Former President Donald Trump has many recurring characters at his rallies, and the shoutout he gave to a traveling group of female superfans in Greensboro, North Carolina, last week was no different.
Unless he messed up their surname.
“And we have our 'Front Row Jacks'…we have our 'Front Row Jacks and Joses,' thank you very much,” he said of the women who call themselves “Front Row Joses” and Attends every public event of his. “What happened, you're not in the front row? Wow!”
When he was advertising about a trip to McDonald's, where he served food to supporters in a campaign stunt to attack Vice President Harris, he did not remember the word fryer.
“And those French fries were good, they were very good,” he said. “They were just out of… whatever hell they came out of, they were out of the way.”
In Prescott Valley, Arizona, an attempt to recognize a group of Assyrian supporters failed severely when they welcomed what sounded like “Azure-Asians”.
These mistakes are not isolated incidents, but are more symbolic of the final weeks of this election with Trump, who at age 78 would be the oldest person ever elected president if he wins next week.
However, in some ways, his concluding message is not all that different from his first trip down the golden escalator nearly a decade ago.
He said in 2015, “When are we going to beat Mexico at the border? They're laughing at us, at our stupidity.” Economically, America has become a dumping ground for everyone's problems.”
In Donald Trump's discography, his 2016 campaign topped the charts with concerns over immigration. Even today, he plays his greatest hits, such as the speech in Tempe where he once again called America a “dumping ground” for immigrants from other countries.
On October 24, 2024, he said, “We are a dumping ground.” We are like a dustbin to the world. That is what has happened. That's what's happened – we're like trash.”
Now in the final days of campaign number three, Trump often suddenly reverts to his prepared speech, ranging from comments on the teleprompter to meaningless tangents.
In a three-hour marathon interview with podcaster Joe Rogan, Trump described the oratory method as a quote-unquote “weaving” that isn't for everyone.
“I like to give a long account,” Trump said on The Joe Rogan Experience. “But when you weave, and you have to be very smart to weave, when you weave, look at it, just in this one thing, we're talking about small pieces.”
“Gotta bring it back home,” Rogan interjected.
Trump added, “No, no, it comes back home to the right people.” “For the wrong people, it doesn't come back home and they go into the woods, right?”
Trump's attacks have become increasingly profane
Over the summer, President Biden had difficulty refraining from bashing Trump after his exit. But lately Trump has fallen into the familiar habit of deflecting criticism of Harris's speeches by calling her stupid, low-IQ and arguing that none of her words mean anything.
“I don't have any cognitive issues,” he said at an Oct. 20 town hall in Lancaster, PA. “He may have a cognitive problem, but there is no cognitive problem.”
Trump has always pushed the acceptable speech of a politician, but in recent weeks he has become more vulgar in his anecdotes and attacks.
“We can't afford you,” he said of Harris in Latrobe, PA. Outta here!”
And while Trump's final weeks may serve as a farewell tour to the campaign trail, he has sometimes told his supporters it's time to face the music about what might lie ahead.
“If you don't win, win, win, we all had a good time, but it's not going to matter, okay?” He said. “Sad, because what we've done is amazing: three nominations in a row. Whatever we have done, we have to win.”
“If we don't win, it feels like it was all for… not much. “We can’t do this – we can’t let this happen.”
It's a tough race that requires multiple, long events in a day, and the fatigue can be heard in his voice.
In many ways, the Donald Trump who promised to “Make America Great Again” in 2016, 2020 and even earlier this year is not the same Donald Trump who will be in front of voters when this election concludes in November 2024. Are standing.