Conservative mocks GOP for 'sleepy Joe' campaign that makes Trump look old
July 23, 2024
As Donald Trump fumbles through the new field of the 2024 presidential race, his past attacks are returning to haunt him.
Conservative Charlie Sykes, editor of The Bulwark, told MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace that the Republican Party's big mistake is going all-in on an attack against President Joe Biden's age and alleging a cognitive decline.
Sykes said that when Trump took the stage at the Republican National Convention last week, he was likely at the highest point in his political career.
Read Also: Trump has 'far more to lose' as 'unforced gaffes' indicate mental decline: report
"Now, think about how the world has changed," he said. "Everything about this race has changed. For the last month, almost all of the discussion has been about the frailty of Joe Biden, and the cognitive health of Joe Biden. And Republicans have spent a tremendous amount of effort making the age and cognitive health of the ticket just absolutely central. You know, it's at the top of the mind for the American people. And now here we are."
Sykes said that he's not sure how it will ultimately shake out "because he was planning to run against 'Sleepy Joe Biden,' who did not campaign frequently, who was not vigorous, who was not prosecuting that case. And look what's happening right now."
Ultimately, Trump will always default to being Trump, he explained.
"For the last eight years, he used invective and personal attacks against his opponents. He firmly believes that that sort of cruel rhetoric works for him and helps him."
He predicted "a tsunami of negativity" from Trump that Kamala Harris would face, but he's not certain how the American people will respond to the "cruel rhetoric he believes helps him."
The test will be whether people will like it.
Wallace pushed back, saying it won't be about how Americans respond, but how the media responds. She predicted "overt racist attacks" and "macro-aggressions."
"And I think the answer to all of them is: 'Is America really ready to elect its oldest president? Are they really ready to elect a convicted felon?'" Wallace asked.
Sykes said that while the media was narrowly focused on the Democratic circular firing squad, Trump was making "speeches filled with absolute gibberish, and he convinced people that maybe that was normal."
The Atlantic's Anne Applebaum noted that during his Republican convention speech, even Trump seemed like he was boring himself.
"It's clear what he was — what he was told to do, which is play on the moment of unity, speak to the whole nation, talk about what a miracle it was that he wasn't killed," Applebaum said. "And you could see how that would have been or should have been something that was moving to a lot of people, including people who don't support him, people who aren't Republicans. As I said, he couldn't stick to the is the script."
"He is unable to be anything except very divisive," she said. "And even that moment that moved a lot of other people and made many people feel shocked and frightened and desirous of a calmer kind of politics — it didn't move him."
Wallace pointed out her statement, "It didn't move him," and agreed that it "might be the best way to understand that horrific moment."
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