The word “unhinged” is getting a real workout this election season, as it continues to serve as the best possible description of Donald Trump‘s increasingly erratic behavior.
The Republican pick for president has never been entirely right in the head, but over the last year we’ve watched the once-convincing speaker meltdown on multiple occasions, fumbling and flailing his way through countless public appearances. His talking points are becoming gradually more outlandish and absurd, and one of his latest claims was even enough to rile up notorious teddy bear Tim Walz.
Walz, who currently resides alongside Kamala Harris on the Democratic ticket, delivered a scathing slap-down of Trump’s latest deranged rant in mid-October after the convicted felon threatened to deploy the military against his detractors. Labeling U.S. citizens “the enemy within,” Trump declared his opponents more dangerous than our nation’s foreign adversaries, and proclaimed “The enemy from within, in my opinion, is more dangerous than China, Russia, and all these countries.”
Walz was in the midst of campaigning in Wisconsin, speaking to a group of students, when he was made aware of the comments, and he held nothing back in his response. Leaning into the biting, sharp approach that’s elevated the Harris/Walz campaign in recent months, Walz emphasized that “to Donald Trump, anyone that doesn’t agree with him is the enemy.” So, when he talks about using the U.S. military against his enemies, he’s talking about every one of us who ever questioned his motives, his approach, or his capabilities.
As MSNBC coverage of the exchange notes, Walz’s biting retort comes at the perfect time. He’s becoming an evermore present figure on the campaign trail as the election inches closer, and his language — usually the bubbly response from a kindly uncle — is getting leaner and more targeted as he and Harris urge voters in. Gone is the kindly teacher who entered this race, replaced by an adept, stirring statesman prepped to become vice president of this nation.
The Harris-Walz campaign is strong all on its own, but it’s at its best when it accurately and bitingly measures itself against its sorry excuse for an opponent. Donald Trump is distinctly, inarguably, blatantly incapable of leading this nation. He already proved that once, and that was before he became the addled, doddering old man currently ambling his way through endless campaign stops. His recent town hall gaffe, which saw the 78-year-old abandon the Q&A for an awkward and exceedingly overlong dance party, is a perfect encapsulation of who Trump is now. He’s old, he’s confused, he’s selfish and shortsighted, and he genuinely has no idea what he’s doing anymore.
Walz was right to blast Trump for his outright threat against American voters, and the Harris-Walz campaign as a whole has found its groove in this fresh approach to campaigning. Trump will never stop being Trump, which leaves everyone around him to act as the adults in the room. Every time Harris or Walz responds to baffling and dangerous Trump antics with poise, wit, and style, it becomes a bit clearer how big of a gap exists between the two picks for president.
Published: Oct 16, 2024 01:08 pm