Trump’s return to MAGA rallies is a flop
Donald Trump‘s midterm reboot was supposed to be the political heavyweight’s triumphant return. White House advisers after Democrats made impressive gains in November’s nationwide off-year elections I promised The president would return to the campaign trail to attack the 2026 midterms with the same “fire and dominance” he claims to have used in 2024 — infamous knitting and all. But if the Pocono Mountain rally in Pennsylvania is a preview of what’s to come GOP It should be expected, Trump’s promise should be read as a threat. Comeback aside, the comeback rally was a complete fiasco.
Trump’s team was clearly hoping that the blue-collar community in one of the nation’s most important states would give it a friendly launching pad. While a crowd of several thousand people was waiting with its nostalgic voice MAGA I listened to the hymns echoing in the metal stands Fox News Tuesday evening to find the president in a conference center ballroom inside a local casino that generously seats 200 people. And even this small crowd seemed hesitant, almost resigned, as Trump shouted for nearly an hour. Fox News, of course, dutifully avoided wide shots. But on the screen, the truth was clear: the MAGA magic was gone.
Trump took the stage He insisted he was ready to make America ‘affordable again’ A phrase meant to evoke Reagan-era economic populism instead led Jimmy Carter to call for personal austerity. Trump declared that he had “no higher priority” before launching into his usual misdirection, blaming his predecessor for the rising cost of living. Joe Biden.
Even a local waiter brought on stage to support Trump complained that his paychecks no longer stretched far enough. “Almost everything I do goes to pay the bills.” he said. In response, Trump offered advice in the style of Marie Antoinette.
“Americans must learn to adapt to lower living standards.” he told the crowd Before proposing a specific solution to tariff-increased prices that he continues to insist has been successful. “You can give up some products. You can give up pens… You don’t need 37 dolls for your daughter. Two or three would be nice.”
Accordingly a new POLITICO pollHalf of Americans struggle to find food. Further damaging Trump, a majority (55%) blame his administration. For this reason Democrats They immediately jumped at his ridiculous advice. You. Ruben Gallego Arizona’s Published on X“Trump needs private jets and a gold-covered Oval Office, but your child only needs a pen.”
Since the president is nothing if not predictable, his speech eventually veered from elucidating the economic issue and quickly devolved into angry tangents about alternative energy, immigrants, and other outlandish grievances.
In one particularly surprising moment, Trump was attacked Although Pennsylvania has the concept of energy storage recently secured hundreds of jobs with a new zinc battery factory. “They want us to go to the batteries!” he mocked. “We don’t have battery content. So let’s switch to batteries according to these morons in our country.”
Things got even more confusing when Trump forgot that he was nominating the Federal Reserve Board Chairman for the first time Jerome Powell. “I just heard that all four commissioners at the Fed, including Too Late, might have been signed by Biden, I heard autopen might have signed those commissions. If they had signed those commissions.” in question“You cannot use auto-on.”
Moments like these underscored how growing concerns about Trump’s cognitive abilities have become a political issue. We’ve seen him fall asleep in meetings, slur his speeches, walk off stage, and mischaracterize world leaders. His right hand had been bandaged multiple times and appeared bruised. The side of his face drooped at least once on national television. For a man who claims to “do well” on cognitive testing, it’s interesting that he can’t remember if he had an MRI at his second “annual physical” this year. Even his own supporters whisper about whether age is catching up with him.
Maybe that’s why he jumped off the stage and at Truth Social To brag about having “passed” “very boring Medical Exams”:
Some even said they had never seen such Powerful Results. I am doing these tests because I owe it to our country. In addition to medical, I did something no other President has done on three separate occasions; The last one is that I recently took what is known as the Cognitive Exam, something that few people, including those who work at The New York Times, can do very well, and I performed an ASED on all three in front of numerous doctors and specialists, most of whom I did not know. I was told that very few people were able to ‘successfully’ pass this Exam, and in fact most failed miserably, which is why many other Presidents decided not to take this exam at all.
