Donald Trump claims he's been cured. But his insanity grows as he lurches toward defeat. Consider his interview with Maria Bartiromo. Edward Keenan writes:
Over the course of the hour-long appearance, Trump attacked vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris as a “monster” and a “communist” who wants “killers and murderers and rapists to enter our country.” He attacked his Attorney General Bill Barr for not locking Biden and former president Barack Obama up in jail on unspecified charges of the “greatest political crime in American history.” He said polls showing him trailing ever-further behind Biden didn’t match the evidence he sees: “They have a boat thing, they have 5,000 boats, they have thousands of trucks all over the country. I don’t believe the polls.” He again refused to say he’d peacefully transfer power if he lost, saying falsely that “thousands and thousands of ballots” marked with his name have been found in rivers. And he called Nevada election officials “cheaters” and “con men” and suggested postal carriers there would be indicted.
As Trump has seen his position in the polls sink — all 11 national polls noted Thursday by aggregator fivethirtyeight.com showed Trump trailing by at least eight points, and eight of them showed Biden with a double-digit lead — he seems to have entered a Mad King-era in his campaign: furiously retweeting conspiracy videos; impulsively announcing he’d put an end to congressional stimulus talks that the American public overwhelmingly favours (before maybe having second thoughts and calling for some kinds of stimulus again); telling Americans who have lost loved ones to COVID-19 not to be afraid of the virus, suggesting both that “when you catch it you get better, and then you’re immune” (sadly, neither part of that sentence is always true) and that getting it personally was a “blessing from God.”
So the question no longer is, "Will he lose the election?" It's "What will he do when he loses the election?"
Image: nymag
8 comments:
Well Owen, he will most likely will lose the election but in the meantime he has completely lost his mind. At one time his bizarre behaviour appeared to be part of his goofy showmanship, but it's now a reality. RG
There's another question, Owen. What will Americans in power do? Trump has surrounded himself with toadies who do what they are told. However he is displaying more and more irrationality. After the election, regardless of outcome, will those who actually control the reins of power (Pentagon generals, Directors of Homeland Security , etc.) obey dangerous orders or will they uphold the Constitution? Will they roll over or stand up? So far, we have seen very little spine among those we all depend on.
People used to look at Trump as a looney entertainer, RG. There is nothing entertaining about him these days. He's a time bomb -- set to go off.
You're right, Toby. This is no time for those in power to yield to Trump. He's clearly a threat to every American government institution.
Polling trends show Biden's lead over Trump growing. At some point, and we may already be there, Biden's lead will be enough to overcome Republican gerrymandering, vote suppression and ratfucking, so that a clear victory emerges on election night. This will provide no opportunity for a Republican-heavy Supreme Court to throw the election to their man like they did in 2000.
As Trump's mental state deteriorates and he threatens the people's health, two key parts of the GOP base are deserting - white women and the olds. This will hurt him badly in states like Florida and Arizona. Even once staunchly red states, like Texas, are leaning blue or too close to call.
Trump has consistently quit when things got bad. A rout in November may see him looking to cut a deal on prosecutions with the incoming administration rather than stirring up la merde.
Cap
At his core, Cap, Trump is a coward. Facing a rout, he may run and run fast. Where he will run is still unclear.
Paul Krugman asks the same question in today's NYT.
"I don’t know whether Trump expects to lose the election. But he’s already acting like a deeply embittered man, lashing out at people he feels have treated him unfairly, which is basically everyone. And as usual he reserves special rage for smart, tough women; on Thursday he called Kamala Harris a “monster.”
"The thing is, if he’s behaving like this now, when he still has some chance of winning, how will he act if he loses?
"The most immediate concern is that he won’t accept the election results. But we should also be worried about what will follow if he is forced to accept the will of the people, but is still running the country. Trump has always been vindictive; what will he do if and when he has nothing left but spite?"
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/08/opinion/donald-trump-economy.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
Thanks for the link, Mound. Krugman raises a deeply troubling question. What kind of revenge is Trump plotting?
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