ago. He is the last gasp of old white conservative men. Men like Trump and McConnell who can't abide the idea that this country's strength is its diversity. This damage will last through the next 30 years, which will essentially by my lifetime. I can't laugh about it any more. I don't see the humor in watching this country fall behind the rest of the world.
11
Trump's message reaches out to the lowest aspects of human nature: greed, lust, anger and selfish desire. And it's an easy sell, because people are happy to be off the hook to behave civilly, to consider others' needs as well as their own, and to treat the disadvantaged with dignity and respect. Civilization and cultural advances are built on fighting against the lower instincts in favor of service, generosity and compassion for others. The acceleration of societal and cultural change leads to fears that make Trump's appeal to lower instincts so irresistible. And Trump is the guest of honor and head narcissist at the "me" and "mine" party.
19
Thank you Gail Collins for your sense of humor and your skill with words. It is very common for me to laugh out loud at the absurdity of our politics as I read your column. I appreciate the seriousness of the issues, but a bit of humor helps me tamp down my disgust and anger at what Trump has done and is doing to our nation.
4
"if the rally had been for 'one of the normal presidents,' the audience would be about '300 people.'”
Lots of us are asking why do people show up for his rallies to listen to this crazed and crazy man?
What is Trump's major motivation? Being a good President? No way, Trump doesn't care a whit about that. Trump's primary and primitive motivation is getting all the attention, and as a con artist, he knows exactly how to do it.
Trump's hook is he purposefully presents himself as clearly NOT "normal," and that makes him thoroughly entertaining and fun.
Trump is like a bad TV sitcom that makes most people wonder why anyone would watch such a ridiculously stupid show. "Duck Dynasty" comes to mind, as does "Honey Boo Boo."
But people watched those shows, which some critics said were similar to the old tent shows at the circus, full of odd, not "normal" specimens of humanity that fascinated people and they paid money to gawk at. (Read Eudora Welty's "The Petrified Man").
This was how Trump distinguished himself in the GOP primaries from all those 14-17 predictable cookie-cutter GOP candidates. None of them was the least bit entertaining nor outrageous, nor was Hillary.
Trump supporters like that he is undignified, unprofessional, plays (or is) stupid and clueless. He created a character that they now know and love to watch like their favorite TV shows.
Politics as entertainment is what sells Trump, and the media love it. Too bad for the rest of us & our country
12
For a person who grew up wealthy, Trump is such an empty soul. Rather than be content with who he is and his rise to power, he has to hold rallies, which amount to coerced spectacles of adulation. He is positively tragic, devoid of love and unfulfilled in every way. The rallies are staged surprise parties with paid participants whose job it is to shower a half-baked personality with adoration. Films of these rallies will be shown to future generations as an example of how not to rear your child — so that he or she might not end up like this.
7
The minority of Trump supporters here appear to be devoid of any sense of humor and are as thin-skinned as the Maestro himself. C'mon folks, everyone knows that Collins is a satirist. Not having any ability to laugh at your own foibles and weaknesses - and we all have them - is mainly indicative of a profound lack of self-esteem.
5
Your suggestion that Trump has an issue with women is not true. Its not Trump's fault that most of the "arrogant, impolite" and incompetent Democrats are women. He treats all such folks the same, man or woman.
Alright New York times, the midterm elections are in a few weeks, and rather than advocate the Democrats' platform, there is still more Trump bashing. I am a Democrat, but enough is enough. We are not going to win this election and take control of the House and/or Senate with Trump bashing. These editorials are changing no one's mind. Please, please, please stop Trump bashing and start pushing a message for Democrats - something like tax breaks for the middle class or universal health care or balance the budget, etc. The Democrats need a solid, unifying message. We know Trump is not a good president, but what have the Democrats done for me lately . . .
5
Is it true that instead of chanting "lock her up" crowds at Trump rallies are now chanting "chop her up."
6
Trump is the voice for the people not herd that celebrate at his rallies. They cheer for the mouth that slew Goliath in 2016, and is now coming after the questionable media and other things fake in American politics.
The tragedy in all of this is that Trump always seems to be one step ahead of the news media and the American public while in-step with his propaganda machine at Fox News. By the time he finishes making outrageous comments and hurling insults at his foes in front of his legion of adoring fans, Trump is on to his next mission of vituperation while legitimate news media organizations, unlike Fox, are barely reporting on and analyzing his previous ad hominem attacks. He is a master of manipulating public thought, primarily among his cult followers who also happen to be voters.
3
We Democrats had better learn to accept the following facts about how millions of Americans view politics or we will continue to be tortured by the reality of President Donald Trump, a majority Republican Senate, and perhaps a continuing or revisited majority Republican House for the next several years.
1. Many Americans do not understand politics.
2. Many Americans do not believe that what politicians do helps them in their lives.
3. Many Americans believe politicians are big-shots who are out for themselves.
This is why Donald Trump could pull off posing as a populist savior and win election to the Presidency with no political experience. This is why his lack of policy expertise, frequent misstatements, lies, personal insults, and generally loutish behavior remain political assets for millions of Americans who feel alienated by our politics.
As long as we Democrats continue to turn our noses up at this reality instead of learning to connect with these alienated voters, these voters will continue to support the Republican Party, largely against their economic and social interests, thereby cementing our status as a minority party.
2
I see glimpses of Trump's rallies and this is my conclusion: as long as this ugly character installed by Putin remains in the White House and GOP is his Party, no Republican will get a vote from anyone in our family. We double check all names on the ballots.
13
Watching the crowds behind Trump, there's a whole lot of hating going on here. Hating Democrats, hating the media, hating people who aren't white, hating Nancy Pelosi. They don't care if his rants make any sense, as long as they get to shout and jeer.
Trump has released these people to give voice to their worst instincts. It's cathartic for them, to be sure, and they love it, but it's also dangerous and destructive. We've seen this act before, from the world's worst authoritarians.
8
Now I know how Italy felt with Burlusconi, how England felt with Mad King George III.
11
Local television stations including network affiliates are able to broadcast the entire rally as a news event. This gives Trump and local candidates an hour or two of free advertising that has no actual news value. Remember the days of the fairness doctrine?
49
@Rayme Apparently, even Fox has stopped carrying them (or, at least, carrying them in full.)
1
Donald's bread and circus crowds will never hold him to account.
He claims the caravan of immigrants is full of criminals. But recently, when excusing the Saudis and again when promoting Kavanaugh, he lamented they were "guilty until proven innocent."
Like the women with small children in the caravan?
Consistency for Donald means only repeating applause lines.
47
Trump is no longer in a position to pontificate about border wars and issues. The major criminals, thugs, and rapists are already in our midst, and they are himself and his tribe. Their decimate our treasury with their tax write-offs and breaks and then solemnly bewail the deficit they create and propose to cut health insurance and social security to cover the very self-same deficit. No, we must deal with the low-lifes already in our midst. We must run the Trumps out of office and sue them for every penny they have. They are traitors, not Americans. The most accurate and succinct statement of their goal? Comfort the comfortable and afflict the afflicted. Since this agenda is obviously deeply unpopular, they must lie, misrepresent themselves, and pretend to be in favor of the very things they aim to destroy.
54
When I look at the faces behind Trump during his rants, I see people who have been prompted to yell on cue. Or worse, they feel so victimized by their own country, they no longer love it. They feel only anger. Sadly, they have put their faith in a snake oil seller.
40
Someone must have told him about the flag on the moon; I just can't envision that he would have had the attention span to watch it live.
The spectacle of this so called president and his very base base is right out of Kafka. Or Mad magazine.....
36
Trump is scared and needs his adoring crowd fix more and more.
27
Since the election, I try to make sure I consume multiple news sources to combat bias- thought I know I am personally very liberal, I want to avoid being in a bubble, and being shocked by any outcomes in these elections. There was a headline in the National Review a couple of days ago about two Republican congressional candidates who had been assaulted. One was a woman who confronted a man who was stealing yard signs and he punched her in the arm. The other was a candidate who was punched in the head and is now having problems. Mitch McConnell was quoted talking about the overheated rhetoric of the democrats, and how it's all coming from that side. The comment section was interesting 'This is the mob','See, they're dangerous','Just did a Google search, not one MSM outlet covered this','Remember the shooting at the softball game'. All I could think was 'Republican congressman assaulted a reporter for asking questions','how well did FOX cover the Mueller indictments?','Trump at his rallies, hello!?','Gabby Giffords'.
We are at a point where holding an opinion seems to carry with it a physical danger. Everyone has their version of reality. I don't know how exactly to get people to start listening, but I know yelling won't it. I also know that assuming someone is ignorant and throwing facts at someone who is entrenched just tends to dig them in deeper. You have to appeal to their underlying values and emotions.
14
Mmmm? So today we're blowing off the little problem at the U.S./Mexico border, right? A total disgrace of all those central and south American countries and governments who can't feed their own people, give them jobs, health care, or decent housing.
3
@manoflamancha Alittle projection perhaps? Our government is having just as much trouble providing these same basic services to millions.
9
Trump is a bad impression of Professor Irwin Cory, incoherent ramblings that sound good. He is the master of double talk, makes stuff up from a limited source of knowledge and has absolutely no shame. At least Professor Irwin Cory's rants made a little sense, Trump make no sense at all. The scary part is, it makes sense to the people who go to his circuses, buy his paraphernalia and vote for him.
22
Look closely at the people who support Donald Trump and you will see a group of what historian David McCulloch calls "historical illiterates." History is taught these days in the public schools by coaches for the most part. Coaches are the "bouncers in the nightclub" so to speak. Most coaches who teach in public education are long on muscle and short on intellect, so it comes as no surprise these Trump supporters have no understanding of American history in general. These Trump supporters get their history from Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity not McCulloch or Richard Hofstadter or Jon Meacham. So why are we so surprised Trump won the presidency.
8
"back when things were normal..." how long ago and far away it all seems.
9
When it comes to rallies, big events and whatnot, Trump’s an amateur. Why even the Garteful Dead and later incarnations drew larger crowds night after night, year after year, for decades on end.
Furthermore, any stoned, tripped out DeadHead would be more articulate than Trump himself.
7
I’ll share the secret with the Democrats, secure in the knowledge that they never listen. Here’s why Trump wins - he’s not you.
Most Americans hate - yes hate - identity politics. We get annoyed when people describe themselves as hyphenated Americans. If you use a hyphen you’re shouting aloud that being an American is secondary to you, and that your African, Lesbian, Gay, Transgendered, Disabled, Single, Married, or other identifying precedent is more important to you than being an American.
We hate Affirmative Action. It’s idiotic to reward any identity group on the basis of what some other identity group may, or may not have done generations ago. We hate when members of an identity group are considered homogenous. Obama’s kids should not be rewarded for their skin tone, nor should a poor Appalachian coal miner’s kids be discriminated against. We hate like legalized racial discrimination.
We don’t like rewarding illegal aliens invading for invading America, lowering wages and taking jobs. Yes, we understand they’re cheaper for corporations to employ and they depress wages for Americans. We understand they come from economically depressed countries, and we just don’t care. It’s a tough world out there and they should fix their own countries instead of damaging ours.
I know the establishment Democrats will ignore these observations, and continue to cause people like Trump to be our only viable alternative, but you’ve been educated, ignore it as you will.
2
Hating the loyal opposition - makes you and those like you wrong for America but dangerous for the continuation of the American experiment.
8
@Happy Republican
Most of the "hyphenated Americans" that you disparage don't want to be rewarded or have special treatment. They just want to not be hated; they want the same opportunities and equal compensation for their hard work. Most of your statements here just actually prove the point that discrimination continues, and was clearly not eliminated "decades ago." And for the record, we are not ignoring your observations. Most of us have co-workers, friends, acquaintances, and even family members who loudly share your opinions. We just think you are wrong.
10
Don’t blame Trump on Democrat’s. It’s people like you who voted for him that put him in power. You own that. And you own his actions and morals and ethics too, as long as you support him. Just think a little what it is you’ve signed up for.
10
Not many people notice it, but Trump has lifted comic NY Jackie Mason's act. It consists of making a statement that people have heard before and if stretched could even have an unbelievable small amount of possibility, start mocking repeatedly and take it as far as it can go. People who have never heard Mason's act, think Trunk is an original because he makes them laugh. This isn't an anti-Semitic crack because he has just lifted his act (not his opinion on religion), but nevertheless Mason himself has said Trump sounds more Jewish than me.
1
“What do all these people have in common? Did I hear somebody out there yelling “gender”?”
Yes, the man is afraid of women, especially, powerful women. So, he does what he does best – attack them, demean them, call them names and does what a ten-year old schoolboy would do to get some laughs. The unfortunate part is – in the schoolyard sandbox, the other kids often provided staged laughter because they didn’t want to be picked on next by the bully – what’s the excuse for the Trump fans at these rallies? Maybe, they just haven’t grown up yet?
12
'In Ohio, he said that if the rally had been for “one of the normal presidents,” the audience would be about “300 people.”'
'Normal' presidents is right. I'm so glad my WW II hero Dad did not live to see this besmirching of the country he loved.
17
I understand, as difficult as it is, why people do support Trump and his notion of policies. I get it. The anger, the fear, the disgust over Congress.
What bumfuzzles me is why they want to show up and cheer at his rallies? It completely escapes me...their fanaticism, the adoration.
I know its part me, I'm not a rally type. I don't march, I don't chant, I dont carry signs, or wear slogan emblazoned clothing. Nor is my car festooned with anything similar. I have but one political-ish artifact among the photos, magnets and such on my fridge door. And its not a party aligned piece.
But what is it about Trump, the man, the celebrity, among his die-hard supporters that pulls them to want to go to, and often out of their way - a Trump rally?
I want that analyzed. We need to figure that out. We need some reporters to really press the attendees when they interview them.
5
Bread and circuses.
Then, the empire crumbled and was swept away.
14
I think the Kavanaugh seat on the Supreme Court is a travesty.
That said, in an act of charity, I think that even Kavanaugh probably cringes every time Trump mentions his name at a rally. I think he doesn’t want (normal) people to be reminded every day of his alleged actions and demeaning performance at his hearing. Like a dog with a bone, Trump won’t let go of this. Is it possible for the chief justice to say, Leave the court and the justices out of Trump’s circus events?
Every day I think, it can’t get worse, and each day I wake up to more craziness.
28
Trump ended one rally bellowing, "Kavanaugh and Caravan!" I believe the proper response is, "Kavanaugh, Collusion, and Khashoggi!"
11
Ummm ... I wonder what one of my chemistry lectures would sound like, delivered in the style of Trump? Lessee ... the origin and importance of the hydrophobic effect in protein folding? No? How about stoichiometry and limiting reactant calculations? Oh, right, Republicans don't do math.
9
Trump was elected because millions of people voted for him. By focusing on him, you miss the real point: many people respond to hype. They want the circus. They want the bravado. Democrats don't get this. They explain. They lecture. And they keep losing because of it.
Say it loud, say it proud. Don't defend. Attack. Sen. Warren learned this the hard way.
5
Here I am in the Deep North, spending some time in Buffalo, NY where a nice, intelligent, reasonable sounding 30ish hygienist told us this about Trump: "people take his words out of context"; "he's a fantastic businessman"; "I watch the two extreme news outlets to get both sides: Fox and CNN".
Laughter is not the best medicine in the socio-political context we are in currently.
7
My request to NYTimes and all other media. Please try to give fair coverage to the democratic party candidate also. If you too give wall to wall coverage of Trump, people may think that there are no democrats out their to vote for and there is no alternate agenda. There is a reason why the right wing media does not cover any responsible democratic party candidates, because if they do not cover, for their viewers those people do not exist.
At least you can be fair and give at least equal coverage to democrats. Please do not enable and promote Trump again.
17
Each trip by Trump on Air Force One costs $250,000 (for a short one) to ??? for a longer distance. Is the GOP picking up the tab for trump's $1M/week "travel budget"?, or are American tax payers footing, some or all of the bill?
12
Trump looks like Alfred Hitchcock. And there he is, popping up in his own horror shows.
9
When are the Dems, in ONE voice, going to start speaking directly to these masses? Not to blame and shame them. Not to call them names, like “deplorables”, (I’ll never forgive Hilliard for that). Not to ridicule them. But to appeal to their humanity, their needs, their hopes and dreams? When are the Dems going to stop harping in and on about crazy, dangerous Trump, which of course he is, but take a giant leap out of their box and on to their own stage?!
7
I still can't understand who goes to Trump rallies. Even among the strange demographic who supports his policies, what compels someone to listen to an unstable man ramble incoherent nonsense for hours? Watching Donald Trump perform does not sound like a date night to me. You'd think these people would have better things to do. When was the last time they cleaned their gutters? Deferred home maintenance seems like a better idea than listening to "tiny" talk about crowd sizes.
