Donald Trump’s sign of surrender
New York Governor Kathy Hochul called Trump’s latest rally a sign of his surrender before it even happened. No one knew why Trump would take his campaign to so-blue-it’s-black New York. According to some of Trump’s campaign members, it was done to generate media coverage. It ended up doing way more than that, as it quickly turned into a racist, untenantable collection of useless people who said whatever they thought. Before anyone says, “Trump didn’t say those things,” Trump brought them there, and he condoned their behavior with his silence. So much for all the gains Trump has allegedly made with Latinos. The so-called comedian likened Puerto Rico to a “floating island of garbage.” Nowhere is that even the slightest bit funny, and it’s certainly not going to drive the 500k+ Puerto Ricans in Pennsylvania to vote for Trump. According to CBS News, the comedian also made some kind of joke about Black people carving watermelons for Halloween instead of pumpkins. CBS News reported that there were some “people of color” in the audience, and it is frankly surprising that they didn’t all get up and walk out.
To make matters worse, some old friend of Trump’s held a crucifix, calling Vice President Harris the “antichrist,” while Tucker Carlson made fun of her race. What kind of people are these, and why do they think it’s okay to behave this way? Trump followed them with his usual attacks and is now claiming that he would support a tax credit for family caregivers (which he stole from Harris). There was no need for Trump to rally in New York, and apparently, everyone knew it except Trump. According to CNN, Rahel Soloman spoke with Doug Heye, a Republican strategist that the rally “was a waste of time.” It turned out to be even more. People already don’t like Donald Trump, and hosting a racist rally doesn’t help.
Various news outlets also reported that, in response, Bad Bunny posted several Harris ads to his 20 million-plus followers. Bad Bunny has never wanted to be involved in politics, but they forced his hand. Ricky Martin wrote: “This is how they think of us.” Trump’s advisor said after the fact: “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.” Bullshit. Why did he invite someone who would say such polarizing, racist things? Had he never heard the guy perform before? As Rex Huppke, opinion writer for USA Today wrote: “The rally was an insult to decency, as the hours-long freak show was fully endorsed by the GOP thanks to an appearance by House Speaker Mike Johnson.” We don’t need people like this making determinations about our lives as citizens of this country, and we certainly don’t need crazy RFK, Jr. in charge of healthcare. No one will be able to get vaccines even if they want them.
It’s time to bring this election home to the people. If you haven’t yet voted, there is still time to help save our democracy and our way of life from these extremists. Get out and do it. You’ll save your way of life and ours in the process.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years