Trump delivers the most extreme closing argument in modern presidential history

CNN
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Donald Trump anchored his bid for a second term in the White House next week burning anti-immigrant fear at a rally at Madison Square Garden, maintaining his promise of a mass deportation program on day one to reverse the “immigrant invasion.”

As the former president’s allies defend him against Democratic claims, he is a “fascist” and authoritarian in waiting, based in part on warnings from his former chief of staff John KellyTrump delivered a letter on Sunday that could herald the most extreme presidency in modern history if he defeats Democratic candidate Kamala Harris on November 5.

“The United States is an occupied country,” Trump said as Democrats projected messages outside the famous New York arena, reading “Trump is unbalanced” and “Trump praised Hitler.”

The massive rally was billed as the beginning of the final stage of Trump’s bid to stage one of the greatest comebacks in American political history after attempting to overturn the results of the last election and leaving office in disgrace in 2021. Before he spoke, some of the former president’s top supporters used racist and vulgar rhetoric. Former congressional candidate David Rem called Harris the “antichrist” and the “devil,” while others slammed Hillary Clinton, “illegals” and the homeless. Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.”

The Trump campaign later disavowed that position, with spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez saying in a statement to CNN: “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.”

Much of Trump’s speech filled with lies and exaggerations. It was exactly the type of rhetoric that the Harris campaign believed would sway moderate voters and disaffected Republicans to choose the vice president. But it also means the GOP candidate is betting that he can beat the huge turnout and activate voters who don’t usually vote but agree with his tough policies.

First, he explained the choice voters will face in the coming days as Harris promises Americans that they can move on from Trump’s extreme behavior, which during his first term put the rule of law and constitutional limits on presidents to the test.

The former president’s fierce anti-immigrant rhetoric ranks alongside the most blatant demagogy uttered by one of the most important figures in any Western country since World War II. But it was also supplemented by a sharp economic argument that formed the second part of Trump’s final speech, aimed at the frustration of many Americans who, despite falling inflation, struggle with high grocery prices.

“I would like to start by asking a very simple question: Are you in a better situation now than you were four years ago?” – Trump asked. “I am here today with a message of hope for all Americans: with your vote in this election, I will end inflation. I will stop the invasion of criminals coming into our country and restore the American dream.” He also said he would push for tax relief for “family caregivers who care for a parent or loved one” – after Harris presented its own platform proposing that Medicare cover home health care.

“If Kamala Harris gets four more years, our economy will never recover. If I win, we will quickly build the largest economy in the history of the world,” he said.

The former president ran his first presidential campaign in 2016 on inflammatory rhetoric about Mexican migrants. Eight years later, he suggests that migrants are directly to blame for citizens’ economic frustrations, a conceit employed by far-right leaders throughout history.

Trump’s dark appearance added to the palpable sense of tension that has gripped the country a week before an election that could represent a national turning point. Supporters of each candidate harbor fear of what will happen if their candidate loses in a showdown that will highlight two irreconcilable visions of the future – and what it means to be an American. Trump’s warnings that he envisions a presidency of all but unchecked power devoted to “payback” reinforce the sense that a fateful moment is approaching.

Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz referenced Trump’s rally in downtown Manhattan with the notorious 1939 pro-Nazi rally at the previous arena at the same location, while Democrats openly call the former president a “fascist.” Minnesota’s governor said, “There is a direct resemblance to the great rally that took place in the mid-1930s at Madison Square Garden… and don’t think for a second that he doesn’t know for a second exactly what they were doing there.”

Sunday’s raucous event showed how the 2024 presidential election is breaking from the current pattern, as Trump is unlikely to compete in New York state next week. But the former president’s return to the city where he built skyscrapers to reflect his larger-than-life personality showed how candidates sought headlines away from battleground states. Harris he was in the red state of Texas on Friday to highlight the GOP’s tough abortion policy, which he warns could spread across the country if Trump wins. And on Tuesday it is organizing an event in Washington.

Both candidates are entering the final week of the campaign, and polls indicate close competition in swing states and across the country. The election is already underway, and 40 million Americans have voted early, either in person or by mail. The CNN Polls poll shows no clear leader in the country – Harris has 48% and Trump has 47%. The race will be decided in battlegrounds including blue wall states Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as Sun Belt states North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada. The outcome could depend on just tens of thousands of votes, potentially setting the stage for a tense counting over several days that will only fuel fear of a disputed election.

Early voting explains why Harris will make her closing remarks a full week before Election Day, at a rally Tuesday night at the Ellipse in Washington. The symbolism will be clear as it is the site of Trump’s infamous rally on January 6, 2021, when he told his crowd to “fight like hell” or they wouldn’t have a country, before his mob stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to overturn the certification of the president’s election victory Joe Biden. The rally will be a forceful exclamation point for Harris to an increasingly important theme of her campaign – that Trump poses an existential threat to American democracy.

That message was at the center of Biden’s campaign until he launched his re-election bid in July. Harris didn’t make the same topic a priority at first, but she’s becoming more and more fond of it. But some Democrats fear that the American people are more interested in how they can quickly improve their economic situation. “How effective is it to attack Trump for being a fascist? “This theme is not as compelling as the contrasting messages outlining Harris’s economic plans and her promise to protect reproductive rights,” reads an Oct. 25 email from Future Forward, a leading super PAC supporting Harris’ campaign, sent to Democrats, which was first reported reported by The New York Times and obtained by CNN on Sunday.

In recent days, Trump has given in to claims by Democrats and Kelly that he has authoritarian aspirations.

This caused the Republican Party’s vice presidential nominee, Ohio State Sen. J.D. Vance, to seek to cherry-pick and redefine the former president’s widely known comments and blame the media for reporting exactly what his boss said. Vance insisted fiery interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union,” the former president didn’t have political opponents in mind when he openly considered turning the military and National Guard against the “enemy from within.” Trump, however, previously clarified that he was talking about people such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and California Republican Adam Schiff.

“He said he wanted to use the military to go after the far-left lunatics who were inciting riots, and… he also called them the “enemy within.” “He separately, in a completely different context, in a completely different conversation, said that Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff are a threat to this country,” Vance said.

In recent days, both Trump and Harris have been targeting strategic sectors of their core electorates. Harris, for example, on Sunday made a new attempt to win over black male voterssome of which seem to be heading in Trump’s direction. At a barbershop in West Philadelphia, where she needs a large turnout to counter Trump’s advantage in rural Pennsylvania, the vice president took part in a discussion with black men focused on providing better opportunities. She also stressed the vital nature of the Commonwealth and its 19 electoral votes, which could block its path to the White House if it chooses Trump, as it did during his 2016 electoral triumph.

“We’re going to do this – victory will run through Philadelphia and Pennsylvania,” Harris said.

The vice president is also targeting another constituency that could help her get into the White House: women voters, as she tries to use the already wide gender gap to her advantage. She showed up in Michigan on Saturday with Michelle Obama — a reluctant politician who is nonetheless wildly popular among Democrats. In a powerful speech, the former first lady appealed not only to women but to “the men who love us,” warning that Trump’s record in building a conservative Supreme Court that struck down federal abortion rights will have serious consequences for women’s health.

“Please do not hand over our fate to people like Trump, who knows nothing about us and who has shown deep contempt for us,” Obama said. “Because a vote for him is a vote against us, against our health, against our worth.”