Throughout my time reporting on Republican campaigns, there has been a persistent use of racial fear as a tactic: the insinuation that individuals with darker skin tones present a threat. Fear is the powerful tool used to manipulate.
When Reagan was in power, he spoke of “welfare queens” who exploited tax-free income. George HW Bush used Willie Horton as a symbol of liberal leniency towards criminals, suggesting that if Horton could get furlough, so could anyone else who might then rob and assault citizens in their own homes. For George W Bush and Dick Cheney, the fear was focussed on Arab terrorists, warning that the Democrats would permit their invasion of America.
Under Trump, the fearmongering targeted migrants from Central and South America, with sweeping allegations of violent intent. Coupled with this, it was Trump who popularised the racist “birther” conspiracy theory about “Barack HUSSEIN Obama”.
Trump himself holds onto a belief ingrained by his father, that certain bloodlines are superior to others. In keeping with this racial bias, he has intentionally misrepresented Kamala Harris’ name in various ways, even going so far as to dub her “Kamabla”. In a shocking act, Trump questioned Harris’s racial identity in front of a group of Black journalists, suggesting that she changed her identity from being of Indian heritage to being Black over time.
In stark contrast to his own beliefs, Trump seemingly struggles to understand a person of colour who does not pose a threat to Americans. Instead, such a person could possibly save them from his rule. And this very person is not instilling fear, like him, but evoking joy and excitement amongst huge fan bases.
Shadowing Trump on political journeys since 1999 has revealed his need to quantify his worth numerically. When questioned about his presidential ambitions, he cited his ratings on Larry King Live, taking animated delight in the statistics, reminiscent of Faye Dunaway’s ecstatic narrative of high-performance show ratings on Network.
He asserted that he was superior to other contenders based on statistical data: the quantity of men pursuing his then-love interest, Melania Knauss; the number of regulations he had successfully altered; the number of floors he had added to his building close to the UN; the number of times he was featured in a Palm Beach media outlet.
His worth is determined by these figures, and if they do not surpass those of his competitors, he deems himself without value.
This explains why Trump obsessively focuses on the gathering sizes at his events whilst blaming the media for reporting lower attendance. It also accounts for his inability to accept his election defeat. If Joe Biden posted higher numbers, in Trump’s eyes, he himself became worthless. His self-identity as a prominent con artist is intrinsically bound to holding superior numbers, albeit fictitious ones, since he often exaggerated the number of floors in his skyscrapers.
So, it makes sense that witnessing Kamala’s immense popularity and surging poll numbers infuriates him.
When Maggie Haberman from The New York Times, questioned Trump during Thursday’s press conference, about his perception of the January 6th riot affecting the tranquil transition of power, Trump surprisingly deviated and insisted that his speech at the Mall had attracted a larger audience than Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic “I have a dream” speech.
Trump’s responses were sporadic and disorganised, like a running blender without a lid, making a mess. He shared an incident about narrowly escaping a helicopter crash with Willie Brown, who, in Trump’s words, spoke ill of Kamala, his former mentee. Brown, now 90, denied ever being part of such a story.
Nate Holden, 95, a previous city councilman and state senator from Los Angeles, suggested that Trump might have confused two Black politicians from California, as Holden himself claims to have taken a helicopter ride with Trump in 1990.
Moreover, the genial Brown is notably fond of his former paramour, Harris; He has been heard saying that she is “a unique woman” and the two shared wonderful experiences in Hollywood and Paris following his election as San Francisco’s mayor.
Brown affirmed that Donald Trump allowed them the use of his jet to travel to New York, seeking counsel about a potential real estate venture in Los Angeles. He reminisced about Trump being jovial during that period and mentioned Trump’s support for Harris’s campaign for attorney general.
As with his claim that Trump Tower housed New York’s finest rolls, Trump’s world seems to revolve around extremes – the pinnacle and the nadir.
In a starkly dualistic fundraising email, Trump dramatically prophesied a dystopian future under Tim Walz, likening him to the devil incarnate, despite Walz’s reputation for projecting a Norman Rockwell-ian image, as noted by David Axelrod.
Facing scrutiny, Trump has resorted to discrediting Kamala as unintelligent, an assertion far from the truth. Ably steering through challenging political landscapes, Harris has had among the most strategic political launches ever witnessed, exuding assurance and ease, in stark contrast to his visible discomfort and unsettlement.
A disgruntled Trump appeared to lament the Dems’ strategic switch to Harris, branding it “unconstitutional”. This indicates he is showing a surprising interest in constitutional matters.
This piece first appeared in The New York Times.