Trump complained about the New York Times’ coverage of “my Election Results” and said the country would be better off if the Times “stopped publishing.”
Many other media outlets immediately confirmed or criticized Trump’s performance at the casino.
“Trump mocks affordability at first stop of affordability tour,” Washington Post reported made the headlines of the report.
CNN’s headline: “Trump is ‘having fun’ but can’t feel Americans’ pain over prices.” To read.
According to the Associated Press, “Trump’s Speech on Fighting Inflation Turns into Complaints About Immigrants from ‘Dirty’ Countries”.
Want sharper takes on politics? Sign up for our free newsletterStanding Room Only, Written by Amanda Marcotte, now a weekly show on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.
As the AP headline reflected, Trump’s racism perverted his entire message about affordability. The president turned his frustration into familiar anger and returned to the xenophobic script that propelled him to political success in 2016. “We are taking people out of the hellholes of Afghanistan, Haiti, Somalia and many other countries,” he said. “Dirty, dirty, disgusting, full of crime.” Then, as if time had folded in on itself, he revived the “shithole countries” slur he once refused to make. “Why do we only get people from shitty countries? Why can’t we just get a few people from Norway, Sweden?”
The rally reached its ugliest point when Trump targeted the House of Representatives. Ilhan OmerD-Minn., is a frequent target. “I love this little turban Ilhan Ömer, whatever his name is,” he said, mocking her headscarf. “He comes from his own country, so it’s considered the worst country in the world, right?”
Omar came to the United States as a refugee at the age of 12. He is a US citizen. He is an elected member of Congress. But Trump couldn’t help but delve deeper into racist conspiracies, once again baselessly accusing her of marrying his brother to obtain citizenship; this lie has long been debunked but has been repeatedly used as a weapon to dehumanize him. “He should go away,” he said. “Throw him out.”
The dead crowd of MAGA supporters made the call with an all-too-familiar chant: “Send him back!”
America has heard this before. Trump in 2019 He incited the same slogan against Ömer and other black women in Congress. It shocked the nation at the time. Now that’s just part of Trump’s stump speech. He’s run out of new ideas, so he recycles the darkest ones.
CNN quickly published images He rebuts Trump’s dismissal of his “shithole” comments in 2018. MSNBC repeated previous remarks attacking Omar. NPR highlighted the contradiction between Trump’s claims to power and the reality of a man who struggles to maintain consistency. The mainstream press no longer sees Trump’s behavior as merely shocking; literally frames it as dangerous.
Meanwhile, the political world continues to turn against the president. Tuesday was Election Day in many states, and Democrats had a great night. in miami, A Democrat wins the mayoral race For the first time in nearly three decades, there has been an 80-point increase since 2021. In Georgia, Democrats flipped a state House seat that Republicans lost. suffered a defeat just two years ago.
Off-year results are often early indicators of the national political mood. That mood this year suggests voters are tired of MAGA theatrics and a man telling struggling families they need to “give up the pens” to make ends meet.
Republicans should be worried and Now they admit this much. Trump lost the popular vote in 2016. He lost the White House in 2020. His endorsed candidates faced each other in 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2024. The GOP has not overperformed in a single national cycle since taking control of the party. The Pocono Mountain rally reaffirmed this fact. Trump seemed small and irrelevant as he tried to demonstrate his power. It’s clear that the billionaire president, who told his supporters to buy fewer dolls before Christmas, no longer knows how to connect with voters.
The Trump of 2026 is not the Trump of 2024. Minister clearly tiredangry, confused and unable to adapt to a country in economic crisis. Even Fox News can’t spin this. The right-wing media ecosystem that once treated him like a demigod is now torn between claiming he’s vibrant and silently wondering if he’s faded away. Democrats, meanwhile, are seeing increased energy as party candidates overperform in special elections across the country; This trend is often a devastating indicator that the party is falling from power.
Republicans insist that bringing Trump back to the midterm agenda would energize the base. Maybe, but it will also energize everyone.
Post Trump’s return to MAGA rallies is a bust appeared for the first time salon.com.