Now I've seen A LOT of America. More America than I really feel comfortable seeing. We are very much a parody of our own weirdness in real life. Traveling through America is sometimes like a bad episode of the Twilight Zone but less fun. We are a dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call 'Merica. How this universe intersects with the travails of a privileged city boy with sub-par intelligence and massive personality disorders, I really don't understand. Trump rallies truly are the stuff Rod Serling.
“For the record, suspicion can kill, and prejudice can destroy. And a thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all its own, for the children and the children yet unborn. And the pity of it is that these things cannot be confined to the Twilight Zone.”
― Rod Serling
43
@Andy Agree with your Twilight Zone analogy. You're telling all of us this from a state where the majority of people live their lives devoted to a religion found on the belief that life on earth originated from descendants of planet Kolob? Reality has little to do with the actions of delusional people.
5
My father was a fan of Huey Long but could not vote for him as we lived in a neighboring state.
His sons are voters for another demagogue who actually made it to the WH, where Huey probably hoped he would be able to do..
Huey Long lives!
2
Bada-boom, bada book. The only thing Trump knows.
1
Gail great news! Today we found out what Trump meant when he tweeted "Covfefe". The reason is explained in the Crininal Complaint that was unsealed on 10/19/18 in the Elena Khusyaynova matter. "Covfefe" is the name of a Russian twitter account used be the Russians to defraud the United States!
6
A great wave of ignorance has descended on the GOP electorate. Trump cannot speak to issues. He cannot speak rationally. He openly and consistently divides Americans into a slavish base of votes—and everyone else.
Trump can arouse the latent hatred of his Republican base with great ease, all the while taking care of himself and his 1 percent backers (with the help of the most cynical Senate majority leader in memory.). If the GOP base was aware of how it is being used, Trump and his plutocratic peers would be a non-entity. Alas!
4
Jennifer Rubin of WAPO once described Trump’s uttered inchoerencies as sentence fragrments that hang in the air until colliding with the next fractured fragment ascended from his mouth. We effectively have an illiterate and incomprehensible POTUS.
25
@the doctor Yes...that appeals to an illiterate and incomprehensible electorate. One deplorable, one vote.
3
The myth that Trump built. He isn't much of a developer but when it comes to his own image he knows how to stack the reviews. The few investigative stories about the organization behind the rallies reveal a great deal of orchestration by the Trump campaign. Who are the people that begin the shouts of lock her up, lead the applauds and wave the signs behind the podium?
His supporters are like any excited crowd emotionally aroused not by belief but by a primal group madness as they race toward the cliff. Who are the ring leaders that are encouraging and baiting Trump supporters.
Pull back the curtain on the marketing machine that is Trump. Stop reporting like the con job is reality because every sheep likes to join the flock and we all have been sheep at one time or another. It is not a good feeling when the wool is pulled from the eyes but necessary for sanity to return to the nation.
4
The admissions process at any major university is a sham - everyone knows how to cheat, and most do.
I’ve seen one afternoon watching a little brother described as a lifetime of caring for the family’s children; three trips to see Grandma as weekly visits to assisted living facilities to read to the elderly; family money available hidden to create the illusion of “middle class”; weekend acting training to learn an “open approachable” persona; Hispanic accents get thicker to assure an ethnic image; minor car crashes requiring a few weeks rest described as life-altering events overcome by “relentless therapy”; kind decent parents described as abusive or neglectful; and worst, lately females have learned nothing spells success better than overcoming sexual attacks or abuse (real or not).
Just give a test and those who succeed - succeed.
There are lots of terrific colleges out there. We all know that nobody goes to Harvard for the education, they go for the contacts for future business advantage.
Avoiding Harvard is probably a good thing anyway, you’ll lose the billionaire contacts but you’ll gain some self-respect and real friends.
2
@John I don't even know where to start on this. Some people do try to present themselves in the best light for getting into competitive college. Some also embellish their resumes when looking for jobs. And certainly politicians polish up (or, in the case of the current POTUS, outright lie about) their backgrounds to try to get elected. It's human nature to present oneself in the best light possible. Where the line is to "cheating" is pretty nebulous; it's only the outrageous stuff that can be readily identified.
Btw, why are you suggesting that college applicants make up stories about sexual abuse? There's plenty of it out there anyway, and lots of male skepticism, apparently, about female veracity about it. Coaches and teachers get arrested weekly, it seems, for that kind of behavior.
3
I apologize - this was intended for a different article - my bad.
Maybe if all of the media decided not to pay attention to his rallies, Trump would have no audience. He is not worth paying attention too. all he does is incite the mob with disgusting displays of his ignorance and his bias.
However, I know this is wishful thinking on my part.
Besides Trump does prove over and over how racist, misogynistic and greedy he is.
What I do not understand is how any women or people of color would spend time attending his events or vote for him.
It defies logic.
16
Trump is making America great again. Or, so he says. In reality, he's providing a useful cover for the likes of McConnell and Ryan ( and whoever succeeds him) to push through a conservative legislative agenda that will have repercussions for years to come. Trump has brought his John Gotti style mentality and management to DC....i.e., swagger, bravado, revenge and self aggrandizement...In truth , Congressional leaders get a kick out of him but are also embarrassed for him. But, they know they'll never see him again once he's gone. This was all a lark...
3
I want to hear him talk about fistfights (1 against 18) and bone saws. Just to take his so-called mind off of himself.
9
What would we do without little button mushroom to lead us?
Does this guy ever make an effort at governing or is he stuck in campaign mode because its the only way he gets off?
Look, it's about those tax returns...and the million bucks he owes Warren.
7
I certainly don't know what condition(s) this grotesque man suffers from, but he's getting worse, whatever they are.
First, his language is deteriorating. A few years ago, he used more complete sentences. Now we often hear a series of fragments strung together. A few years ago, I pitied whomever had to do work on transcripts of his impromptu remarks-- where to put the commas, where to put the periods-- but now I note more use of dashes because he can't stay on subject to complete a coherent thought. At the same time, he's more repetitive than he used to be. He's better during the day in the White House. The rallies are in the evenings. Sun downing?
Second, he's more childish. He was never very mature, but he's worse than he was. The constant use of school yard, taunting nicknames is becoming more frequent and very tiresome. He can't engage his opponents on the issues other than in the most general way. He bridles at being challenged like a toddler does. In the recent Stahl interview, we got all the way down to "I'm not a baby!" "I'm the president, you're not!" He's never had much gravitas, but what he did have is evaporating.
The 25th Amendment was enacted after the Kennedy assassination when people envisioned a nightmare in which Kennedy survived but was profoundly incapacitated from brain damage. Its framers did not think about a very much older president slipping into profound incompetence in slow motion.
21
And the Democrats are doing nothing to combat the GOP messaging. I watch MSNBC all day and hear his name endlessly. How about stating the horrible facts about what the GOP has done to the middle class, minorities, immigrant children. Those are real and will get people fired up. The left media should STOP mentioning his name, covering his rallies. Voting is occurring now and it's time to bring out the ARMY, this is a real war with the GOP!
25
Whenever I hear him speak, I'm reminded of the line from the great "The Maltese Falcon", where Sam Spade gives his opinion of Wilmer, the gunsel: "The cheaper the hood, the gaudier the patter."
18
His noisy helicopter retinue just flew over my home, upsetting the dog on this beautiful moonlit Arizona evening. He is on his way to rally the hoi polloi after schmoozing with the corrupt toadies who loathe his style but match him in meretriciousness. (George W. Bush is in town as well, adding less vulgarity but hardly less oratorical incoherence as he urges the Scottsdale donors to open their wallets for McNasty.) The crowd at the airport has been gathering out in the desert sun all afternoon, garbed in Trump t-shirts, topped with red MAGA caps, ready to bay at the Central American caravan, foisted on us by the Democrats, plotted by Pelosi and Hillary. Madame Defarge would feel right at home.
25
The New York Times, according to Donald Trump, is broke. Since Trump’s utterances run the gamut from ridiculous exaggeration to outright lying, the newspaper probably can spring for some combat pay to compensate Gail Collins for the ordeal of attending several Trump pep rallies.
Donald Trump would explain his misogyny by accusing Ms. Collins of a gender conflict of interest for daring to notice that his nastiest rally insults are directed at women.
At the risk of being out of line, one might note that on TV the female Trump supporters at his rallies – decked out in glitzy Trump accoutrements – evoke a scary blend of menace, silliness and deep sadness.
19
Trump’s incoherent babbling is reflective of his, and his supporters, incoherent thinking.
13
Incomprehensible! 16 days and counting.
2
You can fool 38% of the people all the time, and 1% are in on the scam. That’s Trump’s 39%.
40
Gail...Pleaseeeze..it's a rally. What did you think it was a conference on Global Warming ?
Trump loves the applause, no problem I understand that, let him have the applause, he deserves it. In the face of nonstop acrimony and disappointment at the failure of the Democratic machine to dominate and win the last presidential run Trump has prospered, his poll numbers are stronger, our country is stronger, our economy is stronger and if you think this was Barry's economy think again !
So let them clap, let them cheer.
2
“The man [DJT] who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to such a pass that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love, and in order to occupy and distract himself without love he gives way to passions and coarse pleasures, and sinks to bestiality in his vices, all from continual lying to other men and to himself.” — Dostoevsky
7
You require me to do something, Ms. Collins, I will NEVER do.
Two things, actually:
(1) LISTEN to our President talk. I cannot take it for more than a minute.
(2) READ through one of his speeches.
You have accused him of misogyny. Point taken.
But I would expand on that somewhat.
I cannot but feel that, with the incessant--and I do mean INCESSANT--self-praise, there lurks a deep-seated contempt for most other people.
They aren't WINNERS--like he is. They aren't BILLIONAIRES--like he is. They never ran just ONE election campaign (for the nation's highest office)--and WON. Like he did. On and on it goes.
All this came to me, Ms. Collins, while reading your piece. When did this man EVER say anything truly just--or generous--or compassionate? When did he EVER compliment someone--without obtruding his own person and accomplishments, thus vitiating whatever words of commendation he purported to be uttering?
I think of Mr. Obama. Standing at the podium. Commemorating the victims of a demented racist in Charleston, South Carolina.
And very softly--very gently--beginning to sing "Amazing Grace."
Ms. Collins, the tears come to your eyes when you watch that. The tears come to my eyes as I recall that moment.
THAT, Ms. Collins--
--is something (for all the angry bluster and self-aggrandizement) Mr. Donald J. Trump will never NEVER do.
The touch of grace.
The touch of class.
These things are beyond him.
WAY beyond him.
Sigh.
19
Elmer Gantry has nothing to fear.
3
"A Whole Lot of Babbling Going On"
Trump babbles on the stump, he babbles about foreign affairs, he babbles in a duet with the Saudis about a horrible murder, perpetrated by yet another authoritarian strongman. Is there no end to his babbling? It can't come too soon. It makes a sane person want to be Canadian.
4
Air Force One the New Acess Holllywood mini bus. Boys and girls, the men’s locker room banter is the ribald outcome of gender insecurity.
In Mel Brooks movies, it’s funny and kitschy and probably would not be produced today. In the Roman Catholic Church, it’s soul searching and subpoenas for the actions of authority figures who conducted themselves amorally.
Laugh, weep or cringe the Access Hollywood Road show travels on to a town near you. The Liberty University pit stop a Presidential platform to pillory and pander with aplomb.
Are we there yet?
2
Donald's - I can't say his last name - initials are "D" "T".
What does having the DT's mean? It means having the Delirium Tremens and our country won't get over the DTs until Donald - What's His Name - becomes political history.
I hope the media completely stops using his proper name and just call him "DT's" - or better yet "the Manchurian President."
4
Sorry, Grammar Curmudgeon alert - minor peeve, but - “I’ve only ran one time.” Was that actually what Trump said? That’s how the millennials with whom I work (and some non-millennials) conjugate “to run.” Did somebody change the rules of grammar and not tell me (or “myself,” or “I”)? Perhaps if The President of The United States of America uses that conjugation, then I should acknowledge that I may be on the wrong side of history.
10
The misogynist media doesn't want to portray the Repub party as hating women. There's a reason Pelosi and Hillary are attacked, but no one mentions why.
I'm glad you pointed it out.
Dems need to run a white male in 2020, but please don't let it be Biden.
4
I have read several articles lately which charge well-off democrats with not listening carefully enough to the middle class blue collar worker. Since I fall into this category, I will admit that I have great difficulty listening to segments of our population that actively support---applaud widely---a man who is unapologetically a racists, sexists, and a congenital liar. Watching these campaign rally's makes me perfectly comfortable with the tribe I am in and offers no motivation to listen or even be empathetic to tribes now following our dear leader.
19
The free world snorts in derision at the thought that Trump, the quintessential Ugly American, might have any claim to be its leader.
5
When the blue wave happens in November, we should throw Trump a roll of paper towels to dry his tears!
10
Gail, even for someone with your considerable talents, it is getting harder and harder to find the irony and or humor in anything the president does, much of which as you have noted is just a repeat of stuff he has said or done countless times before. The grandiose pompous self-congratulating nonsense rant has gotten old, real old. Trump seems to thrive on his own verbal garbage. There ought to be a law!
2
Yes, vulgar Trump believes he won the presidency, fair and square, even though with much help from the anti-democratic Electoral College (as he lost the popular vote!), and much from Putin's Russia and Comey's blunder in the midst of an investigation. So, for many, he remains illegitimate, as he formalized the assault of the White House...while we fell asleep at the wheel, stunned and drooling about his gall. And since, he continues to rabble rouse his base with bombastic lies and insults galore, pure malevolent emotion devoid of reason or content. He remains oblivious of the facts, his ugly demeanor (and frog face) a proof of his unscrupulous behavior. He just can't help it, he acts as a miserable thug, as you said, incoherent to the end. The wild applause for this clown goes to tell us that stupidity's supply is abundant, perhaps limitless.
24
I can just see Donald at a Trump family birthday party for one of the grandkids. It's all about him! "Did I tell ya about the whole in one I got the other day? (Yeah cute kid). Now speakin' of kids lemme tell ya about how many kids I separated from their parents the other day. We haven't decided what to do withem yet but there are a lotta people looking ta adopt and at 10K per kid that's 2.3 mill. Not bad huh?"
4
More disgusting than Trump are those who would cheer such garbage.
Where has our education system gone wrong? -- maybe too much sports in school where people cheer all the time for no good reason other than to feel their bodies move -- after all, when you watch sports you are not doing sports, or learning your lessons.
What are parents teaching children, when these people cheer a guy making fun of people for their looks?
What is going on in our religious institutions (no, I don't mean that) when self-described religious people are cruel, angry, aggressive (body-slamming reporters), uncaring, selfish, and mean?
Why are there so few Republicans, especially those responsible members of our government, unwilling to act on what they believe (they cannot all really believe this stuff they say)?
Why would anyone give McConnell and Ryan the time of day? Aren't there more important things to do than find sneaky ways to outmaneuver good people? Doesn't anyone care about truth, facts, logic, and common decency? Where did these communities go wrong? No wonder so many are jealous of the Chinese. They live on the other side of the world, standing on their heads (from our perspective) doing things like making money while polluting and giving up all moral sense in the name of economic growth.
It's more than a gender bias problem. That is only a symptom of total moral failure.
7
Yup, America has been 'dumbing down' for years. Mr Trump is the inevitable result of crassness dominating our society. All civility or decorum is presently treated as effeteness by a herd of the ignorant, blindly following the bell cow to the sinister recesses of social behavior.
2
"Trump tattoos?" Really? Cannot say I have ever seen one, even less an anti-Trump tattoo.
Whatever else, with a 72 year old fleshy man in a term-limited office, one doubts he'll be around as long as that tattoo.
Donnie is the avatar of angry 3 year-old id: the Christmas present is starting to pall, break it. It's "me, me, me" ... and "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you," ... followed by tears ... and "where's my toy? Why doesn't it work any more?"
Has anybody else noticed that Donnie's constant need to demonize women is exactly the behavior of the narcissistic child who hates their mother? There's a large literature on the alienated child ... the saddest observation is that therapy rarely does much good.
Trump isn't as big a problem as the people whose inchoate rage he channels. They'll be around after Trump is off the stage. Their next leader may be far worse than Trump.
10.20.18, 10:25
22
Democrats don't deserve to win anything.
1
I don’t think Goof Ball is too strong. Right, fellas?
2
It astonishes me that we are all effectively being governed according to the whims of the few thousand rabid fanboys and girls who turn up at these toxic pep rallies. The numbers are relatively paltry, their cheerleader is as close to nuts as one can get, and the rhetoric is brown-shirted nonsense.
