At a campaign event on Friday in Arizona, Trump got impatient with an endorsement speech by a police union president. He paced behind the guy, peered around him to determine how long the speech would take, then said, “I gotta go.” The official, Justin Harris, president of the Arizona Police Association, appeared to shuffle papers to get to the last page and finish his endorsement.
Maybe Trump needed to hit the john.
Maybe he was just bored out of his mind.
Maybe he’s had it with campaigning.
Maybe he’d rather be golfing or sitting at home watching television.
Maybe he’s just psychologically incapable of sustaining interest in anything or anyone other than himself.
The Washington Post reports this weekend that his staff and allies are trying to get Trump energized and focused on delivering a clear message. They’ve been trying to get him to stop expressing regrets that Joe Biden is no longer his chief rival and whining about how unfair was the switch to Kamala Harris.
Good luck with all that.
News reports of Trump’s remarks at rallies indicate that the man is delivering a tired message, full of gloom about America’s prospects, unless, of course, he’s elected — the same thing voters heard twice before. Given that, it’s possible that even the most fervent of the MAGA are bound to check out — not attend rallies, not pay much attention. His base will probably still vote for him, but Trump’s old schtick and low energy could very well hurt turnout among his less zealous fans on Election Day.
“All we have to do is define [Kamala Harris] as a socialist and a communist, someone who’s going to destroy our country,” Trump said.
If he thinks that’s “all we have to do,” he’s wonderfully mistaken.
Dead-horse themes, dire predictions and gloomy descriptions of the country will not counter the high, positive energy that surrounds Harris as she comes away from the convention and draws big crowds wherever she and her running mate, Tim Walz, go.
Trump has big PAC money on his side to deliver negative messages about Harris in swing states. But this time, I doubt that negative ads will be enough to beat Harris. “Gotta go,” Trump said, and we certainly hope so.
Trump’s impatience with the man who was endorsing him reminds me of a moment in 1992, during a televised debate between President George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. I’ll never forget Bush looking at his watch as the debate hit its 50th minute. I’m sure he was wondering how much time was left, but the visual vibe was that of an incumbent president who was bored and wanted to be somewhere else. And, by the following January, he was.
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Dan Rodricks 
I’m from the UK and I’m watching the upcoming US election with disbelief. Can someone please explain how this is a close competition? Why would anyone even consider voting for Trump?
On the whole, I think most people have good instincts. We can spot a fraudster. Why can’t 40% of US voters? I understand that viewers of right wing channels such as Fox News are fed a lot of divisive propaganda, but it doesn’t require great powers of discernment to see what this man is. Can someone explain please?
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I wish I could explain it. I’m as baffled as you.
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Greetings, Bob. How to explain it? Well, the vote on Brexit (to leave the EU) in the UK was relatively close, the majority voting to leave the EU. Sometime thereafter, polls showed that the majority of voters in the UK felt that it was the wrong decision.
People are different. I wonder if a pro-Brexit person felt that an anti-Brexit person did not consider the issues logically and correctly, and vice versa.
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Hi Irwin, thanks for responding but I don’t think that saying ‘people are different’ and citing Brexit as an example of this explains it. I always thought Brexit was a mistake, a bit like someone deciding to punch themselves very hard in the face to see what happens, but I don’t think it’s the same level of self-harm as voting for Trump. People were told that Brexit would free up £350 million/week for the NHS, they were told that new trade deals would be easy and that Brexit would improve our standing in the world. I can (sort of) see how someone might fail to discern the lies and be convinced that voting for Brexit was a good idea.
I find it much harder to understand how anyone with any decency could vote for Trump.
Trump is a different order of magnitude. He’s gone way further than Boris Johnson, Michael Gove or Nigel Farage ever dared. He sent a mob to attack the Capitol. He bragged about (and committed) sexual assault. He committed election fraud. He tried to pressurise the Ukrainian government to conduct a baseless investigation into the Bidens. The list goes on.
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Bob: I explain it with something visceral — bigotry. Trump’s appeal is mainly to white voters who see the nation’s demographic changes as a threat. His ascendance was mainly powered by backlash to Obama. Many of his voters are angry white men and women who had not voted in previous elections. They responded to his ugly song.
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It would be really pleasant if Trump is relegated to the dung heap of history. He is, in general, unhinged, erratic, self-centered, and a jerk. These are mild adjectives.
The most frightening thing about a 2nd Trump presidency would be that he would instantly be a lame duck, completely unrestrained by concern over anything but himself, his brand, and his finances.
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Dan Rodricks,I really enjoy your ema
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