I was worried when I wrote the above that 20,000 Trump fans might clash with New York City cops outside Madison Square Garden, but apparently they were mostly well behaved.
Unlike the speakers.
As the New York Times reported,
A comic kicked off the rally by dismissing Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage,” then mocked Hispanics as failing to use birth control, Jews as cheap and Palestinians as rock-throwers, and called out a Black man in the audience with a reference to watermelon.
David Rem, a childhood friend of Mr. Trump, called Ms. Harris “the devil.” Grant Cardone, a businessman, declared that the sitting vice president had “pimp handlers.” Sid Rosenberg denounced Hillary Clinton as a “sick son of a bitch” for linking the Trump rally and a pro-Nazi event at the arena of the same name decades ago.
For more than six hours, close to 30 speakers played their parts in a show that was mostly about two of Trump’s favorite things: his ego, and a grift.
I’m glad that Donald Trump’s rally didn’t turn into another January 6 on the streets of New York, but Trump definitely got what Michael Moore predicted as “his own fascist rally.” He also made a ton of money.
Before the rally, CNN reported
Sunday’s rally will also serve as one of Trump’s largest fundraisers to date, according to multiple sources familiar with the logistics. Donors have been offered a series of packages, including VIP suites, tickets to an exclusive “pre event” at the venue, backstage passes and photo opportunities.
and Politico added
Trump has long wanted to hold an event in the arena and attract press attention in the media capital of the country. But it will also serve as a major fundraising event, with the campaign offering donors backstage access at the arena with some top-tier access costing $924,600, according to campaign officials, and a chance for Trump to give a boost to down-ballot Republicans in the state.
Who’s to say that among the dozens of speakers weren’t some who paid for their microphones?
But as I’ve asked here before, What are words worth? (which led me to an obvious Song of the Day). Back in the innocent days of last April, I wrote,
As someone who’s written political speech for candidates and causes, I know not only the value of language but also the power. The right words can go beyond telling a story, or conveying emotion—they can reach that “responsive chord” that empowers people to act on their most deeply held values and beliefs.
But what if there’s a values and beliefs deficit, in the speaker or the audience? What happens when a politician doesn’t know or care what they’re talking about? And what does a participant in democracy, i.e. a citizen, need to know or care about themselves?
Donald Trump subverted the concept of political rallies to rake in campaign cash and feed his ego.
If you want to remind yourself of what political speech can be all about, here’s Michelle Obama. I would eat my speechwriters’ hat if she didn’t write this masterpiece herself. It sounds so genuine, so intelligent, so Michelle Obama.
And then there’s Donald Trump. The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman asked, Why Is Trump Holding a Rally at Madison Square Garden?
“He will get to see his name in lights,” she headlines. Plus, “It will generate a blitz of coverage,” “It’s a giant trolling exercise,” and “It’s still his preferred city."
She also includes, “It could help Republicans in down-ballot races,” but I don’t think Trump cares about that.
But what really animates Trump, like a central nervous system in most other humans, is what Maggie Haberman once wrote and I often quote here:
Mr. Trump has treated his own words as disposable commodities, intended for single use, and not necessarily indicative of any deeply held beliefs. And his tendency to pile phrases on top of one another has often worked to his benefit, amusing or engaging his supporters — sometimes spurring threats and even violence — while distracting, enraging or just plain disorienting his critics and adversaries.
We need to acknowledge that Donald Trump doesn’t understand most of what he says, forgets it the minute he says it, and can just as easily be persuaded to say the opposite.
And we need to think about why someone with no deeply held values and beliefs can pass themselves off as a political candidate, and why so many of us are OK with that.
I’m almost as fond of quoting Harvard’s John Della Volpe as I am Maggie Haberman (and Robert Kennedy), but I’m 100% sure he’s right when he calls Gen Z “values-based voters,” who are not going to respond to traditional partisan appeals. Here’s his recent thoughts on the state of the race, now that Kamala Harris has replaced Joe Biden as the Democratic candidate.
Many still cared about investing in climate and curtailing gun violence and using government to protect the vulnerable. Those values haven’t changed. What had changed is that this younger cohort of mostly first-time voters had a different experience with Trump than the previous younger cohorts. They viewed him as a personality, as an antihero, and not the sitting president. He wasn’t the president anymore. And a lot of their views were based on the contrast of Trump versus Biden. There wasn’t a lot of love for Trump, but there wasn’t confidence in Biden’s ability to execute his vision.
But here’s the deal, as Dana Carvey would say. Before the 2022 election, 40% of Gen Z voters told John Della Volpe’s Harvard Institute of Politics that they intended to vote. The actual turnout was 23%. And the Spring Harvard Youth Poll also found that 41 percent of respondents “do not believe that their vote will make a difference.
I’m not sure that outrage over Donald Trump’s racism, Nazism, misogyny or stupidity is enough to motivate young voters and others who don’t usually vote. I like what one of my readers is doing with this website where you can find some specific reasons that might help get non-voters over the fence. And
is asking for each of us to help get out the vote three times.Try this conversation starter:
“Do you know why your vote is so important? Can I tell you what is at stake—and the power you have with your vote?