I wish someone would turn the camera away from Trump and onto the venue so we can see how these toxic sausages are actually being made and who is actually stomaching them. We'd see this for what it really is: a manufactured bit of fascist fluff with ever-dwindling support. The Crazies will always love Trump. And the press loves the Crazies. But none of it is real.
4
This Fake President, as amply revealed by his thought processes (or accurately the lack thereof) either in “rally mode”, on Twitter, in impromptu press engagements as the helicopter awaits, or in his White House babbling, has but 5 to maybe 8 main themes which he is “capable” of talking about. The man’s brain is severely, frighteningly restricted to a limited loop of repetitive subject matter. Of course, even with that burdened reasoning incapacity, Trump habitually engages in pathologically lying about those very areas that he can only discuss. Who was that advisor that referred to the incumbent President as having a third grade mentality? Unfair to 8 year olds!
7
Derangement on full display. An intervention was required long before he became president. A total embarrassment that is supported by those who he is hurting the most. The cult that has developed around him will be there no matter what. He was right about being able to shoot someone on Fifth Avenue. If the election in two weeks results in the Republicans retaining control of both Houses of Congress (I am skeptical of a "Blue Wave") we will be in full Fascist mode. This says a lot more about the people who support him than it does about him. Hillary was right about at least one thing.
6
Imagine you live in another developed country and you see and hear our President, Donald Trump, speaking at one of his rallies.
Who could blame you for thinking that Americans have to be the most inarticulate, uncouth, rude, profane, belligerent, misogynistic, xenophobic, and ignorant people in the civilized world?
After all, this man, yes, this man is President of the United States.
I can only hang my head in shame.
27
While Trump is burning up jet fuel holding rallies and firing up the base, the best the Democrats have is Elizabeth Warren parading around gushing about the proof that she has a minuscule amount of Indian blood in her lineage, 330 years ago. And you guys wonder why you can't beat Trump. Where's Obama and Hillary anyways and what are they doing to help their party?
5
Here is a summary of attendance at all of the Trump rallies:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_post-election_Donald_Trump_rallies
3
There is only one trump. He’s a showman. He has a devoted fan base and they love every insult . They want to be just like him. However, trump isn’t winning any converts. His fan base is remarkably steady, but it isn’t growing. The candidate who will beat trump has to be tough. She has to be able to take him apart with ruthless prosecutorial skill. She has to be Kamela Harris. Trying to run someone who can out bafoon trump is absurd. He’s the best at playing his rancid game.
16
Hmmm. Waiting to see Trump hold one of his "rallies" in front of a crowd representing the real public, not a carefully vetted mob of die hard supporters. Trump should come to Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, and New York City. It would be interesting to see how he handles himself in front of an audience that isn't slobbering all over him. But I suppose that would be too risky for a draft dodging coward.
8
Yes, he sure does babble a lot......about nothing important. His nonsense about "make America Great" is just that. This country was always great until he came along. We've had our share of Presidents from both parties and not one of them was as crude, as incompetent. as unhinged, etc . etc. This one makes Nixon looks good. Wonder if his hand ever gets tired from patting himself on the back.
5
I really enjoyed this column, but I'm interrupting with a public service announcement:
"Mitch McConnell says it out loud: Republicans are gunning for Social Security, Medicare and Obamacare next" [from the LA Times]
Trump's rally schtick is a sideshow. The real action is in Congress, where the Republicans want to pay for their unjustified, unnecessary, deficit-increasing, budget-busting tax cuts by stripping yet more money from the programs that help most of us and that most of us support. The Republicans have been running an experiment in oligarchy; say no to that on Nov. 6th.
19
Today in college football various rivalries will be played pitting ardent supporters and detractors from both sides. This feeling of my team and your team is what Trump taps into. It's not about education or logic or facts. It's about red v blue. His supporters identify with red. It would be easier to change Alabama fans into Auburn fans than convince these supporters to see their quarterback is using them for his own gain. This is what governance has become in the U.S. Go team!
17
For a while I actually believed that Democrats could win if they just stuck to themes such as health care, education, immigration, and the environment.
Now I'm wondering if it might be better for them to run on one thing: restoring some dignity, credibility and frugality to the office of the Presidency.
32
@furnmtz Make America Sane Again!
1
I find more disturbing the NY Times piece about suburban Republican men who approve of Trump despite deep misgivings because they personally are making more money and regulations are being cut.
They may never appear at a Trump rally, they are well educated, and if things go really south they will say they never supported him.
62
Thank you, Gail, for covering these rallies so that I don't have to. I still think only Fox News should actually broadcast them because they were made for Fox.
The rest of the networks could run something more soothing, like "Dictators Tonight," reporting on what the other tyrants (Trump's best friends) are doing to lie to their citizens, for a change.
38
Trump concluded that popularity alone without policies or substance can win elections. He went after his existing The Apprentice fans first. After all, they obviously will believe anything and already liked him.
He embodies the first rule of salesmanship: “Get the potential customer imagining the good feelings he will have using the product or service you are selling.”
Trump’s campaigning is all about the show and the show is about his charismatic ability to bring joy to people’s biggest fears and to give them persons and archetypes to blame and hate. He makes them feel good; he entertains.
More important he knows he does not need all the votes, he just needs more than his opponents. He’s got now a 45% approval and 88% approval of Republicans. It’s enough to win if they just show up to win.
As for Democrats, victory will be determined by turnout. Trump is doing what he has to do as only he can because he has no other way to do it and it has worked. Why change a winning game?
The question is whether the Democrats have changed their game into a winning one. I’m imagining the good feelings I will have if the Democrats flip the House; I hope enough others are doing likewise. And I hope they vote in droves.
38
If we're going to talk about how outrageous Trump is, then let's really lay it all out there. What if Democrats win back the House and Trump declares: "I order all Republicans who just lost their seats in the House and Senate to ignore--on national security grounds--the election results and remain in office until further notice." Given the cravenness of the GOP thus far, what makes Democrats think that Republicans won't say: "Thanks for showing such forceful leadership in these perilous times, Mr. President. We all intend on staying put for the good of the country. Our winning opponents can go pound sand." Justice Kavanaugh, put down the Bud and tell us what you think.
42
@WDG Hopefully what you stated will never happen because if it does happen we WILL have this nation’s full on next Civil War.
2
And despite all that tens of thousands show up and cheer, tens of millions vote for him. Rather than making fun of Trump, which is easy and fun to do, someone (Democrats) should be listening, and looking at what is resonating with so many people and why. Then and only then can an effective counter message be crafted. One that addresses the needs and fears of those at these rallies. Not all of them to be sure, but some people are reachable with the right message. Heath care, Taxes and a voice for the little guy.
250
@Bob
Oh, Bob.
Why is it when people just quote Trump, when they just transcribe the words he actually utters, they're making fun of him? Exactly how do you craft a message to counter this:
"He’s the man that planted the flag — think of that — on the face of the moon. Who’s that? Who are they a relative of — oh, that’s nice. They weren’t worried about not planting a flag, right? You know them. He planted that flag, that American flag right on the face of the moon. There was no kneeling. There was no nothing. There was no games. There was no games. Boom. Wrong. Right? Right, fellas?”
You are missing the point of why the support for Trump is so utterly demoralizing. You think it can be countered by reason. It can't. It can be countered only by Democratic candidates who manage to be equally interesting as "reality shows" while also making us both feel better about who are and want to aspire to higher ideals. Unfortunately, Obama can't run again. Warren would lose against Trump (see Gail's last three paragraphs if you don't get why). And just to confine ourselves to the midterms, last time I checked, even the gifted Beto O'Rourke was sinking in the polls.
The sickness is deep, my friend, and mere reason cannot cure it. Boom. Wrong. Right? Right, fellas?
188
@Bob
Some of this is simple anger, some fear, some self-interest (accurately felt or not), some is just a finger to the "elites," some misogyny, some self-hate, and a lot is a combination of lies misunderstandings and misdirection, fabricated by clever cable "News" demagogues. How do Democrats counter this? Perseverance, and most importantly voting -- go out and vote and get others to vote. That is all it will take.
1
If the "voice of the little guy" is a rant that is incoherent, mean, and racist, then 45 is your man. But it does little to solve the problems plaguing the very communities Trump promises to help. However, I get your point. I don't know who that person is that can speak the language of all people and win over those who disdain the the so-called "elitism" of the progressive left.
1
Trump makes P.T. Barnum look like Gandhi.
501
Does Trump have rally groupies,who follow him from rally to rally - like the fans that followed The Grateful Dead?
For the avid Trump supporter, these rallies have to be a hoot. Lots of audience participation, wth well-known responses to well-known cues. Like the Rocky Horror Picture Show, without the singing.
For Trump, it has to be heaven. Loads of fans, no need to worry about messaging or content.
Babble on, Trump.
65
Why is it that Trump lovers so easily accept the idea that the major news media are some how "fake" and reporting as fact things that aren't true?
The ground has been seeded for this idea for more than 40 years by the Republican party which started with the disgraced vice-president, Spiro Agnew, in 1969 attacking the media in speeches written largely by a young man named Pat Buchanan. Ever since Republicans realized they had hit a mother lode and they've been digging ever deeper, year by year.
Right wing talk radio depends on the idea that only those who blather on for hours on the AM band from coast-to-coast know the truth. The same for Fox Noise: it positions itself as the ONLY channel with the right spin.
Back when Agnew made his attacks, most of the major newspapers in America were owned by Republicans and, in their editorial pages and occasionally in straight reporting, they favored Republicans. The great national columnists got their marching orders from whoever held power in Washington and the public generally went along.
What really bothers the right in America is they could not control every outlet and the most influential, the NY Times, was quite willing to run news stories that disrupted the right wing narrative. What Trump and the far right now want is no discouraging word, no countervailing facts, SILENCE.
Trump has jumped over into fascist territory with his attacks and fearful Republicans on Capitol Hill do nothing to push back. Nothing.
19
Does it count as a win if the Russians and possibly others heavily influenced the election?
5
Thanks, Gail. Just a few questions. 1. Does Trump remember when he criticized Obama for campaigning for Democrats rather than staying in Washington to govern? Could it be that Trump is so 'hands off' that he does not create a void? 2. Hillary or Joe Biden in 2020? Do they realize that one of the Democrats' big problems is that it is SO geriatric (yes, I mean you, Bob Menendez) and out of touch? 3. Can Joe Biden 'apologize away' the way he treated Anita Hill? Dunno. Back in the day he plagiarized his speeches and got away with that. So, why nominate someone with original ideas, when you can recycle same-old same-old, tried and somewhat true Joe Biden.
Ah, yes, Trump: he needs to enlist Potsie and Ralph Malph. He is living in the 1950s. He sold the Brooklyn Bridge to the rubes in 2016; so now, convincing them that history has not passed them by and that, yes, we can still employ them to produce gas-guzzling eight-cylinder cars is a piece of cake.
6
Thanks for keeping up with him. It can't be easy.
3
How can anyone sit through a Trump rally? It just makes me realize that I don't have a lot in common with part of America. How can anyone take pride in a man who has cheated his way to wealth and constantly bullies women, minorities, and immigrants?
67
@Anthony ... because they do the same.
2
Well, I admit it. Now whenever Trump's voice comes on the radio or TV or some internet news site video that I can't stop in time, it's fingers blocking the ears and a humming "la la la la la" to drown it all out until I'm pretty sure That voice is done. I don't miss any information. Please don't do such a good job of transcription that I'm going to have to "page down page down page down" and miss all the cheerful goodness that is Gail Collins. Please don't go there. BTW, my early voting is done and submitted. Go Blue!
29
@Martha R - I haven't listened to the radio since the election and the only TV I watch is streaming. I'm not taking any chances that I'll hear that odious troll speak.
3
Here is another one of the crazy things that Trump might perhaps do: to reduce immigration, he would replace ius soli by ius sanguis and denaturalize all who became US citizens during the last, say, 100 years. The new law to become effective on his next birthday, June 14, 2019. End of scenario.
The president's rallies show just how far America has gone off the rails since his election win. He thinks he can make America great again by pointing fingers at Democrats, women, minorities and immigrants.
Ms. Collins, you're wrong about one thing. The president's campaigns are not about him, they're always about Pelosi, Waters, Clinton and Warren and how inept or incompetent they are, that they have no business in politics or making decisions that will affect American citizens.
His rallies are barren of positive messages for the country. But that's what got him elected in 2016. He's a rabble rouser, a vigilante masquerading as a president.
40
Viewing President Trump's commentary as incoherent babbling is indicative of why the U.S. intelligentsia has been making mistakes based on apparently-latent political snobbery. Incidentally, the parallels to Russia, where the "intelligentsia" term arose in the 1870s and culminated in Lenin, are worth looking into. Americans on the margins today saw elitist sensibilities in the Kavanaugh fiasco, and are not willing to write them large. Dr. Ford, Ms. Ramirez, Ms. Swetnick, Senator Feinstein, Sen. Schumer, Rep. Maxine Waters, Lawyer Avenatti, and their assorted comrades are the ones primarily accountable for the shift in sentiment in recent weeks. Probably no blue wave, maybe more like a ripple. But not because of incoherent babbling by Trump. Because the Dems can't stop themselves from exhibiting their native biases. It's like the leadership can't get the dog out of the roof carrier.
His words and the images that they create are becoming increasingly violent. It pains me to see the young people in the crowd who are absorbing this robot talk and from a senior adult (?) at that. He is reinforcing their worst instincts.
The way I console myself is to remember that his crowds are curated for optimal visual impact. He wants to hypnotize us into believing that this is most of America. It's not.
For all those who are piling into these arenas to hear this clown, there are countless others who wouldn't be caught dead attending his hate-filled rallies.
And those are the voters who will show up at the polls at midterms and in 2020.
Rally all you want, Trump, your days are numbered.
9
In terms of Trump supporter you need to consider who these folks are. I now live in a red state and my neighbors support Trump. With spotty WIFI they do not get a daily report on Trump logic or his demented ravings. They see his lovely wife and his lovely daughter in pretty clothes and want to emulate. When the only store available to them is the big W that isn't going to happen. Especially when WV is the most obese state.
These same people are disenfranchised with little chance of ever being successful by normal standards they see they have a self-made billionaire for president. So maybe some of Trumps success will rub off on them. That isn't going to happen.
Even one of their senators placards has Trumps name on the top and his name on the bottom This is a Democratic candidate who voted for Kavanaugh to further his political career.
This is a forgotten state that is being played by Trump. But with fewer then two million people and 93% white no one cares.
45
You are way too nice. And DJT ceased to be a topic of humor once he started hurting millions. I know it's tough, but it's time to start writing like our country depended on it.
17
@raerni, you forget the comedy can often get to the point far better than lectures. John Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and all the late-night comedians have proved this. They can show just how absurd Trump and his supporters are far better than any serious commentary.
3
These comments prove one point: it is very easy to bash Trump and I know the writers feel better for doing it, but when all is said and done, voting against the republicans will be the best "bash" of all.
29
"We know that the president has a tendency toward incoherence. But it really is useful to listen to one of his rally speeches to be reminded of how very, very deep that goes."
My grandmother used to tell me that an empty vessel always made much more noise than a full one. It is clear that the comparison of Trump to an empty vessel is an affront to an empty vessel. With his rabid followers fawning on his every worthless word, he feels even more empowered to make even more noise.
Let us clip his wings and like Icarus burn him down on November 6th.
17
We are witnessing not only the Trump Effect that Kashoggi ironically warned about, but also some of the ramifications of the Kavanaugh Effect. The success of the Republicans to install Kavanaugh, an obvious perjurer, as a Supreme Court justice proved to the world that the party in power cares little for justice. I believe the Saudis would not have been so emboldened to murder the journalist had Kavanaugh not been confirmed. The United States can no longer claim moral leadership.
11
Gail,
Refer to Trump as a spokesman for the "Tower of Babble'.
His statements could be called political goo, since they are unable to stand alone as coherent statements of political reality.
His function is to stir the political pot, disabling the ability to have rational political discussion among friends and foes.
2
I am no trump fan but I think many miss the point when they try to dismiss Trump's rhetoric as "incoherence." It's called charisma -- and it works. People with Narcissistic Personality Disorder like trump excel at predicting other people's thoughts and feelings so that they can be disarmed. He can engage with people at a base, emotional level, scatting and scanning the crowd, to great effect. White middle aged men in particular love that trump says what they are scared to say, to utter every chauvinistic idea and impulse makes him a hero.
