The Closing Argument

 For some inscrutable reason, Donald Trump (or his campaign) decided to kick off the final week at Madison Square Garden. The Garden was the site of an infamous Nazi rally in 1939, and critics pointed this out as soon as it was announced. One would think that a not-racist, competent campaign would seek to distance itself from that history.

Trump's campaign leaned into it. 

If "even the New York Times" has abandoned its weasel worded depictions of Trump's racism and misogyny, if even the craven weasels at the Post call it racism, I think maybe this could be a big deal. 

First off, there are about 500,000 Puerto Ricans in Pennsylvania and about 1,700,000 in Florida. Apparently WhatsApp exploded with people sharing the clip of Tony Hinchcliffe calling Puerto Rico and an "island of garbage". Now, Hinchcliffe is an insult comic, but there is a huge difference between a transgressive set at a comedy club and standing up at a political rally. Florida Senator and Voldemort impersonator Rick Scott tried immediately to distance himself from the comment, because a groundswell of Puerto Ricans could tip the balance in a close Senate race.

It went beyond Hinchcliffe, too, though his remarks will grab the headlines. Here are a smattering of quotes from the Post write-up:

Grant Cardone, a businessman, said Vice President Kamala Harris and “her pimp handlers will destroy our country,” a metaphor that casts the Democratic presidential nominee as a prostitute.

David Rem, a childhood friend of Trump, called Harris “the devil” and “the Antichrist.”

And former Fox News host Tucker Carlson mocked the attention paid to Harris’s racial identity: “She’s just so impressive as the first Samoan, Malaysian, low-IQ former California prosecutor ever to be elected president,” Carlson said.

As the Times noted:

The rally served as a capstone to an escalating series of remarks from Mr. Trump, who has repeatedly said in recent days that one of the gravest threats that America faces is “the enemy within.” Democrats have cranked up warnings of Mr. Trump’s descent into authoritarianism as John F. Kelly, the former Marine general who was his longest-serving chief of staff, warned that Mr. Trump met the definition of a fascist.

This should land for two reasons.

The first is that, duh, Trump is racist. He tries (barely) to code it and hide it, but he is, we know he is and even his milquetoast supporters know it, even as they waive it away. I really do believe that there is a significant number of GOP and GOP-leaning independents who don't want this guy back in power, precisely because he is such a racist piece of shit. This is the closing argument for them.

The second is that this is the drama and chaos of Trumpistan all over again. Again, there are so many people who just want to forget about politics for months at a time. This rally reminds all of us of how chaotic and mean-spirited those four years were. We tend to memory-hole that stuff, but this was a reminder.

Attacks work when they gibe with pre-existing impressions of the two parties. For inexplicable reasons, the GOP is considered the "business party" despite their poor economic record. But anything that might land against Democrats or for Republicans on economic growth will lean into those preconceptions. 

The GOP - well before Trump - has been embracing racists and racism for my entire life. People kind of "get it".  With the race in the final week, this sort of warning - flashing in neon lights in New York City, the media capital of the world - is Trump's closing argument: I am a racist; racists support me; I will hurt you if you're not one of us.

Good luck winning the center with that message.