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"Old and quite weird": Democrats finally discover new effective attack — and Republicans hate it (www.salon.com)

submitted 1 month ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/politics@lemmy.world

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After nearly a decade of being forced to take Trump seriously, Democrats increasingly call BS on the whole charade

Sure, Donald Trump is a threat to democracy — a would-be dictator on day one who has called for terminating the U.S. Constitution so he can hold onto power even after losing a free and fair election. But while draped in the rhetoric of populism, Trump and his MAGA movement are not actually popular; the man himself has never won more votes than the person he ran against, a majority of Americans twice rejecting him and his off-putting cult of personality. That he was ever president is more or less because a few thousand swing voters in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania thought it would be fun.

President Joe Biden won in 2020 largely by promising to a return to normalcy and baseline competency. In 2024, Democrats are making a similar argument but more forcibly: They’re pointing, laughing and dismissing Trump and his circus as a total freak show to which we can’t return.

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[-] HWK_290@lemmy.world 127 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Probably for 2 reasons:

quote "all politicians are corrupt and criminal" so this tactic doesn't land (look at the dem senator from NJ)
few people know convicted felons but they do know "old and weird" people, so they can better draw personal parallels

[-] Olgratin_Magmatoe@lemmy.world 104 points 1 month ago

I think the "weird" attribution has a way of infecting his supporters as well.

If you support a criminal, that doesn't necessarily make you a criminal. If you support a corrupt politician, that doesn't make you a corrupt politician.

But if you support somebody weird? Well that makes you weird. Trump's weirdness infects you. It's the cheese touch of politics.

[-] paraphrand@lemmy.world 44 points 1 month ago

For a decade now there has been a certain crowd who considers Trump’s criminality and general disregard for truth to be cool in a “gangster” way. Gangsters are leaders.

Weirdos, not so much.

[-] vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works 8 points 1 month ago

Some were weirdos but they were the creative types of weirdos, not old pervert and couch fucker type of weirdos.

[-] Zorsith@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 1 month ago

I feel old for remembering the cheese touch... that book was out in elementary school

[-] match@pawb.social 25 points 1 month ago

It's also a plausible way out. Someone can convince themself that Trump was not as old and weird 10 years ago, so they did not make a mistake voting for him then

[-] Serinus@lemmy.world 13 points 1 month ago

(look at the dem sensor from NJ)

The one that we're forcing out, yes. Not as fast as we got rid of Anthony Weiner, but they're out.

The worst Dems have at the federal level might be Pelosi making stock trades. You know, like half of congress, but for some reason only she (rightly) gets attention for it. Maybe we should include more people than just Pelosi in that conversation.

[-] greenshirtdenimjeans@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 month ago

Yeah, the nj guy is getting replaced with andy kim who is infinitely better.

[-] DandomRude@lemmy.world 11 points 1 month ago

Yes, that's probably how it is - pretty sad tho.

[-] eestileib@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 month ago

A decent number of people also know people who got railroaded into bullshit legal problems.

this post was submitted on 30 Jul 2024

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