I say this not to commend trump for his constant 'charm' offenses but to wonder: where are all the Democrats who have MORE charm and charism?? Beto does a good job of winning crowds in Texas, but he's not running in 2020. Obama gave us soaring, inspirational speeches but, alas, alienated some for the same reason. As Democrats, we can't afford to sit in judgement of Trump. We are not living in logical times. Time to take a couple of moves from that playbook and win over those crowds with some old fashioned charm and charisma, and not sit in a false security that Democrats have the moral high ground that will be magically rewarded in upcoming elections. it won't. And too much is at stake.
11
Thank you for pointing this out. As one who has knows all too well the traits of malignant narcissism, and its powers to influence the naive, I had strongly hoped that this Presidency-in-Name-Only would serve as a collective Cluster B 101 course for the nation. We are witnessing the wholesale gaslighting of an entire country, and it becomes more disturbing by the day.
3
@SydBlack Mr trump is as charismatic as a garden slug, with the intelligence to match. He is a blatant liar who appeals to a group of people fearful of losing their “place’ in a fast changing society and are unable or unwilling to see he offers them nothing but hate and divisiveness. He’s a shuckster they are is chumps.
3
It has been said before but it bears repeating: Trump has the delivery of a stand-up comedian. He works the house and he has his standard patter. Hear at the beginning of each segment a form of "a funny thing happened to me on the way to the show tonight" and end each with a rim shot. Maybe he picked that habit up in the lounge of one of his failing resorts or maybe it's the best that he can do considering the short span of attention that he inflicts on us. As with washed up comedians sporting plaid jackets and wearing rugs that scream, there IS an audience for this sort of thing: angry, desperate, mired in lives they don't control.
13
Oh please, Lord; give us the wisdom to elect "one of the normal presidents" again. By "normal" I mean sane; even a miniscule centimeter over the border of sanity would suit me just fine. I'd be okay with James Polk.
As for those rolls of paper towels that Gail mentions, may I humbly suggest toilet paper with Donald Trump's image on each square. These items are available online and at better stores everywhere.
15
I’m in elko right now and today is going to be a joke... the only folks not going to this rally are the miners on shift and those who are sleeping for tonight’s shift. The other fifteen or so of us will be across town.
1
After the 2016 election, the media, in its own self-analysis, rightly said they gave Trump too much oxygen, made his non-news into front page stories. The Times continues to do this. Why not start relegating Anything Trump onto Page 10 in short summaries? Or use his literal non-sensical quotes to show his incoherence?
We are only 2 weeks out, and you need to start letting those candidates currently running to have platforms, show us the issues and devote your commentary to this new rising group of candidates to better educate us on these big stakes elections.
Elections have consequences - and lessons - or haven’t you and the other media learned that yet?
109
@Barbara Franklin I amof the opposite mindset of what you stated. Keep Trump on the front pages so that people will constantly be reminded and shocked at the conman Trump. Trump has turned many republican voters away from him. Those at his rallies are a small group in comparison to the 330 million out here in normal America who despise Trump and want him to leave our Oval Office asap.
3
@Barbara Franklin
The subscriber readers of the Times aren’t Trump supporters (those who are form such a minuscule number it matters little—the rest who comment here are mostly trolls who aren’t paying subscribers) so reporting on all his idiocy is important for all of us who love our country and the Constitution to stay abreast of everything he’s doing to destroy the country. Did you read the article in The New Yorker about his business model? It’s all about the scam. His business is fraud. Not real estate, not steaks, not golf resorts, not casinos, not wine or water. It’s about fraud. Scams and money laundering and all the stuff gangsters do. So is the presidency. He scammed his way in, and now he’s screwing the country. He’s a master manipulator. The more incoherent he sounds, the more those whose thinking (if you can call it that) is incoherent will fall down and worship him. The memes about him on social media say as much. His followers have found a new Jesus Christ. They “believe in him.”
I have relatives in the South who have completely lost their minds about him. Not poor coal miners. Retired middle manager types and their housewives. Completely hypnotized by his nonsense. They remind one of the photos of Hitler’s admirers, people of all ages, children too, with their arms raised in the salute. Idiots.
Most of his supporters are mindless sheep. Anyone who could support the sewage ge spews is beyond redemption. They’ve really proved themselves deplorable.
5
@Barbara Franklin: Nothing is more awesome about the US than its patience with being represented by one of the most obnoxious boors on Earth. It only took one rabble-rousing rally to reveal what has unfolded ever since.
1
If the Democrats take the house there will be an investigation into everything Trump, Russian collusion, his tax returns, his selling influence and lies and more lies. So it will finally be all about him, but not the way he wants it. Does he care about a Republican House? Only to the extent that they will protect him from impeachment or indictment.
By the way Gail you failed to mention his pretending to be a wrestler to take down journalists, this on the heels of Saudis taking down Mr. Khashogi, another journalist who was just trying to get marriage documents for himself. Nothing like making apologies for his partners in crime.
2
That "incoherent babbling" is the tried-and-true, seductive patter of Svengali the snake oil salesman. Like his vocabulary of facial expressions, arms-wide stances and finger gestures, it's what he learned from "How To Succeed Without Really Anything To Offer" and we have every reason to expect that, just as it brought him a win in his only run for president, it will ensure continued Republican control of both chambers of Congress. Which means that the unitary, Trumpublican government will be set in stone beginning on November 7, free pretty much forever to impose every one of its narrow, self-serving whims (and don’t forget that packing the Supreme Court with far-right political operatives means not just a rollback of basic liberties for selected groups but also a guarantee that nothing the Republicans do will be subject to any checks and balances from the Judiciary). Only one way to avoid this (and even so, avoiding it is not guaranteed): if EVERY decent, concerned voter goes to the polls on November 6. Even if it means standing in a long line in the cold, or being late for work, or walking an extra half-mile or more to the polling place, or whatever. www.votethisyear.com But if you're reading this and agree with what I've written then you probably will vote. Just over two weeks to go - how do we make this election shatter the conventional wisdom about turnout for midterms??
11
"Trump always brags about the size of the crowds."
I just wanted to remind you, that "crowds" was Trump's pet name for his fingers. Too, I'm not sure I believe he said "Remember-we won Florida". Use of the word "we" is very un Trump. It's "I" and "me" all else is incidental and subject to being, "Fiyad"!
It's obvious to me that Trump needs women,(including his daughter) to give him identity. Odd that nothing has ever been said about his mother?
10
I like all the Trump rallies. I envision a day, in my wild dreams, when there is a hearing to consider a 25th Amendment end to the Trump presidency, and the videos and transcripts of all these Trump rallies, verbatim, are introduced. Along with some psychiatric reports they would certainly suggest an aged man, with senility or dementia creeping in. All you have to do is look at the transcripts. This is no mentality capable of being leader of 'the free world'. This is an old man, losing it... badly, and in public. With all this flying around inciting his supporters and basking in their adulation, when does Trump find time to do his real job? When does Trump, traveling all the time, speechifying and watching his "ratings" on cable TV shows, when does Trump find the time to do his *real* job, the "toughest job in the world"? As miserably as he does when he actually tries, I confess I'm of mixed minds. If, and stress on the IF, Trump were even marginally competent, maybe it would be good for him to spend more time actually doing the job, and less, much much less, time campaigning for himself (which is all these appearances are, really). But since he's dangerous anywhere near the real powers of a competent president, maybe we could keep him always on a golf course or in front of a podium at some rally, and away from governance. The world would be safer.
14
Mr. Trump constantly forgets that he was not elected. He was Selected -- by the electoral college -- the very same way that all the other persons were selected to hold the office of president.
He actually lost the election by the people by over 3 million votes.
That, somehow, has never sunk into his skull and into his mind.
And that is what makes him seem so foolish in the minds of the majority of Americans who did not vote for him.
Myself included.
72
@Tom Cotner
On the other hand, Trump may, deep down, recognize that he was "selected, and not elected". This may be one root cause of his WWE-style parading and blathering, trying to justify his presence in the Oval Office.
Whatever the case may be, so many of us around the world are chanting the sports plea, "Throw the bum out!"
4
Thank you Gail, on October 20 2018 your column is the only story about Trump on the entire home page of the NYT. We also have to thank the Saudi's as well for taking the lead byline.
At first I thought we had awakened from our national nightmare, but alas back to reality.
Here it comes, any second now, an outrageous tweet from the tweeter-in-chief to dominate the day.
8
The cheering crowds, the hateful chants, the disconnect from all things civil reveal the underbelly of this beast. This isn't about politics. This is about how many Americans are afraid. Afraid of their futures. Afraid of the general insecurity gripping this country as we continue to evolve. The old days of factory jobs are gone. No longer can an entire town count on the mill, or the mine to provide jobs. What these people cheering for this monster are missing is that he won't, make their lives better. Nay, far worse in the long run. Like a bunch of drunken frat boys they rant and rail against all things that are different (read scary) and together they have power. Left to their own musings, however, this group retreats to their worried little worlds. The way to solve this problem is to lean left. Yes, all of us as a country need to recognize that there are people out there that are committed to the healing and the support needed to right this awful mess. Angry mobs won't bring more jobs to rural America, progressive policies on energy will. Angry mobs won't provide you with better health care, but progressive policies will. Angry mobs won't make America great again, caring compassionate people who believe that taking care of each other is a moral responsibility will. Regardless of your loyalty to your team (political party) this is the time to cast your ballot for the right team. Let's all get to the polls and lets all lean left for the good of this country and each other!
23
I agree that pointing out Trump's incoherence and self indulgence is pointless. Those who applaud him don't care about sentence structure or a properly constructed message. They just love the emotion of spitting in the face of of liberals. Most of the rest of us just turn off the TV or radio when we hear his voice. We lose our appetites. And I love to eat. That's it.
Message to all you columnists at the NYT - I love ya. But now you have a critical function. To profile the folks that are going to have the daunting job of opposing Trumps fascism.
I'll start with my two favorite selections for President in 2020.
John Delaney - read about his experience and his attitude when trying to get things done in Congress.
Amy Klobuchar - read about her non-polarizing but strong leadership in the Senate.
All things being equal, I would choose Amy because she is from the center of the country.
You laugh. But nobody would have bet on Trump or Obama or Carter at this point in the process. We're in that anything is possible stage.
7
@Bob Bruce Anderson Amy is my senator and she's well loved in Minnesota.
2
@Bob Bruce Anderson Great comment. Thank you, and I agree 100%. Wouldn’t that be a fantastic kick in the teeth to Trump if Klobuchar were to win? Trump and Kavanaugh both would be metaphorically kicked to the curb if Amy were to be our next president.
2
Why didn't Trump mention Alan Shephard, the only man ever to play golf on the Moon? Surely golf is more important to Trump than the flag.
11
Steve, golf is hardly even the beginning of the list of things more important to trump (why do we waste digital ink capitalizing his name, anyway?) than the flag. The Stars and Stripes weren't any concern back when he had a chance to demonstrate his patriotism and bravery. No, a sudden, acute attack of heel spurs, documented only in a single letter (written at daddy Drumpf's behest by a malleable doctor) exempted the future president from being able to demonstrate his intestinal fortitude. The ketchup he slathers on that piece of shoe leather he calls a steak is more important to Trump than the flag.
2
Trump might not be too bright when it comes to crafting a coherent sentence, but he's a genius with money. He took 500M of his father's money and turned it into 3B in only 40 years!
@Jim
How do you know his worth? Did he tell you? Enough said.
3
@Jim Jim, please do more reading on how Don the Con stole from we taxpayers to make money. Trump is a tax evader conman extraordinaire. He even said this during the campaign, “I don’t pay taxes and that makes me smart”. Jim, please read HOW he did it. Don needs to be locked up for stealing from we the people.
2
For those of you who know the joke variously known as "quick wit and rapid reply," or "the red-nosed clown joke" (these ares omewhat different variants) it's entirely apt as a metaphor for Trump.
Trump thinks he's Don Rickles. To paraphrase Lloyd Benson: "I've heard Don Rickles, and Donnie ... you're no Don Rickles."
But one of Don's best lines works pretty well on Trump. Frank Sinatra walked in while Don was performing and he said: "Hey Frank, make yourself at home .... hit somebody!"
7
Gail Collins...my weekly TGIF dose of smiles, happiness...and hope...after another grueling six days. Will it ever, ever end with this orange-haired clown, the ring-leader of a circus of unruly audiences and fellow performers as scary as those flying monkeys of Oz.
While Mr. Trump travels around this country dictatorially demanding to keep GOP control of the House, the Senate, the nation, the world, and while endorsing those of his same ilk (that is not a compliment), Native Americans in North Dakota and African Americans in Georgia are facing voter suppression...with his blessings. As Mr. Trump goes from Red State to Red State, yelling and boasting incoherently, we are once again faced with Russian interference into our up-coming elections....with his blessings. From east to west, north to south, as he praises himself for keeping this country safe from terrorists, he defends yet another one, a rich one, a most heinous tyrannical Crown Prince capable of an atrocity beyond what we can fathom.
But we have Ms Collins to help us with that sense of humor so needed in the toughest of times, and that inspiration and encouragement to keep up the good fight.
6
Trump makes George H.W. Bush seem positively articulate.
49
Gail perfectly described Trump the narcissist-rally guy - but we can't leave out Trump the dictator-rally guy, who publicly supports violence against journalists, and anyone else who disagrees with his fake facts:
At his Montana rally last night, fresh from being questioned about Mr Khashoggi's murder at Saudi hands, Trump doubled down on his treasonous disregard for the safety of journalists and the sanctity of a free press while promoting Representative Gianforte:
“I had heard he body-slammed a reporter,” Mr. Trump said, noting that he was initially concerned that Mr. Gianforte would lose in a special election last May. “I said, ‘Wait a minute. I know Montana pretty well; I think it might help him.’ And it did.”
“Anybody that can do a body-slam,” the president added, “that’s my kind of guy.”
Yes, that's something we all can agree on - alt-right, center and left - a man who body slams a reporter is Trump's kind of guy.
This is not locker room talk. This is not rally rhetoric. This is Trump's criminal disregard for human life. This is Trump's campaign to destabilize facts and eliminate truth in government by terrorizing the media.
Vote Democratic in November, whether or not the candidates are progressive enough or too progressive for you.
It has never mattered more.
27
I'm paying $15 a month to read today's paper on line.
I can't see the recipe in today's paper even though its in the printed paper.
Why not?
I don't want to pay $5.99 a month to sometimes read a Times recipe. I do not think it is right to ask me to pay to read a recipe on line on the same day it is printed when I am already paying to read the same day's paper on line.
1
Watching these mind-numbingly vapid Trump vanity rallies is among the more bewildering and disheartening experiences I can recall. The constant stream of lies and hyperbole to which the crowds dutifully respond by stroking Trump's ego or chanting some pathetic mantra such as "lock her up!" is shocking.
I am embarrassed that such a sizable portion of the U.S. electorate abase themselves in this manner. It is ludicrous beyond description. It is existentially dangerous.
39
So far it has always been "Lock HER up." Freud would have a field day.
5
So it would appear that the prez would have more than enough time to answer a few questions from Mr. Muller.
15
By using “Babbling” in the headline, the full impact of Trump’s lies are watered down - “Believe Me”. The press, in general, should call a lie a lie, and Trump lies all the time. If he confuses facts or places he’s visiting, or candidates he’s supposed to be supporting, then journalists should question his mental health - ”believe me”.
5
It's been three years. Three years since he came down that escalator, some woman in white hanging out in front of him (turns out it was his wife, but since I didn't know who she was and he let her 'hang' out there several steps ahead of him I was confused). I remember laughing at him and my partner immediately said, "Don't laugh, he could win". Now my partner says, "He's never going to leave" and I don't laugh.
I am 67 and have always been a political animal (since 4th grade, staying up all night to watch Kennedy win). This election is the most important in American history because we will decide if we are going to be a 'free' people or are we going to have a dictator who passes the crown down in his family (Ivanka: The first woman president?). If we do not stop him, he will be unleashed and America will become Russia.
No matter what happens, after this election, I'm turning off the TV. I'm turning off the radio, am taking a big, long break from reading about him in the Times and WaPo. It's been three years and I'm sick to death of the lying, the racism, the xenophobia, the violence, the dictators he cozies up to, the turning away of our allies, the misogyny, the corruption, the climate change denial, the bragging, the incoherence, etc. Every cell in my body is full on sick to death of him.
The one thing I'll give him is that he is the most dangerous man on earth while also being the most boring man on earth. And I can't take it any more.
22
Until the Democratic party goes back to its position on immigration 10 years ago that it needed to be limited, the party will be in deep trouble. And it is a shame. There are many who vote Republican SOLELY because of that issue. And not only racists. People who understand that immigration is driving down wages, and overcrowding schools. People who care about the environment, support women's right to choose. But not the right of anyone (other than convicted felons) to stay here if they sneak in.
