David Brooks and Jim Cason
Correspondents
La Jornada Newspaper
Tuesday, October 1, 2024, p. 31
New York and Washington. With five weeks left until the election, Republican Donald Trump can make increasingly extreme claims – from that his opponent has mental problems to that perhaps the police should be allowed to commit brutalities – and continue tied with the Democratic candidate, making normal what would previously be considered madness and political suicide.
Last weekend, in a campaign speech in Erie, Pennsylvania, he dared to say that his idea for stopping crime is to “allow one really violent day… one hour of harsh treatment, and I mean really harsh… Everyone will find out and (the crime) will come to an end immediately”; that is, completely unleash the police forces, since the liberal left He doesn’t let the police do what is necessary because They want to destroy it, and they want to destroy our country.
Faced with the reaction to these statements, the Trump campaign decided that the best response – similar to the one he offered when he commented that he wanted to be dictator for a day– was that the president commented that jokingly. Furthermore, his campaign manager assured that Trump only wanted to convey his credentials as the president of law and order (he didn’t mention that he is a convicted felon still facing multiple federal crime charges).
Teenager Tactics
At the same time, and as he usually does, he used the high school student’s tactic of mocking and insulting his opponents, this time declaring that the Democratic presidential candidate and vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris, is mentally disabled and insinuated that she was crazy.
However, the problem for Trump is that his attacks are not having the impact he would like in national polls and in the key states that will determine the final result of the election where the candidates are in a technical tie. None of the candidates has a significant advantagereports the New York Timeswhile the Washington Post reports that Harris has only a 2-point lead nationally; that is, within the margin of error. Another survey for the newspaper Guardian that compared the economic proposals of both candidates recorded that voters preferred those offered by Harris over those of Trump, a notable change, since for months polls showed that voters thought that Trump was the best for economic management.
The next national event for the campaigns is this Tuesday, when the vice presidential candidates, Republican JD Vance and Democrat Tim Walz, will face each other in a debate – the only one – that will be broadcast from New York. Since Trump rejected a second debate with Harris, today’s debate could be the last national meeting between the contenders before the election on November 5. At the same time, unless something disastrous happens, this debate between the vice presidential hopefuls is not expected to have much of an effect on the competition.
Effects of the anti-immigrant climate
Meanwhile, the effects of the anti-immigrant axis of the Trump and Vance campaign – which repeats in almost all its actions that immigrants are the source of almost all national problems, that they are poisoning the blood of the United States and that if they win the largest mass deportations in history will be carried out – continue to be expressed throughout the country, especially in rural areas and small towns. After weeks of attacking immigrants – also authorized – in Springfield, Ohio, Trump has expanded his attacks to places like Charleroi, Pennsylvania, south of Pittsburgh and other towns, despite the fact that locals – both Democrats and Republicans – believe that Immigrants/refugees who arrive with documents bring something positive. But the former president’s rhetoric continues to generate new insecurities. Immigrants in Charleroi live in fear nowdeclared Liberian immigrant Amos Yougar to the New York Times. And that is part of the goal of Trump’s strategy.
As has long been said, the predicate of fascism is that one third of society watches while another third is brutalized, and that the last third yawns and lets it happen. Donald Trump is mentally unstable and a fascist biding his time. And a third of this country is proving that it is just as crazy and bloodthirsty as him.comments the reporter and creator of the outstanding series of The Wire and TremeDavid Simon.
At the same time, Trump’s approach to migration, and particularly the border, has made the issue one of the main ones in the electoral debate, and has kept Democrats on the defensive on the issue. Harris was forced to visit the border last week to announce that she will apply greater control measures there, and yesterday the White House announced that it will further limit access to asylum; all, in response to the offensive on this issue by Trump and the Republicans.
Support of the Latino vote
And despite his anti-immigrant and racist stance, the Republican continues to enjoy significant support among Latino voters. Although Harris leads Trump 54 to 40 percent among registered Latinos, according to an NBC News/Telemundo poll, that 14-point margin is the lowest level for Democrats in the last four presidential elections. And Trump is enjoying greater support among this sector than he did four years ago.
Where the Democrats, with Harris at the helm, are winning is in fundraising to finance the election. The Democratic Party, in direct contributions alone, has raised $200 million more than the Republicans. Trump, as he has always done, is raising funds for himself, offering everything from bibles “signed by Trump” ($60), commemorative coins ($100) and now gold watches encrusted with diamonds (for just $100,000 each). ). If this man makes it back to the White House, he will grab all the chandeliers, put them in the yard, and sell them at a garage sale.said conservative journalist Nellie Bowles in the Free Press.