by John Bossange
There’s been a lot of talk lately about the Republican ticket featuring a presidential and vice presidential candidate who are being accused of making “weird” comments during their campaign stops and interview sessions. Voters who are interested in their candidacies are now wondering if their recent remarks are weird or simply represent who they really are. I think they are both.
Mr. Trump has a long history of lying, and most recently making some very weird and politically unwise responses to questions that will alienate potential swing voters. But that is who he is. Mr. Trump speaks to his base and not to the larger public of American voters. That has not served him well, as evidenced by his inability to capture a majority of the popular vote in the 2016 and 2020 elections.
But it has been Mr. Trump’s most recent derogatory comments on race and religion combined with his sexist and disrespectful actions with women that will most certainly limit his appeal to a broader base of supporters. Being a convicted felon and of sexual abuse will haunt his reputation forever, and now challenging another candidate’s “blackness,” and then telling an audience of Christians that he will make our country the “United Christian States of America,” will cause millions of potential voters to move even further away from his candidacy, ignoring his divisive rhetoric and weird, uncomforting opinions.
Unfortunately, there is nothing new here. Race, religion, and sex have always been central to Mr. Trump’s political agenda. Challenging President Obama’s nationality, making disrespectful and inaccurate accusations about immigrants and Americans who are people of color, supporting white supremacists who chanted “Jews will not replace us,” bragging about fondling women, hiring a prostitute to service him while his third wife nursed their newborn son, are all examples of who Donald Trump really is. Weird and creepy yes, but at least we know what we are getting.
The same cannot be said for Mr. Trump’s vice presidential candidate, JD Vance. He has made weird comments as well. Questioning a woman’s right to an abortion and supporting a federal abortion ban even in the case of rape or incest, and mocking women’s choice to not have children are two distasteful, unappealing, and weird political positions coming from a candidate who is supposed to help expand the MAGA party base of voters. Mr. Vance’s demonization of women is strange and like Mr. Trump, deeply hostile to women. One must wonder why he is making these statements? Just two weeks ago he actually stated married couples should have their votes count more than single Americans. He seems to be getting more and more bizarre and weird.
Yet, unlike Mr. Trump, we really do not know who Mr. Vance is. He has a history of stating that Mr. Trump is unfit for office. His comments from just a year ago would never make him Mr. Trump’s vice-presidential choice. But now as Mr. Trump’s selection, he has done a complete 180 turn and is praising the “patriots” of January 6th, supporting the long history of lies made by Mr. Trump, and has entered race, religion and sex into his platform of issues as well. All of this is weird, strange, and worrisome again, for sure. But equally troubling is the fact that millions of voters are now wondering what Mr. Vance really believed before his abrupt pivot to gain the favor of Mr. Trump. Maybe Mr. Trump is wondering that too, and if he might need to throw Mr. Vance under the bus just as he did to Vice-President Pence.
Will Mr. Trump and Vance continue to use race, religion, and gender as campaign issues? If they do, only the loyal MAGA base, along with racists, religious extremists, and misogynists will drink that kool aid, and the base will not grow large enough to win either the popular or electoral college vote. Instead their bubble of fear, hate, and darkness and their offensive language will insult the intelligence of most voters and rub against the moral fabric that has made America the “shining city on the hill.” Hope and opportunity, not hate and fear, make up our nation’s DNA.
America and democracy are ideas that have evolved ever so slowly and often imperfectly over 245 years. Neither has ever been static and permanently defined. Most Americans do not want to halt our evolution and stop our progress towards becoming that “shining city on the hill.” If the MAGA Party believes it can defy America’s history, they have not studied America’s history. Political demagogues have come and gone. I believe that will occur again with Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance. Like others who have used the same playbook, their bubble will shrink and eventually burst.
America deserves better than Donald Trump and JD Vance. Their brand of weirdness is not who we are. America’s history has proven time and time again that voters will reject hate and fear, and see through the message of demagogues. Most Americans will vote for hope, light, and the opportunity to live the American dream in that “shining city on the hill.”
The author is a retired educator and South Burlington resident.