5
@Juanita K., you have fallen for Trump's rhetoric too! Immigration does not drive down wages. Most of the immigrants Trump is raving on and on about take low-paying, back-breaking jobs that no American would take. The only ones who might be taking jobs are those with H1b visas who are highly qualified in the fields of technology, science, and medicine. Trump isn't talking about those for the most part. As to overcrowded schools, immigrants are paying rent, paying taxes, paying into Social Security (although they usually can't collect), buying goods at our stores, paying gas taxes, etc. Those taxes provide for schools so they shouldn't be having a crowding problem, except for the fact that in states like mine, Republican legislatures have cut taxes and school expenditures to the bone. They say they haven't but in inflation adjusted dollars, they surely have but won't admit it ever. These politicians run on the platform that they raised teacher pay. So dishonest, just like Trump.
4
Anyone who “sneaks in” is still subject to our laws. Democrats still want those laws enforced, fairly.
It’s a funny kind of “sneaking”, though, to directly approach immigration and request asylum. What would you do? Just throw them out immediately, without a hearing? Because our laws and international treaties both say they have a right to a hearing.
We’re 320 million. Illegal immigration is measured in thousands per month. Probably as many as move in and out of nyc every month. Immigrants aren’t the cause of low wages and crowded schools anymore than the millions of Americans with lousy education and no skills.
2
This is becoming less "haha" funny and more "strange" funny (which isn't funny). The babbling of a mad man isn't humorous...
15
Has your brother attended one of these? How did he describe his experience? Maybe you'll tell us after Thanksgiving this year?
@Michael That would be Maureen Dowd, not Gail Collins
1
When your audience 's ears and brains are tuned to only one single frequency, the frequency of lies and false narrative, you can tell them fantastic lies particularly the lies that turns them on and they will cheer you to end of time. Now, the Saudis are addressing the same audience with their fantastic lies about Jamal Khashoggi's butchering. They know their man in Washington has prepared the audience to believe and accept their lies , and soon the GOP accomplices in the Congress will start lining up behind the President and MBS!! Who would have imagined that 62 million Republican Hawks who as recently as 17 years ago were calling for total annihilation of the Saudis have turned into ardent supporters of a young Saudi Despot. Of the 62 million, Donald Trump is the last one to blame because the only thing that he never lied about was who he was. And one did not need to have a degree in psychology to figure out who he was. It was all laid out in plain sight for all to see. I blame the other 61,999,999 who saw that picture and decided he is their Man! The question is: would they some day be held accountable for the untold damage and destruction that Trump Presidency has inflicted upon this Nation and this Country?
5
"[W]atching four or five Trump rally speeches in rapid succession...That’s what we’re here for."
I feel your pain, Gail. It's called taking one for the team. Once in a while, after a few drinks, I'll pick up the remote to see what Tucker Carlson or (shudder) Sean Hannity is up to. I'd never qualify as an actual journalist because I don't have the stomach for that kind of overt propaganda. I start yelling at the TV. Do real journalists ever start yelling at Trump during his performances? I'll bet they do on the inside. Alcoholism used to be a hazard of the trade. I wonder how many D.C. journalists have fallen off the wagon since 2016.
4
The terrifying thing is that sea of bleating supporters - especially the women. I can - sort of, kind of - begin to understand the old white men who feel that they've been oppressed by criticism of their bigotry and misogyny. But the women who love Trump ... it's beyond words. Some are religious fundamentalists who take some kind of sick pleasure in submission to men, but others seem to me to have lost their minds completely.
120
@Glassyeyed My father told me that at Hitler rallies, women swooned.
1
Donald Trump should not even be allowed to stand in line to visit the White House, much less live and, in some sense, work there
3
Any person who stands with Trump is saying: "I hate America and everything it has fought and died for".
9
Trump's unusual dedication to the midterms is for a very personal reason. If Democrats gain control, Mueller's investigation will be made public. Trump, for those who paid attention, consorted with criminals as he built hotels and casinos. NYT reporters found he engaged in tax fraud on a grand scale (which is why he'll never release his taxes.) That's tip of the iceberg stuff. Trump probably has big debts to the kinds of Russians you don't want to get angry. So he's given aid and comfort to Putin, who can keep them at bay.
Democrat control of Congress isn't about impeachment. Or judges. It will permit the peeling away of Trump's protectors, those in Congress who made their deal with the devil. Without them, the king has no clothes, and Democrats, along with 70% of the country, will notice.
To paraphrase Lincoln, fool some of the people all the time, and all the people some of the time, but elections have consequences. Trump wants to fool us all. Please don't let that happen.
6
At the end of the day, after everything has been said and done, you cannot get away from the simple, self-evident, incontrovertible and irrefutable fact that this man is a mental case.
28
"I play to people fantasies. I call it truthful hyperbole. It's an innocent form of exaggeration and a very effective form of promotion."
djt, The Art of the Deal
Translation;
I am a highly skilled professional liar and a cunning survivor and will do whatever it takes to preserve my power and wealth.
Vote 11-6
16
Consider, God, in the Creation narrative, may have erred. A God-like error. Not a human one. Had, God, of whatever Garden-of-Eden tale, been an environmentalist s/he might have stopped creating. When the perfect Garden was complete. Maybe, maybe, including the snake as well. But surely not the human-gendered-creations who "gatewayed" into knowing. But not making much (needed?) effort to understand. That which is learnable and understandable! Or to "insight" into. Out-of. To learn to look. To choose to see, things. Diverse peoples. Diverse ways. Sensing-sideways. And to learn from experiences. Humans; who introduced violating "the other." A family member. So now, filled with many legitimate human concerns, and fed digestible "Trumped-up"-alt-facts, a numerical minority of flawed, diverse American beings, just like the rest of the numerical majority of US, in a flawed, democratic, election process, are living, divided. In a God-absent,"Gardenless," out of control-climate changing globe. Enabling a range of faux- leaders, primarily representing their own needs, as well as toxic- ummenschlichkeit, to transmit harmful words. And carry out temporary or more permanent done-deeds. Without any personal accountability. Is it possible that this time around, God, has chosen not to expel his creations from the Garden of...but rather, in Sodom-like anger, and bitterness, allows each of US to violate "the other?" And in the process to destroy our human home-planet? In words and deeds!
The "Democrats are evil. These are evil people." The press is "the enemy of the people." Labeling the Democrats as an angry mob.
Would anyone be surprised by a call to arms? Would anything please Putin more?
4
They remind me of the Beer Garden scene in the movie Cabaret. "Tomorrow Belongs To Me!" This is what fascism looks like in its early stages. Look at the map of counties Trump won: in the vast majority of the counties, Trump won.
5
Notwithstanding the Tower-of-Babble nature of Trump’s Nuremberg-style rallies, why is he even holding them in the first place? Isn’t the president’s primary job defending the Constitution and the country against all enemies, foreign and domestic? Oh, I forgot. In this case, the president himself is domestic public enemy #1.
4
One reader wrote that Trump is much smarter than we think. I totally agree. Repulsive, incoherent, unpredictable, unprofessional. ..the list goes on. He's no dummy. There's too much at stake for everyone, I mean the world, if this goes unchecked. He may lose the midterms, but the real goal for him is 2020.
3
Gee, don’t we feel sorry for the man - how much golf can he possibly play while jetting around to his base-only rallies? Breaking every record on vacation days at Trump properties, number of golf rounds - that’s his triumph. He hasn’t once stepped on “Blue” soil except where his NYC golden palace is located.
And he’ll scam enough precisely-targeted electoral votes in 2020 to continue this national nightmare into 2024, after Kavanaugh and his thugs forgive him his sins.
29
If you submitted a novel or screenplay with a character speaking as Trump speaks, they would throw it in the trash bin.
14
"Back when we were normal, Barack Obama got crowds of up to 100,000 and people would get so excited they’d faint."
Yes. Then a country that elected Barack Obama, an African American, turns around and votes for a xenophobic racist as president.
As in "The Metamorphosis," Kafka's story of salesman Gregor who is transformed into a huge insect, the country has transformed into something unthinkable where a nominee for Supreme Court repeatedly tells us how much he likes beer and is confirmed anyway and the President is defending a country that murdered one of its own citizens in its Consulate, a place where citizens go to get help.
Wrong is right and the Right is seldom wrong. When will "our long national nightmare" be over?
13
There's trouble in River City...
3
ome might have regarded that as a rather cruel put-down of some poor guy who was just trying to get a little attention. ...he “had to do it because he was bragging about his political career.”
Trump has managed to revolutionize the office the presidency into a 24/7 sitcom starring himself as the enduringly narcissistic, babbling walking self parody and loopy halfwit buffoon. I suspect that the average intellectual age of his "admiring bog" of toadies is around ten years of age.
55
@James Landi
Oh, you are being FAR too kind to Trump and his adoring cult.
3
If we gave him some money, maybe a lot, do you think he would go away.
4
It's like going to see a fake wrestliing match.
But we can't all be making fun of these rallies, because people actually believe what he says. And he's basically lying about his accomplishments, saying Democrats are traitors and ramping people up to start a civil war. We're going to have a bunch of people going posse comitatus on the rest of the country.
11
@Ann Pitting one American against another has always been one of this president's goals.
He does it relentlessly.
2
I force myself to watch a few minutes of FOX news
every day. It seems that even the long legged ladies
are starting to tire of Mr.Trump's rants.
Do the long legged ladies rehearse what seems
to be their village well banter....or is it really spontaneous?
1
Our very own Berlusconi. Or Duterte, now, extolling physical assaults of journalists by politician-thugs. All we Americans are responsible for this tawdry, lurid, dangerous mess - we must make amends through the candidate nomination process and elections to have leaders of quality and ethics. THAT would make America great.
35
@Rocky. All Americans are responsible for the tawdry mess? The majority of us who bothered to go vote did not vote for the tawdry mess of a conman.
4
Gail, I really appreciate that you put in the time to listen, I really do. But I am so fed up with being bombarded by word salad on a 24/7 basis. Can we change the subject and talk one more time about Paul Ryan before he leaves? He’s become a hermit, even though he’s Speaker, and I think you ought to put your patented blend of satire on him one more time before he “spends more time with his family.”
5
Voter suppression. Incoherent bragging and bullying. Continued Russian assault on our democratic election process. I’m rolling in my grave and I’m not even dead yet. Our way of life is under siege. This is not a drill. Vote! Write, call, email your elected officials. Take part in our democracy before it’s smothered. Please, this is not a drill. Participate!
33
I know these people cheer the guy they hired to be president. How many would let him car pool twice a week with their teenage daughters' soccer practice?
13
By now, I'm completely numb. Numb at the thought that there are fellow Americans that continue to believe that Donald J Trump is going to turn their life around for the better. Coal will once again be ours and the world's major sourse of energy, oceans will calm down, rivers will be free of pollution, and, the Great Wall will be built and paid for by Mexico.
From the 1979 version of Mad Max...
"I am the Nightrider! I am the chosen one. The mighty hand of vengeance, sent down to strike the unroadworthy! I'm hotter than a rollin' dice. Step right up, chum, and watch the kid lay down a rubber road, right to FREEDOM!"
6
Donald Trump clearly never benefited from the attentions of an excellent English teacher like the one I had in 7th grade, for whom the greatest writing sin was “run-on sentences.” She would attack these sentences in our compositions mercilessly with her red pen, sometimes reading them out loud so we could hear how sloppy they sounded. I remember her telling us that, in her opinion, run-on sentences led to what she called “run-on thinking and run-on speaking.”
I don’t know if she is still alive and brandishing her red pen, but if she’s not, she’s turning in her grave at our mentally “run-on president.”
20
Trump’s insults run pretty much across the board. Comey, Sessions, Obama, McCain, Flake, Alec Baldwin, Jerry Brown, Justin Trudeau, Schumer, Mueller, NFL players and on and on. He insults both males and females in ways that are particularly offensive. He may direct somewhat more of his trash talking at women but the overall goal is to attack, attack, and attack. And anyone will do.
6
@michjas Nope. It's definitely women more than men. He reserves special disdain for women. He especially attacks their looks. Any powerful woman, or anyone who bothers Trump, is a target.
4
The fact that his audience finds him rational and smart is more disturbing than he is.
Sorry, chanting "Lock her up " on cue is the business of thin brains and truly challenged souls. The fact that he just substitutes whatever female is annoying him at the moment is even more despicable. His issues with women are quite disturbing on many levels.
I keep wondering when people will actually be ashamed of themselves for being played like a cheap fiddle for the cameras.But, we are now in the place that Putin applauds and these crowds keep him happy for days.
My America is not some cheesy reality show with obedient crowds chanting and pretending that is what "patriots" do. Half of these crowds can't face their own failures but they sure cheer for everyone elses' like it is some addictive drug. And their dealer sits in the White House keeping the addiction loud and divisive. Leaders lead--they don't divide their own people for cheers.
This Democrat is not the "enemy" and letting this waddling old liar make it so harms all of his followers more than any of us. They look like sheep being led to market. Feel fleeced yet?
34
Trump seems to be forever campaigning. Are we (the taxpayers) paying for this? If he's campaigning shouldn't he or the Republicans foot the bill? I suppose he will never understand or care that he is the president of the entire country not just his "base".
16
Trump loves the uneducated. Who knew the country contained so many of them?
804
@Economy Biscuits Trump loves the uneducated and we all know he's a narcissist.
2
An inspection of the country outside the coastal bubbles and the other enclaves will demonstrate that the nation is chock-a-block with low information types, haters whom Hillary so clumsily but accurately identified.
Our greatness as a nation arises out of our being based on ideas rather than blood and soil. Because of that we have assembled a population of people who behave decently in a higher percentage than any other big country (cf. the racial, ethnic, gender, and social prejudice of such places as China, India, Russia, Japan, and others). But make no mistake, there have always been plenty of the others out there: Puritans, slavers, Know-Nothings, kluxers, nativists, America Firsters, White Citizens’ Councils, tea-partiers, and now Trumpkins.
4
@Economy Biscuits
Hey Mr. Biscuits, let us not turn on each other!! That is the whole modus operandi of the divisive forces. Remember when we did not hate each other? Remember when we did not bare our fangs? When our faces were lovely and our voices sweet when conversing with each other?
I just don't understand how the ungodly wealthy think that if the rest of their fellow citizens are oppressed it will benefit them. They are obscenely rich AND powerful, yet still not content. I suggest that their illness is spiritual.
I hope every woman in America votes on November 6th, at least once.
And I hope she votes for herself, for her daughters and granddaughters, for her nieces and grandnieces, for every woman she knows and every woman she doesn't.
This time, this vote, not for party or policy, not community or legacy, just vote for You.
It's never or now.
49
Yes, but I'm afraid, as this is not at all funny. As The New Yorker's Susan Glasser describes in her recent piece entitled "The Increasingly Menacing Message of Donald Trump's Rallies", he is methodically ginning up anger to the point of mindless rage in his base. This cannot and will not end well. Either way, through the unthinkable endorsement of his "presidency" at the polls in two weeks, or his loss of one house of congress, it will likely lead to further and deepening unrest. I just pray that it does not turn violent.
53
@Michael It's already violent. But I suppose you mean mass physical violence. If the Republicans maintain control of the Congress, people may find that the only way to express their displeasure is through protest on the streets. Non-violent demonstrations with a mix of provocateurs ... probably will result in the violence you fear. But, that should not make us afraid to address our grievances on the street.
Fear is the Trump card.
2
@Michael Trump is instigating our nation to conduct a second civil war. Violence against each other may very well be in our future because of that conman in our White House.
Trumpppppp is the most dangerous of presidents since Hitler. Oh Hitler wasn't the president of the United States but the president and leader of everything else in fascist Germany. My mistake.
26
@Jordan Davies
von Hindenburg raised Hitler up so that he could control Hitler and exploit his hate-filled base. Ooops!
Every comment comparing President Trump (the candidate my friends voted for) to “Hitler” assures your average guy, including my father and brothers, that Leftists are alarmists radicals to be feared, not elected.
It’s Leftists radicals who want the government to dictate men can use women’s bathrooms; that illegal aliens are rewarded for invading our country; and that everyone is segregated by race, gender and sexual preference so that only straight white males can the discriminated against.
When President Trump is re-elected, these comments are why.
I think I'll strap my dog to the roof of the car and head for Canada...
64
@Jasoturner---That strategy only works for Conservative candidates, and getting elected in Canada with that dog on your roof removes you from the running. Best to stay home.
@Jasoturner I'm right behind you only with two dogs. When we get there we can also get a little mellow by smoking a little legal pot. I think I could use some right now. Well it's off to the polls to vote for one of the idiots running in NC.
1
If there were no one at these “speeches”, Ms. Collins, et.al. wouldn’t be writing columns such as this.
