David Smith
Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, has spent years saying the unsayable to entertain, goad and grab attention. But his pronouncements over the past few weeks have plumbed new depths of absurdity and incoherence.
Trump, 78, increasingly slurs or stumbles over his words, raising fears over cognitive decline. He is slipping in polls against Kamala Harris and knows that defeat could lead to criminal trials and even prison. After a decade of dominating American politics, critics say, Trump could be in the throes of a final meltdown.
His verbal output now is âabsolute batshitteryâ, according to Tara Setmayer, a former Republican communications director on Capitol Hill. âThese are not the musings of a well-adjusted adult. He demonstrates daily how unfit he is to have the most powerful position in the world.â
Trump was mostly given a pass by the mainstream media, Setmayer added, because of the intense focus on Joe Bidenâs age and mental acuity when he was still running. âNow the focus is solely on him because he is the oldest candidate in this race. His kookery is even more highlighted now than before because he is alone on an island with his deterioration.â
Trump has always thrown dead cats on tables, as the metaphor goes, offering his fans the thrill of transgression and watching with glee as liberals howl with outrage. His run for president in 2016 was characterised by racially divisive rhetoric and a constant stream of controversies that dominated news cycles and forced rival Hillary Clinton into reactive mode.
Hereâs more on Trumpâs recent pronouncements:
Speaker Mike Johnson sidestepped questions on the results of the 2020 race during an interview on ABCâs This Week with George Stephanopoulos.
âItâs a gotcha game. You want us to litigate things that happened four years ago when weâre talking about the future,â Johnson said.
âJoe Biden has been the president for almost four years. Everybody needs to get over this and move forward,â he added.
Governor Tim Walz is expected to arrive at Santa Barbara, California, on Sunday to kick off a West Coast fundraising blitz on behalf of the Harris Victory Fund.
The Democratic vice-presidential pick will make his way through California and Washington, delivering campaign remarks in cities along the coast.
Walz is scheduled to deliver remarks at receptions in San Diego, Montecito, Los Angeles, and Sacramento before heading up to Washington.
CBSâs 60 Minutes will air an interview with Kamala Harris on Monday. The network released a sneak peek into the interview, where Bill Whitaker asked Harris if the US lacks influence over Israelâs Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
âThe aid that we have given Israel allowed Israel to defend itself against 200 ballistic missiles that were just meant to attack the Israelis and the people of Israel,â Harris said.
âWhen we think about the threat that Hamas Hezbollah presents [and] Iran, I think that it is, without any question, our imperative to do what we can to allow Israel to defend itself against those kinds of attacks.â
During his appearance on Fox News this morning, Tim Walz said Donald Trumpâs agenda would destroy the American economy, while he supported Kamala Harrisâs plan to lower costs and stimulate job growth.
âWell, we saw a blockbuster jobs report this week,â Walz said. âWe saw interest rates come down, and weâve also seen that Vice President Harris is laying out a middle-class agenda.â
He added: âI was in Ohio yesterday, in Cleveland, in Cincinnati, and talking about this. Folks in Ohio know that Donald Trumpâs policies led to 180,000 manufacturing jobs leaving.â
Melania Trump was asked whether Donald Trump knew she would express strong support for abortion rights in her upcoming memoir, where she emphasized that women should have the autonomy to decide whether to have children based on their own convictions, without government interference or pressure.
âYes, he knew my position and my beliefs since the day we met, and I believe in individual freedom,â she said.
âI want to decide what I wanted to do with my body. I think I donât want government in my personal business,â she added.
Former first lady Melania Trump sat down with Fox Newsâs Maria Bartiromo this morning, where she showed her unwavering support for her husband, Donald Trump.
âI donât believe in polls. I never did,â she said. âI think in the end, people really see it, whatâs going on in the country and how this leadership is performing.â
The Democratic vice-presidential pick, Tim Walz, sat down with Fox News Sundayâs Shannon Bream, where he discussed how the overturning of Roe v. Wade has affected women.
âThe real issue here is women being forced into miscarriages, women being forced to go back home, get sepsis and potentially die,â Walz said.
Good morning, US politics blog readers. Donald Trump is scheduled to speak at an event in Juneau, Wisconsin, on Sunday, his fourth scheduled stop in eight days in the state. Republicans are trying to rack up support in Wisconsin, which has only flipped red once in the past 40 years, when Trump won the state in 2016.
Meanwhile, Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz are slated to sit down with major TV personalities this week. Walz is slated to sit down with Fox Newsâs Shannon Bream on Sunday for his first solo interview. On Monday, heâll join Jimmy Kimmel Live. On Tuesday, Harris will be in New York for appearances on The View, The Howard Stern Show, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Hereâs what else is happening:
-
After the US supreme court granted Donald Trump significant immunity from prosecution for actions during his presidency, the court is set to embark on its next nine-month term on Monday with public confidence in the court still reeling following the ruling compounded by the ethically dubious conduct of some justices.
-
The White House moved Saturday to quash claims that government officials control the weather, including a far-fetched rumor circulating on social media that Hurricane Helene was an engineered storm to allow corporations to mine regional lithium deposits.
-
Republican fearmongering about crime in major cities like Atlanta is serving to stoke racial tensions and suppress the growing political power of Black Democrats, despite a decline in crime rates, writes The Guardianâs George Chidi.
