“Older and stranger”
The problem with Donald Trump is not that he’s old, it’s that he’s begun displaying symptoms consistent with severe dementia as he’s gotten older. The problem with Trump is not that he tells odd stories, it’s that the stories he tells are suggestive of some kind of strangely depraved mental incompetence.
It looks like the Democrats are now hitting upon the messaging they intend to use against Trump. Pete Buttigieg said it best when he called out Trump on Sunday for getting frequently confused and for being obsessed with electrocuting sharks and praising cannibals. Pete summed it up by saying that Trump has gotten “older and stranger.”
Other prominent Democrats are harping on this same kind of messaging. On Sunday, Chuck Schumer harped upon just how weird Trump is, and pointed out that Trump’s running mate JD Vance may be even weirder.
When we emphasize Trump’s extremism and criminal nature, we reach a certain kind of voter. When we emphasize that Trump is senile and just plain strange, we reach another kind of voter. Both kinds of messaging are important, because different voters respond to different kinds of things. Emphasizing Trump’s Project 2025 is crucial. So is emphasizing that Trump is a confused old creepy weirdo.