Yet, there’s more than a handful of adoring acolytes cheering his every word. They, not Trump, are the problem . They’re not all stupid, but, many (most) are fearful, selfish, unreflective and just plain spiteful.
Eventually, Trump will be gone, but, this malignant base will remain. They will ensure that there will be another Trump. We don’t wknow his name yet, but, he’s already out there, sowing his own brand of ignorance and hatred.
No, the root problem is not DJT . It’s 30% of our fellow citizens.
364
@Patrick alexander
That's a sad comment on some of our fellow country men and women. It's also scary, and yes many have serious issues that have generated the current political climate.
Those folk are in need of help, I am unsure how.
I have a lot less in front of me than behind and I am concerned about my country. As a note I am Ummm upset over "Make America Great Again" I never thought this country was anything but Great, however there are and will be problems but that's life.
9
@Patrick alexander Many of Trump’s rallies require last-minute attendee choreography to give the illusion of a packed house. Trump also leans heavily on hired attendees— they’re the ones in brand-new MAGA gear sitting directly behind Trump.
5
@Patrick alexander
The mess trump made will outlive him. The base will always find a new trump. Unless, of course, they get bored and go back to watching monster trucks jump around.
3
Ms. Collins has a good point: Trump is always running as an outsider. But her readers should have some memory of the fact that Obama did the exact same thing for eight years. I guess it's just the way all successful politicians approach the voters.
4
@Uysses When I go through American history, just about every candidate for the presidency, starting with Jefferson, has run as an outsider, no matter how much of an insider he really was. Think George W. Bush, son of a president, grandson of a senator - and therefore, of course, the quintessential outsider. The only candidates who did not subject themselves and the voters to that charade were, to the best of my knowledge, Truman and LBJ. Three cheers to their honesty!
38
@Uysses
Outsiders are always good, but we really ought to prefer outsiders such as a constitutional law scholar who went to Harvard, become a community organizer, a U. S. Senator, then president over someone with at least four bankruptcies, who favors and fosters conspiracy theories like the 'birther movement,' and who lies about everything including which Wharton school he graduated from, hint, not the business school.
But, apparently an outsider whose sole objective is to destroy our institutions so he can, possibly, become king of everything is what people want now, so, as Pope Francis might say...who am I to judge? People should get exactly what they deserve. I'm looking forward to at least two more years of this imbecile.
It was a pretty good country, once upon a time.
7
@Uysses The first black President ran as an outsider. Why is that a surprise? So did the first female candidate from a major party, who won three million more votes than her rich-kid rival.
3
Yeah, gender, and race. His constant labeling of Maxine Waters as "low IQ" certainly is racist. Trump is one person. What saddens & outrages me much more is that he can draw crowds of folks who agree with his misogynist, racist, xenophobic rants.
434
@Anne-Marie Hislop
And where are the elected officials who will stand up for those people who are being maligned? Are good people looking the other way? They just can't be bothered to say something, do something? If so, they now lose their "good person" badge, and move into the complicit range.
51
@Anne-Marie Hislop
Yes!
I can't count the number of times when a reporter asked various Trump supporters why they liked Trump so much, and they all said separately because "he says what I am thinking."
1
@Anne-Marie Hislop
Yes but when he tries to whip up his base against the hostile ET alien invaders they will try babbling, tweeting and speaking slurs to repel them.
Trump won 58% of the white vote. McCain won 55% of the white vote. Romney won 59% of the white vote. Having a very high IQ while half-white by biological nature and all white by cultural nurture never made Barack Obama together and equal to any white person. MAGA!
The people who invented language presumably thought they were improving the ability of humans to communicate their ideas clearly and precisely. Judging by Trump's performance at his rallies, they wasted much of their effort.
His meandering speeches express raw emotions, not coherent thought. A series of grunts, distinguishable only by a change in the volume of his voice, would convey his anger or joy as effectively as words strung randomly together.
With Trump in the Oval Office, presidential communications have become the verbal equivalents of a very bad imitation of a Jackson Pollock painting.
35
Of course Trump can't stop reliving election night 2016. And it's not just from his abundance of pride. On the contrary, Trump knows he lost the popular vote significantly. Sure, he chalks that up to voter fraud but even he knows that's nonsense. And if there's anything Trump would really hate to lose, it's a popularity contest. So he keeps going back to the scene of his defeat and tries to soothe his fragile ego.
36
Thank you Gail for reminding us of the days when we had "normal" Presidents.We may have disagreed with some about policies but I think that most of us thought that they were there to serve their country. Now-after almost two years of this everyday "abnormal" it becomes clear that this man is there to serve himself and his businesses-and these rallies feed his basic insecurity and malignant narcissism. Any more of this unchecked "abnormal " may bring the demise of our republic.
99
Trump’s shtick is depressingly familiar.At every rally he brags about getting elected, demonizes Democrats and immigrants and for good measure mentions Hillary Clinton.His audiences are told to wave signs and cheer.They feel a kinship supporting this rogue- they are energized by negative, nasty behavior.Trump has become a caricature of himself.Democrats need to take the House in November and ask enough questions that Trump will stop his delusional rants and not have Republican enablers to egg him on.
49
@Janet Michael Trump’s constant demeaning of Hillary Clinton includes barely-veiled tales of murders she’s committed, selling out the US with Uranium One, running a child-abduction ring from a pizzeria and on and on, one brazen lie after another, and each one prefaced by the dishonest disclaimer, “People are saying...”
If anyone has the right to sue Trump for libel, slander, or defamation of character, it’s Hillary Clinton.
1
Just wait and see what happens if Democrats win the House. Probably not going to happen, but Trump already has a plan in case it does. He'll turn on the GOP so fast their heads will spin. Suddenly the Democrats will be his springboard for re-election, with Trump teeing up popular bills for a change just so Congress can pass them and the Senate can shoot them down. He'll be the greatest Pretend-Democrat the world has ever seen, though he'll be sure to never take any action that might conceivably benefit the middle class or harm the rich. He'll be such a great pretend-Democrat that Lieberman and Manchin will be jealous.
7
Whether Trump is coherent in his political messages or not is irrelevant, nevertheless he is campaigning for the Republican party at tax payers expenses and I am sick of him spending some of my taxes flitting around the country on AF-! promoting candidates and an agenda I strongly disagree with. Presidents have done some of it in the past, but Trump has elevated it to dizzying heights. The RNC should be billed for these expenses.
82
Sounds like the Dems could benefit by simply playing some extended footage of Trump wandering through his stream of consciousness. Or is it a swamp? Either way, he comes off as in his dotage, and could encourage some voters to try to get him out of the Oval Office and into assisted living.
38
@John Brews ..✅✅i
His followers call that “plain speaking”. He speaks their language.
3
"And only a deep cynic would believe it’s just because he enjoys standing in front of a huge crowd and making the whole thing about him."
Great sentence Gail.
I wonder if people are starting to tire of Trump and his drama.
We all know he is dishonest, and most recognise that he is not fit for the Presidency.
But now he is just boring.
53
I know Trump’s speeches (and his Leslie Stahl interview) have long demonstrated his incoherence and his inability to engage with and to focus on a single topic. His mind seems to skip like a stone across the pond of conversation; you can’t predict where his thinking will go, but it sure doesn’t follow a reasoned path.
Is it possible we’re seeing the early stages of dementia?
I know his supporters will argue that he has always talked this way — “Let Trump be Trump” — but it may be time for doctors to decide whether his incoherence is revealing a progressive decline in his mind. Do normal 70-somethings in responsible positions have minds that flit from idea to idea this way? It’s bizarre — and it seems to be getting worse.
254
@Jeremy Mott
More than a few people who have experience with dementia and Alzheimer have said that his speech patterns should be an alarm. I would add that his seemingly lack of ability to remember what he said yesterday should also raise an alarm. Its happened before. Reagan was not in his right mind during part of his last term.
2
@Jeremy Mott, don't know if its dementia or deception. But it is a known fact that until very recently Trump voted and donated democratic. Until 2016 his son in law Jared Kushner donated to the Democratic party. Overnight, Trump has become Republican and the GOP is falling for his deception. He has conned the republican party into thinking that he is "conservative", "Christian", one of them, wink wink. But there's evidence he and his family were democrats.
According to politico "The file also shows the FBI's interest in a 1986 New York Daily News story that listed Trump Management Co. as the largest donor to top New York City politicians such as Mayor Ed Koch, members of the Board of Estimate and "Democratic clubhouse organizations." The Trump firm, listed as owned by Donald and Fred Trump, gave more than $350,000 to the top pols during a 5-year period, according to the story, based on a report from a New York state senator."
1
@Jeremy Mott Early stages?? He displays the mind of a dilapidated schizophrenic, and that is a much kinder interpretation than viewing him as a knowing psychopath. Don't let the psychopathy fool us. When his mind was still able to function he was indeed, a psychopath; now, he remembers how to do that, but is no longer capable of speech other than blubbering, blustering jabbering about how Huge he is.
1
I have watched some of this and I have to admit the crowd really loves it. I wonder if its because they feel he is a great leader or just love the state fair atmosphere. The pageant reminds me of a wrestling match where the crowd cheers as everyone beats up everyone and everyone knows its just a show!
20
@Thomas Renner
Obama, could have done the same thing, giving speeches around the country advocating for healthcare or even his Supreme Court nominee. No, he spent the last four years doing nothing, he needed to get out there, just as Trump is doing. Obama, has a legacy of losing the Presidency, the House, the Senate, 42 of 50 governorships, over a thousand state elections across the country, and the Supreme Court. Forget Hillary, Obama, toward the end was a deflated balloon. He had the pulpit, and he kicked it over to watch TV from the couch. Let’s all finally admit, Trump, is a master politician, he get’s things done, not the right things, but he gets them done. He completely and totally dominates the media with his message. The Democrats have no one even close.
1
Fine. Funny and all, but none of this wins elections.
Putting down Trump is shooting fish in a barrel, it's old now.
The situation is so dangerous that we need a whole new kind of humor to throw at this problem.
This week the Saudis committed a murder so heinous that we have to go back to 1973 to find its parallel. Victor Jara, a writer like Khashoggi, was murdered by the Chileans, who first mutilated his fingers, (apparently the preffered torture for writers), and laughter at his pain before they killed him. The difference was that Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger had to pretend that it was a bad thing, even as they organized the overthrow of Allende.
Trump can boast about his friends in Saudi Arabia, as he cheers on a congressman who assaulted an American journalist. In 1973 at least we were embarrassed about our crimes, today, they're laughing about it, just as Pinochet's men laughed at Jara.
They always start with the journalists, the writers, the intellectuals. And I can't think of how to put a funny spin on that either.
86
Did Trump see the "First Man" movie? Nope. I saw it and the American flag was there but what was planted on the moon was so much more personal and heart rending. Trump missed the whole part of that I'm betting (if he did watch it) because he cannot connect to personal sacrifice. I know his followers say he has sympathy, but I don't see it. It's a part he plays. Personal sacrifice ....something in heroes that drives them forward. It was a good movie about an honorable man. Apparently Trump voters are happy with incoherence.
33
Somewhere, Marshall McLuhan is saying I told you so- the electoral college's man in charge has butchered the language to bits, echoed nonsense, gibberish and lies -yet the medium of speaking before cheering citizens is the message. It's a winning strategy as of now. I sometimes wish Howard Beale could raise his window once more- but most windows are sealed shut.
21
Trump and his rally crowds take co-dependency to a new level.
I bet if you asked anyone in the arena what Nancy Pelosi's title is, few if any would know she's the House Minority Leader, and used to be the Speaker. More importantly, though they all profess to hate her, they likely can't name a single reason why.
I'm sure that a certain percentage of harmless attendees show up just to be in the presence of a POTUS, or so they can say they were there. (I've read that many people often leave halfway through.) But the masses who animatedly and vociferously cheer Trump on regardless of what undignified thoughts he spews have turned these events into sick, sorry spectacles that speak ill of our country.
209
Well said!
Used to be when I listened to Mr. Trump I found myself saying "huh...?" Now I don't listen to him anymore but now I find myself asking the same incredulous question when his supporters try to make sence of his incoherence to me. This guy really graduated from Wharton? "HUH....?"
14
@Logic
Actually he did not graduate from Wharton. He took classes that's he probably didn't show up for.
4
It's discouraging to see the president's fan club swallowing every single word of his "speeches". The speeches are the same, the people look the same, and it is a difficult spectacle to watch. I have only watched one from start to finish, but as Gail says, you have to watch them to see what the other side is doing.
The worst part is the preening....the gloating....and the lying. Hopefully we will witness a reset in November.
51
Unless women politicians begin to realize that controlling the conversation is essential, they will never succeed in this hostile environment. There was no reason for Elizabeth Warren to capitulate to Donald Trump, especially with the election so close at hand.
19
I suspect Mr. Trump is dedicated to holding these rallies because, buried somewhere deep down, he knows he is a fraud and a liar, and these rallies serve to prop up his ego. He gets no love or approval from intelligent and ethical people, so he must constantly seek the sugar-high that he craves by strutting and spluttering before those who are even less intelligent than he is.
If he were a private citizen, his family might do an intervention and persuade him to engage in psychotherapy.
Unfortunately, he gets to parade his neuroses in front of an a worldwide audience of billions and he becomes increasingly despondent and paranoid when his runway turns do not yield the praise and adulation he feels he deserves.
This would be disturbing if Mr. Trump were running a country the size of Monaco; it's globally threatening for him to be the head of the United States of America.
The Republican cowards in Congress will do nothing to curb Mr. Trump's delusions as long as they feel they can pack the courts and enact laws to keep themselves permanently in power.
It is up to us -- the electorate -- to correct this awful mess.
We need to apply election-shock therapy to the entire GOP
on November 6.
96
Any rational American can recognize what Trump represents. What is beyond belief is that polling suggests that some 40 percent of our populace approves of him. It is a sad commentary on our body politic, and I fear for the future of our democracy when so many support a man with an obvious dictatorial agenda who promotes the violent tendencies in his supporters for personal gain.
89
@Redux What is not beyond belief is that of the 40% who approve of him, 99% will get out and vote. Of the 60% who do not approve, likely less than 50% of those will be bothered to go to the polls. Mandatory voting, in place in some countries now, would prevent a presumptive autocrat like Trump ever being elected again in the USA.
8
@Redux
Benjamin Netanyahu, Kim Jong-Un, Vladimir Putin, Recip Erdogan, Mohammad bin Salman and Rodrigo Duterte are not rational Americans.
Trump has been campaigning for the midterms, telling people that the election is really about him, and giving, at most, nominal mention of the actual candidates. There is a certain truth in Trump's grotesque behavior, since the other Republicans can't even step out of Trump's shadow. What does it say about Congressional Republicans and their lack of independent power that they are indistinguishable from an unhinged president?
32
I only see occasional excerpts from these insane rallies, but it would be interesting to see a whole speech in order to get the full Trump insanity effect. Gail gives some glimpses, but to be in the room for the whole thing....actually, I'll pass.
11
His reality TV show was stupid and incoherent too, but millions of people watched it. Lots of folks don't want things to make sense. It's much easier to believe in unlikely saviors and fictionally corrupt enemies than admit you might have made a mistake.
45
Evidently you stopped going before "Caravan-Kavanaugh", or "Jobs not Mobs". He's out there reminding a lot of people that if they want the show to continue, they better vote in his favor, or it will be canceled.
18
The president who's never responsible. His words are never to be taken seriously because he is just kidding. All the problems of the Earth were caused by other people and he is just the guy to make "the deals" to fix everything. He is an unending Jerry Springer episode. His audiences are truly dumb, or rich guys who love money. With Trump,there is no "false equivalency ", he is one dangerous, stupid man.
328
@Tim Lynch Not unlike an "opiate of the masses" effect.
A phrase the subject of which was originally "religion".
Be afraid . . .
3
I've noticed that a lot of smart, manipulative people like to pretend to be stupid and innocent, to manipulate people who really are.
2
Another pleasant chuckle from Gail. We see again that the emperor has no clothes, but we are dealing with a demagogue. There is a very dark side to this man. He feeds hate and dissension. He leaves his followers hungry for blood. As his power diminishes what is too prevent him from sending out his mob of followers to take matters into their own hands? This could end so badly for all of us.
27
@fduchene
Why is it we hear about Republicans and jobs, and Democrats and mobs? I've yet to see a Democratic mob...but what about those rallies?
4
In 1968, I rephrased Lincoln’s famous fooling people quote into “enough of the people enough of the time.” (I’m sure back in 68 I was not the first in history to add that cynical line) Indeed Nixon garnered 43% of the electorate, with the help of 3rd party candidate Curtis Lemay, to win the popular plurality and 300 electoral votes.
Trump continues to fool 39% of the electorate, his excessively loyal base, to wrangle sufficient votes for Republicans to maintain control of congress, almost certainly at least the Senate.
