What does he do, this man you seek?
As I’ve mentioned a couple of times recently, I think Donald Trump is falling to pieces psychologically and physically, in ways that are likely to cause him, and to a lesser extent down-ballot Republicans, to get routed (relatively speaking) in November’s election.
A mistake people make is to assume that because Trump has always successfully used a kind of outrageous improv schtick as an essential part of his political persona, he can’t take that kind of thing too far. He can, as evidenced by the increasingly negative reaction of even the cultists who show up for his mid-trial rallies:
Former US president Donald Trump raised eyebrows among his no-nonsense New Jersey crowd at a rally Saturday when he recited a 1963 soul song in its entirety and referenced a fictional cannibal as “great.”
In a meandering recitation of “The Snake” during a more than 90 minute speech, Trump used the Oscar Brown song to draw a parallel with “illegal immigration and how stupid it is what we’re doing right now.”
“We’re letting people come into our country that we will only be trouble,” said the Republican contender for president.
Trump has drawn on the song several times to highlight his anti-migrant stance, reportedly drawing objections from Brown’s family.
“A tenderhearted woman saw a poor, half-frozen snake,” Trump said, reciting — but not singing — the song to the crowd.
“But instead of saying thanks, the snake gave her a vicious bite.”
Trump, who will face Democratic President Joe Biden in November’s polls, is using increasingly violent rhetoric around the country’s migrant crisis.
At the same time, the lengthy recitation of “The Snake” drew a subdued reaction from the crowd of thousands gathered on a beach in Wildwood on the New Jersey shore.
Some looked on quizzically, while a man behind Trump shown on a big screen yawned, and a trickle of spectators made for the exits.
“Did everybody enjoy it? Don’t enjoy, you should be — you should be scared!” he said awkwardly, speaking off-the-cuff following his recitation from a crib sheet he had in his jacket pocket.
Just months ago, the Republican claimed that migrants were “poisoning the blood” of the United States, sparking a fierce backlash. . .
A rambling bit on cannibalism also drew attention on social media.
“The late, great Hannibal Lecter is a wonderful man,” Trump said, referencing the 1991 film “Silence of the Lambs.”
“He oftentimes would have a friend for dinner,” he said grinning, rehashing a well-worn joke about the infamous cannibal character before diving back into migration.
“But Hannibal Lecter. Congratulations, the late, great Hannibal Lecter. We have people that are being released into our country that we don’t want in our country.”
Even this highly sanitized media report can’t really disguise the extent to which The King of Comedy’s rapid decompensation is hurtling him toward permanent cancellation. The mob is the demagogue’s best friend, but the mob is also fickle and easily bored, as every reality TV executive knows all too well.