With gerrymandering in place, along with Russian meddling and Fox News, there is a good chance that Republicans will retain control of congress while losing the popular vote to Democrates by 3 million total national votes in total.
“You can fool all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.” Still, if you can fool at least 39% of the people most of the time, that seems enough of the time.
56
Trump is much smarter than we think. Democrats are panicking. Their strategy & tactics to win the midterms is coming apart. It's been one blunder after another. The messy judicial hearings, calls to impeach,the Heidi Heitkamp apology, Elizabeth Warren DNA tests, & now Hillary. Why can't the party focus on the issues? They've lost the Senate...it's already out of reach with three weeks to go. They may not win the House. The GOP base is fired up & will turn out in huge numbers. Republican voters have shown up in every off year election since 2010...pretty much guaranteed after this messy judicial hearings. We can't have a functioning government where every congressional activity is held hostage like this. We're already starting to see blowback. Stacey Abrams & Andrew Gillum two African American Progressive candidates running for Governor in Florida & Georgia were ahead in polls a month ago. Now both GOP opponents have caught up & are positioned to win their races. At this point, few analysts of either party expect the Democrats to make gains at the state legislative level around the country. The recent drama with Kavanaugh will motivate many to come out — not just the conservative base, but fair-minded Independents who are mad that Democrats have waged an opportunistic political war. This eerily feels like the 2016 over-confident predictions about the "inevitable" victory of HRC. The tide has turned. The left will regret how they over played what was a winning hand.
22
@Bill Brown So, the "recent drama with Kavanaugh" should have been avoided? What exactly would you suggest the Dems should have done with Dr. Ford's accusations? Silenced her? Ignored her? Was it really "opportunistic political war" to follow through, to demand a hearing, to want an investigation? The underlying suggestion certainly seems to be that her claims were not valid, that she should just go away, or that the Democrats should have ignored her because it was not politically wise to hear her.
Sorry, though I do not know what happened between her & Kavanaugh in 1982 since I was not there, I happen to believe that it was imperative that she be heard.
295
@Anne-Marie Hislop Please. You know exactly what should have happened. Had Feinstein followed proper protocols when she received Ford’s letter, she would have informed Chairman Grassley and the FBI of the existence of the letter. At that point, the FBI would have looked into it and entered whatever information it found into Kavanaugh’s background check, which would be provided confidentially to members of the committee. Feinstein’s excuse for not doing this is that she supposedly told Ford she would keep the information confidential. But she should not have done that. She should have explained to Blasey Ford that there is an established process for investigating such claims, and that the information was basically useless if it became necessary to hang onto it and not tell Grassley or the FBI. I believe Feinstein knew exactly what she was doing. She recognized that Ford’s accusations had the potential to serve as a last-minute ambush if Democrats failed to otherwise lay a glove on Kavanaugh, so she kept it in her back pocket to spring at the 11th hour absent any other way to torpedo Kavanaugh. She also knew that this would put Republicans in an impossible position with a committee vote on the nomination approaching, and the mid-term elections drawing near. Now suddenly they would be under pressure to halt everything with time growing short. It would neither be possible to give Kavanaugh a fair chance to defend himself, nor would there be time to deal with a new nominee.
1
@Ed Davis
Re: Kavanaugh. The fix was in from day one. All the rest was merely political theater.
The Republican model for the United States Government is obvious and guaranteed to give a Trump-Republican induced economy crash for the citizens of the United States after creating the huge increasing federal deficit in the last two years. It’s a bankruptcy approach that’s been proven and tested by Bain Capital (Mitt Romney) and by our current presidential bankruptcy expert in charge of making it happen. Bain Capital’s strategy has been successfully applied to numerous companies (e.g. Toys R Us) and is the foundation of the Republican ideology for running state and/or federal governments. Buy a company (or the government), put yourself on the board (or in the Senate/House of Representatives), vote to max out the company or government’s credit line, borrow everything you can against the company assets and in the case of the government start a few unfunded wars, give huge sums of money in tax cuts as Bush and Trump have done to the top 1 % and finish up by cleaning out the social security, medicare, medicaid assets that were funded by the taxpayers to make sure you maximize your share of the booty. Then when the government is all out of money, declare bankruptcy so that the workers and the taxpayers who paid social security taxes all their lives have no health care, income, homes, or jobs; and shut the doors. As promised by McConnell as soon as the midterms are over, affordable health care, medicare, & social security must be drastically cut/ eliminated to pay the bills.
53
Most likely the Trump rally attendees believe they can interpret Trump's incoherence as a special, secret code that only they can understand. Kind of like hippies listening to "I Am The Walrus" -- but at least, being pretty stoned, the hippies had an excuse.
27
@Denny
Part of being a true believer is that you have a 'special' language. Words and phases that you (the insiders) know and understand and those (the outsiders) do not. It builds group cohesion and identity in the same way that having special clothes (MAGA hat) or special colors (red). Trump supporters are textbook cases of group think and cults.
6
Just a thought. What if many minorities, aka American-Americans vote for Trump, because he is taking this country where it needs to go?
That would mean, the American-Americans rejected the progressive message. Does that make them wrong? Stupid? Confused? If progressives are or become a minority, will progressives admit they need to "get with the program"?
I hope so. This country works best, when Americans work together. If you won't help row the ship of state, at least don't be a sea anchor.
2
"And only a deep cynic would believe it’s just because he enjoys standing in front of a huge crowd and making the whole thing about him."
The best part about this, Gail, is that if Trump reads the column he wouldn't get the joke. He would be nodding in agreement at this line.
21
Curious regarding captive audience witnessing, vicariously participating in noisy spectacles such as Trump revving up captive audience? Read "the World of Wrestling" seminal essay by Roland Barthes (Mythologies).
8
You do know that repeatedly listening to and then writing down quotes from Trump at his rallies kills brain cells. A recent article in the "American Journal of Medicine Without Medicine" recommends that vocalizations issuing from Trump be treated like the solar eclipse. Do not view an eclipse with the naked eye, likewise do not listen to Trump babble with a naked ear. Use protection, 80 DB's suppression should be sufficient. If no protection is available only listen if the sound waves have bounced off at least two hard surfaces.
81
How long does this have to go on, this disgusting exhibition of inanity, insanity, instability, narcissism, egomania, unthinking tunnel vision without a vision, etc. I am disgusted beyond words, beyond understanding, beyond standing for it. This guy Trump has got to go. He goes or we go.
92
Isn't Silicon Valley tech country? Isn't there just as much pompous, overpaid nonsense and tax evasion there?
If the Republicans win Trump will try to make himself president for life. yes?
30
@Soo
I was thinking the same thing.
3
@Soo: "If the Republicans win Trump will try to make himself president for life, yes?".
I believe he will. We'll have some major 'event' before 2020 elections and then we'll never have a 'real' election again. And when he steps down, his daughter will step in. Will our military do anything about it? Nah. They love him!
That's truly my fear.
4
@Soo
Nah, he’ll get Ivanka in, as the first female president (take that, Hillary!). Then Don Jr.
I’ll be dead by then, maybe.
1
Since Trump makes everything about Trump, even when he is ostensibly stumping for somebody else, we can only hope that the 60% of Americans who are disgusted by him will get out and vote.
77
I just wonder how all these people who attend these rallies (They wait in lines for hours.....don't they work? Don't they have families and other responsibilities?) will respond when the roller coaster they are on begins it's descent? They need to remember they have no financial cushion. They are not making all kinds of money like Trump is. They are likely going to lose their health insurance, and if they or their kids have addiction or mental health issues, they will lose the ONLY insurance that will pay for treatment. You can blame Pelosi all you want, but at the end of the day, when the bottom begins to drop away, you can raise your hands in the air and scream. but as the ride picks up speed, the hat flies off and all you are left with is vomit on your shirt.
192
@Walking Man The roller coaster had already begun its descent, which is the reason Trump was elected in the first place. The question will be, how do they ( and we) react when it hits bottom.
@Walking Man No need to wonder how they will respond when Trump and the Republicans eliminate their health insurance. They will blame Democrats. They could be shown ironclad proof otherwise, and they will still blame Democrats.
3
@Walking Man
The Romans knew that Bread & Circuses work just great for keeping the mob quiet and busy.
6
Never underestimate the stupidity of the American people. Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, no one is entitled to their own facts.
You can't fool all of the people all of the time.
The wisdom of the ages.
10
Dear Gail,
Your column is one of the few things that convince me that my country has not totally lost its mind.
When I start brooding too deeply and too often about this wretched presidency, your writing serves to remind me that laughter is both a medicine and a weapon.
Write on Gail, write on!
24
He lives to feed his insatiable, dark, narcissistic ego and the presidency gives him the platform to do that. Vote the GOP out of power...they've allowed our country to become a circus being led by a dangerous carnival barker.
17
Gail deserves combat pay (and the gratitude of her readers) for voluntarily listening to Trump's stream of stupid and outright offensive nonsense. A Trump presidency without the fast forward and mute functions on the now ever handy remote would be completely unbearable.
64
By winning the election Donald Trump put himself in position to take on a leadership role for the ages, yet he will never achieve this because he is not a politician, but rather an entertainer whose heart is placed into the confines of the self, unable to reach the people who have placed their hopes in him. Special interests have created the political crisis America faces today, by subverting the institution so much that the real leadership stays away, and what we end up with is only a facsimile masquerading around as our leadership. The media is also used in an entertainment role, with its array of diversions meant to distract our attention away, from the real political issues that need to addressed before our country can move forward into the new century.
30
One wonders if the adoring crowds at Trump rallies love his incoherence or whether they identify with it. Why do they subject themselves to his rambling? The rallies are like pop concerts with poor lyrics and out of tune broken instruments, yet no one walks out. The audience puts on red hats and leaves the brains at the entrance. It is all rather puzzling. After taking off the hats do they ever recover and reflect on what they heard?
104
@serban
It has been said many many times and I believe it to be the truth. These DEPLORABLES would rather lose a benefit than suffer the possibility one single person of color or immigrant or LGBT might receive it. And they would rather 99 did without than a single man, woman, or child get something they didn’t qualify for.
I know Hilary never said it exactly,but deplorable (and worse) was exactly the right epithet for the whole lot of them.
12
@serban Did they have brains to begin with?
Select a representative video of a Trump rally and bury it deep in the Earth in a concrete-encrusted time capsule to be opened in a thousand years. If the planet is still habitable at that time and there is anyone left alive, they can watch it and have a good laugh, and then a good cry, and then they can archive it under humanity's "Dark Ages" as a solemn warning to our future's future about the need for proactive vigilance.
And while we're on that subject, how are those early ballots coming along, folks?
176
@Blue Moon The movie "Idiocracy" gives us a good idea where we are headed.
3
@Blue Moon
It will go along well with films of Hitler and Mussolini rallies. The slogans, the race baiting, the fake patriotism, the hand and arm gestures, are pretty much along the same lines.
6
The big question is who believes him, and if they do why? I have seen many braggarts in my lifetime, low esteem, low mentality, who just had an overwhelming desire to convince other what great person they were. They seemed to have the ability do believe themselves despite the derision, the laughter directed at them, thy just did not have any kind of understanding, of being ashamed, or embarrassed by their own actions.
As most of us, except it seems most Republicans know, this is characteristic of a sociopath. We see he does not like dogs, so calls some women dogs. He has no empathy, or civility, he thinks he has the right to bestow insulting names on people for the slightest slight or even negative comment about him. As far as we know he has never had a love affair, he shows no sign of affection for anyone. His wife and those before him have been bought, not won by courting. We do not see him and Melania smiling at each others, holding hands, laughing, what a cold frigid relationship. I said something about him and his use of Horseface for Stormy Daniels implying maybe he likes horses,it was removed, I though it was quite witty, it was removed.
He is the ideal for a certain segment of the population, we hear them say they love him. Love him for what, is this their view of normal human behavior, how they think ou9r leaders should act and behave,? What brings those sycophants to follow him, is this normal human behavior? I hope not.
233
@David Underwood
Benjamin Netanyahu, Vladimir Putin, Mitch McConnell, Kim Jong un , Mohammad bin Salman and Jeff Sessions believe in Trump. And that is all that matters.
Put on the red MAGA hat and you will feel and be just like Superman aka Kal -El from Krypton. At least according to Kanye West who seems to have not noticed that Superman is white. Just like God and Donald Trump.
3
@David Underwood
Shut off the sound and watch his hands, arms and facial gestures. Very similar to Mussolini and Hitler, though the latter would frequently wipe the sweat from his brow, pushing the hair aside. Trump cannot touch his lemon chiffon combover.
6
@David Underwood
Some "love" him because he encourages them to feel superior to those he insults. Recall Lyndon Johnson's statement to the effect that if you tell a poor white man he is superior to blacks, he'll empty his pockets for you.
6
Speaking of planting the American flag -- or any national flag -- on the moon, I came across a wonderful quotation the other day. This is Henry David Thoreau, writing in his Journal in 1861: "Thank God, men cannot as yet fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth!"
As to the 2020 elections: speaking as a woman of 76 myself, we have got to stop running these geriatrics. Much as I admire (mostly) Biden and Warren, and with more reservations Sanders, they are the past. Has the Democratic Party truly no younger generation of energetic and bright young men and women, who could invigorate, inspire and energize us, taking us forward into the future to confront the enormous problems facing us? People like Obama come along only too rarely, but surely there must be someone. We have another two years (actually one year) to find them.
360
@Ellen Valle
Unfortunately for us, the National Democratic Party is complicit in the selling of our government to the highest bidders. It is imperative for their ability to win re-elections that suppresses the advancement of younger and more viable candidates for office. It is the local grass roots organizations that are doing this, against the efforts of the party leadership.
19
@Ed Clark As long as all elections in this country are to be financed by the candidate, and since most Americans seem to get their voting information from TV commercials about politicians, and it's expensive to be on TV so it now costs millions and even billions to run for state posts and the presidency, we will see this money issue dominate politics. Get money out of politics by mandating 100% publicly financed elections with six week campaign period, or it will never change.
14
@Entera
Look to Europe/France as a model as to how campaigns are financed and how long they last. It should be months not years and small amounts of money, millions not billions. Citizens United goodbye. That's not say fascism isn't infecting europe i.e Austria, Poland, Hungary, but at least it's not costing a fortune.
1
At this point, having seen how much damage one person can do to a large, formerly respected, leading country when he has the complicity of the likes of McConnell and Ryan and the GOP that we need to think outside the box.
It makes me think that a Constitutional Convention where the country is formally divided will result in less total damage than trying to make this work out.
So much damage has been done in so short a time. It is what Trump lives for, chaos and money. Let him be the new Jefferson Davis. He and all his minions can live in the confederacy of dunces.
214
@Mark Schlemmer I agree completely. Let the land of dunces have no healthcare, no taxes, no Medicare, no Medicaid, no Social Security, no voting. Let them have the freedom to be dunces, deplorables and despicables. And, let them pay for their own wall to keep the rest of us safe from them. I fervently wish for Trump's minions to have all of these dear wishes they hold.
3
@Gail Collins, thank you for this Op-Ed, we needed this temporary respite from Trumpisms. After a sad of reading about the Saudi/Khashoggi episode and how Trump folded even, once again, even, and in case you missed it the first couple of times, even after the CIA reviewed the tapes the Turks sent over.
Have you ever read Hans Christian Anderson fables and the famous line, "the king has no clothes?" That's where we are with Trump. The evidence is right there in front of his face but he refuses to see it. He thinks or pretends/believes his tailor, the young prince (Salman or Jared?) has woven a tale that will mesmerize his kingdom and make them fall in line.
We need school children to raise their voices and tell Trump, "we don't believe you."
146
Just where did Tony Soprano go when the screen went black? Given those presidential speeches, I think he had a little plastic surgery and ran for president. But the thing was, Tony had a certain patois, but he wasn’t stupid. So the search continues.
Our president—of the United States, mind you—tends to do the self-aggrandizing thing a lot. He’s incredibly impressed by what he thinks are his accomplishments, which consist mainly of showing up and grinning like an idiot.
To him, other human beings are just things to be ignored, discredited, insulted or shown to be lacking in comparison. If they’re women, all of the above.
The crowds that surround him generally exceed the number of people who live in the state. They extend as far as the eye can see, even in an auditorium that can only hold a few hundred.
You’d think coherent speech would be an important attribute for a president, and he’s a president, a big election, a landslide, and did you see the crowds, because Hillary can’t get ‘em, and Benghazi—remember that? Where are the e-mails? Obama knows. Sure he knows. Him and Pelosi.
If we think of the brain as a computer, his would have a short. So we have a defective Atari Pong game at the helm, sputtering and twitching, and connected to the button that launches nuclear weapons.
God bless America.
578
@gemli- If I remember correctly computers operate on the binary system, 0 and 1. trump functions (?) without 1 which adds up to 0.
4
@gemli
you scare me, but in a good way.
1
God save America.
2
While any grammarian would be reduced to tears when listening to Trump, those attempting to actually understand what he is saying are beyond tears. Myself included. Perhaps someone can explain to all of us his current stream of nouns and verbs pertaining to wins and losses.
At virtually every rally, he pleads with the crowd to get out and vote for "X" candidate because a vote for "X is a vote for me." Yet, he also said this week that if the Republicans lose elections, it isn't his fault.
That makes no sense. Believe me.
300
@Tom Q. Oh, Tom, you are kidding, of course. Everyone knows that Trump claims personal victory for everything he can and blames others IN ADVANCE when he feels that he might lose. That is how everyone else but his family becomes an instant “Loser.”
4
@Tom Q: Where's Sarah Palin when we need her?
2
Trump has now made held 3 "rallies" in four months in Montana. You'd think he wasn't very sure of the loyalty of Montana's Trump voters.
Reality is that for several months now he's been choosing small towns with hundreds of miles from major metropolitan areas. First, he's so despised, he needs small towns so the Secret Service stands a chance of controlling the area and successfully protecting him. Second, remember Duluth, Minnesota? Has about the same population as the Montana town he visited and just as out of the way from any major population centers. Benefit? TV cameras giving the illusion that all of Minnesota was swooning for him.
That's all these Air Force One fly-arounds are: an attempt using the taxpayers' millions of dollars, (drain the swamp my foot), to create the illusion of wide-spread support of all the U.S. white people for him: a draft-dodger, coward, racist, woman hater, woman abuser, con-artist, and anti-American values liar.
BTW: Ulysses Grant's home was Galena, Illinois. General Grant was a Republican. Strange how Trump sucks up to the U.S. traitor Lee, who spit on his U.S. Army oath, but never mentions General Grant the Republican President. Grant was a clear, precise communicator whose hard work, bravery, and hands-on leadership successfully ended the Civil War with our Nation in tact. This reveals how hypocrite Trump is sucking up to the white nationalists in the South - Trumps own way of taking a knee against the American flag.
728
@Liam Jumper
Speaking of flying around on Air Force One: I've often wondered about the carbon footprint of such a trip. After all, that's a large plane, and I don't suppose it's been retrofitted to make it more fuel-efficient and reduce its emissions. The same question might be asked about the preposterous caravan of enormous vehicles that accompanies the President everywhere he goes.
But of course the Presidency has to have its perks, or what would be the point?
69
An excellent response, Mr. Jumper!
8
@Liam Jumper
Yours is an apt comment and perspective on Trump's rallies among the isolated. I appreciate your replacing Trump's Civil War cheers for Lee with a salute to General Grant. And your last line is a direct hit.
12
Between rallies, tweeting, golf, eating in bed, tweeting, watching TV and tweeting, Trump doesn't actually work. This may be a good thing. Imagine the damage he'd do if he knew what he was doing.
926
@Linda
Unfortunately, I'm afraid he knows exactly what he's doing, which is what his fear, hate-mongering, left wing mob language is all about. Rile up his base and it seems to work.
4
@Linda He has already done so much damage-- way too much to be enumerated here. By being the useful idiot and figurehead, he has let the Koch brothers through Pence and Miller do the damage for him.
6
@Linda
That is why Benjamin Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin have not stopped smiling and smirking.
3
I don't think attributing Trump's zeal for going out on the campaign trail to his love of talking about himself reflects cynicism at all. To me it seems rather naive.
There is a lot at stake for this President in the midterms. Specifically whether or not he will have a congress that continues to turn a blind eye towards his self-dealing in office, and his egregious tax fraud or whether or not it is a congress that demands that he make his tax returns public and makes investigations public.
This babbling stream-of-consciousness shtick makes him come across as relatable and authentic to his supporters even though it is surely as much an artifice as everything else about him.
He is a fraud and a con-man who is attempting to get away with the biggest swindle ever.
330
@DebbieR be careful in selecting choosing and voting ... not for the midterms but for the next President of the United States. Or else, 4 more years ..
1
@DebbieR I love the word huckster, and he should have the title Hucksterinchief on his desk. I am a social scientist and find Trump hilarious, I am just glad he is not in charge of my country. Our leaders are incompetent clowns, but in the main honest, with the latter being untrue of yours.
Politics is about obtaining and holding power and the perks of office, not about solving problems
Alexander Hamilton wrote in 1795, “to perceive that every country, at all times, is cursed by the existence of men who, actuated by an irregular ambition, scruple nothing which they imagine will contribute to their own advancement and importance.” In republics, the danger came from “fawning or turbulent demagogues, worshipping still the idol — power — wherever placed . . . and trafficking in the weaknesses, vices, frailties, or prejudices” of the people.
19
@DebbieR
I would argue that his babbling flight-of-ideas is less of a shtick but rather a sign of a narcissistic sociopathic personality disorder.
Hopefully the midterm elections will afford us a partial remedy but the damage done to our world standing will take decades to repair.
5
My dad used to tell at times that I had a one-track mind, when I was trying to wheedle one toy or another out of him back in 1952 or '53 or so.
Dad never met Donald Trump.
137
Trump on violence
Hey that is my kind of a guy!
Hit a reporter in the eye,
Followed by wham bam
A great body slam,
The good old days for which I’d die.
Followed by a kick in the head?
The kind that might leave a guy dead?
It would reinstate
What once made us great,
I sigh when I hear what Trump said.
389
@Larry Eisenberg I love it when I come across one of your rhymes in these comments! You and Gail help loosen the stomach knots a bit. I hope you’re saving them all for a book!
1
I love Larry Eisenberg’s poetry!
@Larry Eisenberg Change "sigh" to "cry" and you're bang on.
I so look forward to your poems every day.
6
The man never actually works.
Policy papers end up in the round file while he watches TV, tweets, talks on the phone, has press photo-ops in the Oval Office as he sits behind an always empty desk and attends rallies.
The most difficult things he does every day are styling his hair, stripping his bed (Why does he do that every morning?) and getting on and off Air Force One.
I am so sick of seeing that face, I watch the faces of the people sitting behind him instead. Last night, he praised the House member from Montana for "body slamming" and injuring a reporter the last time he ran for his seat and the crowd went wild with delight.
I looked at them and wondered if they would find it delightful if a Democratic President praised someone for body slamming their spouse or sibling or child. Of course they wouldn't. They would be enraged.
It's a frightening look that the gleeful Trump and his supporters are giving us into the cult of Trump. He does babble on and on and on as his subjects give him all the adoration he craves.
They probably have no idea that the ACA, Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security will be on the chopping block in November should the Republicans maintain control of Congress.
Trump will tell them Republicans will replace them with a bigger, better safety net that doesn't exist and they will believe him.
1418
@Mary Scott
And they'll be stunned when they find out that a benefit has been cut or is gone. "Who knew; why didn't anybody tell me?"
156
Not to worry. The GOP and Trump will tell their ardent “fans” that the Democrats took away their safety nets... Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security... and the masses will believe them.
Trump isn’t the first politician to lie to the American people. He just does it in a more astonishing manner and a more astounding pace.
15
@Mary Scott Trump will tell them that the Democrats took away their ACA, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, and they will believe it.
5
I think Trump rallies must be something like professional wrestling events. Everyone knows it's fake but that is part of the frenzied joy of it. (Now I haven't actually seen fake wrestling since I was a kid and it was on TV. Do they still break chairs over each other?)
And Trump is the perfect fake wrestling announcer, though with less coherent grammar. He has a flair for outrage, like pretending to break a chair over Democrats heads by accusing them of being complicit in illegal immigration, ignoring the reality that it declined dramatically under Obama, who was nicknamed "Deporter in Chief".
But as the impact of tariffs hit home in Trump land, as it already has in the slowing economy of Indiana, as gas prices soar with US sanctions on Iranian oil exports, when the myth of middle class tax cuts evaporates, and more Americans are priced out of the health care market by GOP undermining, the mood may shift, even if not in time to influence the midterms.
The most important task for Democrats in 2018 is actually at the state level, where governors and legislators will be elected who control redistricting after the 2020 Census. And that is looking far better than in the low point of 2010, when the long term GOP strategy really paid off.
The good news is that younger generations who will actually get stuck with the check are paying more attention.
372
Trump IS in the WWE Hall of Fame, so I'd say it's no coincidence that the rallies are like that.
64
@Look Ahead - The Fake wrestling announcer analogy is very apt; much about the rolling careening Trumpster Fire is reincarnation of the Vince McMahon persona.
27
When you're running a Worldwide Wrestling Federation Presidency, it's important to give the spiteful, violence-craving fans all the lowlife tacky insults and horse manure they paid for with their idiotic votes.
When you're in the con-artist entertainment business trying to distract the audience from the national bank heist out back, you've got to give the WWF fans the deep-fried cow patties that the cruel Christian heartland demands.
This impostor will go down as the greatest Fake President this country has ever had.
Teddy Roosevelt showed America his giant backbone when he said “to suggest that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
Trump showed America his tiny, tiny spine when called the press “the enemy of the people.”
FDR told us "the only thing we have to fear is fear".
Trump whipped an angry white mob into a racist fever with 'Mexican rapists', Muslim terrorists and the white supremacist Birther Lie.
JFK told us "the goal of education is the advancement of knowledge and the dissemination of truth".
Trump told us he loves the uneducated and lies every waking second.
Lyndon Johnson said "Lincoln was right about not fooling all the people all the time. But Republicans haven't given up trying."
Hail to the Birther-Liar-In-Chief and his WWF fans as the national treasury gets dumped in the Republican getaway car.
1499
@Socrates
Don't forget Trump chose the actual head of
World Wrestling Federation (Linda McMahon)to be his secretary of small business
3
@Socrates Outstanding commentary! Well done!
9
@Socrates
Well, done, Socrates!
1
It can’t be too surprising that things get peculiar when Trump goes on the road. Apparently, he’s not allowed by Republicans in most purplish venues (he DID flog Republican interests in Mesa, AZ, and AZ in one of those kinda-sorta purplish places these days – an exception to the rule) to rile up the “deplorables” on their turf, because a lot of them are in very close races and anything unpredictable could destroy them. Trump is nothing if not unpredictable. But he does so energize the base where he IS permitted to appear, and that’s important: the events are covered, their effect bleeds out to deplorables everywhere and that energizes a base that needs to show up at the polls.
Pelosi never struck me as Cruella de Vil … but the Wicked Witch of the West? I’ve always advised members of Congress to keep a pail of water handy. You never know when an opportunity will present itself.
His tortured use of English may be the single thing that creates the strongest bond of identity with his base.
He also bastinadoes all critics fairly equally. Trump gives the perception of focusing on women critics because a disproportionate number of his public-figure and most-vocal critics ARE women. But I’m encouraged to be told by Trump’s Secret Service detail that he always keeps a pail of water handy. You just never know.
26
@Richard Luettgen: "someone" or "something"? Trump's a tool, alright, but hardly the right one. OK, you wouldn't knowingly attend a klan meeting- which also makes you a member of the "elite."
9
@Richard Luettgen:
"I use him as the right tool for our governance at this specific moment in our history."
What in god's name does that mean? Trump is stoking divisiveness and anger in ways that I fear it will take generations to recover from--if the country ever does (I will be long gone by then). As bad as I expected Trump to be--based on his history as a master con man--I didn't really expect him to spew and encourage hatred the way he has done. He's making our society toxic, which may be almost as bad as the fact that he is ignoring the threat to humans, including those living in the make-believe land of a remade "great" America, of climate change. Knowing the destruction that will follow in Trump's wake makes me glad I have no children. How you can keep praising this three-old in the body of an aging grifter baffles me completely.
9
As usual when someone brutally rips the word "deplorables" out of context, I give the context:
"You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right?
The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic — you name it. And unfortunately there are people like that. And he has lifted them up. He has given voice to their websites that used to only have 11,000 people — now how 11 million. He tweets and retweets their offensive hateful mean-spirited rhetoric. Now, some of those folks — they are irredeemable, but thankfully they are not America. But the other basket — and I know this because I see friends from all over America here — I see friends from Florida and Georgia and South Carolina and Texas — as well as, you know, New York and California — but that other basket of people are people who feel that the government has let them down, the economy has let them down, nobody cares about them, nobody worries about what happens to their lives and their futures, and they’re just desperate for change. It doesn’t really even matter where it comes from. They don’t buy everything he says, but he seems to hold out some hope that their lives will be different. They won’t wake up and see their jobs disappear, lose a kid to heroine, feel like they’re in a dead-end. Those are people we have to understand and empathize with as well."
http://time.com/4486502/hillary-clinton-basket-of-deplorables-transcript/
11
From one rally to the next does Trump ever mention that he's a coward? After all, not one of these rallies has been held in a state that he lost. Never mind that even in New York and California there are lots of folks who voted for and continue to support him. But, no, The Donald can't bear to make an appearance in a part of the country where someone might just wander in and boo him. I'm beginning to think that he'd more likely do a rally in Riyadh than on Staten Island, in order that he can soak up the praises of a king-in-waiting who orders the death of pesky journalists on foreign soil. And if that isn't enough he can be assured of an audience that's been rounded up under threat of beheading and/or dismemberment to hail the accomplishments of Lord Donnie of Arabia.
676
@stu freeman
He shouldn't avoid the blue states. If someone wanders into one of his rallies and doesn't clap enthusiastically, much less boo, they get kicked out.
6
@stu freeman I don't think he's afraid of boos. I think he's afraid of being surrounded by his enemies and shot and killed. If he stays among his "friends," then he won't get shot and killed, or at least the crowds will rise up to protect him. It's the same reason he eats fast food- he's afraid of being poisoned. It's the same reason he had imaginary "bone spurs" - to get out of going to Vietnam. It's the same reason he has for not seeing incorruptible and unbiased doctors. They might tell him some bad or life-threatening news. It's the same reason he only beats up on people whom he feels are his inferiors and unlikely to strike back. It's the same reason that he cozies up to murderous dictators, because he thinks that if push comes to shove, they will protect him. It's the same reason he won't listen to reason or facts. Basically, he's a sniveling coward.
29
@stu freeman- States like California and New York need to be punished for not giving him a victory. Their punishment? They will never be able to bask in the Golden glow of his Visage nor swoon at the Melodic tone of his voice.
1
Gail's partial chronicling of the infernal babbling that marks the degradation of the high office of POTUS cannot help but invoke as much sadness as outrage.
Equally outrageous is the new tack Trumpists have taken - like Ted Cruz - who bemoan a 'partisan circus' around impeachment of Pres. Weasel 45*, which could have been avoided if GOP'er gatekeepers had merely done their jobs of keeping someone unqualified off their ballot.
But GOP'er gatekeepers didn't even remotely do their jobs; now they're all Trumpists, who will pretend that following the Constitution and invoking the rule of law is too inconvenient or too paralyzing to be worth the trouble.
What is known now and will soon be revealed by Special Counsel Mueller about Pres. Very Stable Genius, was known in broad outlines in 2015 and 2016, but GOP'ers wanted tax cuts Justices and judges; their raw pursuit of power trumped all, and what the nation has to go through to purge itself of Pres. Mayhem and his coterie is on the GOP'ers - now Trumpists.
They will never be able to wash the mud off.
560
@R. Law thank you. I would recommend as many times as able (1).
16
I suppose the veneer of even trying to govern while using Air Force One to fly here, there and everywhere on the tax payer's dime is now officially gone.
Does the President actually promote anything but himself?
Voters for this midterm are going to ask that question for themselves, and they will have to live with the answer.
If the answer is aye, that they think the President has their best interests at heart, then there seems like there is no convincing them otherwise for any scenario, because all facts point to the contrary.
If the answer is nay (which I firmly believe it will be), then I think that the country has come back to its senses, and wants a leader that will actually govern for them and to stop continuously promoting just for themselves.
We shall see.
737
@FunkyIrishman
Regardless of which party wins the House, it is likely to be by a small margin, with no resolution of the deep political rifts in our society. And while a Democratic House may revive ongoing investigations of Trump's campaign and presidency, and initiate new ones, legislative deadlock is likely to prevail if Republicans control the Senate. When was the last time Congress considered raising the minimum wage?
26
But will our election returns be respected? The ground has been laid to doubt, challenge, and litigate any unfortunate results, and the ultimate arbiter may decide, by a 5 to 4 vote, a la Bush v. Gore, that the apparent will of the people shall be thwarted.
8
@FunkyIrishman
Kanye West told him to dump his plane, put on his red hat and become Superman.
3