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Y’all already know what I think about trump, but there’s no denying that his new ad is very well done, and speaks *directly* to who his base THINKS they are (while continuing to perpetuate their never-ending victim complex.)
Objectively speaking, the world, and specifically America’s standing in it, is in *much* worse shape than it was 4 years ago. But objective reality doesn’t seem to have much bearing on this kind of thing.
Fact is, if you *were* actually one of the racists who feels secretly embraced and emboldened by trump and his administration’s constant dog-whistling, this ad is exactly how you’d WANT to see yourself, and have other people see you.
The REALITY, of course, is that people who aren’t actually racist, feel absolutely no threat of being “accidentally” or coincidentally labeled a racist. In my experience, that only applies to people who are scared of that label for legitimate reasons.
This new ad gives me the same feeling I had in 2016, as it began to dawn on me (with a creeping horror) that trump might actually win: “Oh crap, the smart, ruthless people (inc. foreign actors) who need the GOP to win have finally decided to throw their weight behind him.
I knew this wouldn’t be an easy fight. Even with the polls currently so much in Biden’s favor (don’t y’all remember early 2016??!!)
We better wake the fuck up and stop acting like we’ve got this in the bag. The forces that got trump elected in the first place have only grown STRONGER since then. If we think we can sit back in our righteous indignation and pull out a win, just because we’re the “good guys”...
Despite 250k+ dead of COVID-19 by November. Despite the protests. Despite the economy. People *so powerfully* want someone who will tell them that they can keep being a little racist, and it’s ok. That they can keep poisoning the environment and it’ll be fine.
And that’s why this ad is so dangerous. It’s a clear signal that trump’s campaign still understands this. Understands how to rally their base, turn them against their opponents, unify them...
... by whispering in their ear, “See? It is actually YOU are the victims. YOU, the loyal MAGA, who have been oppressed, singled out, discriminated against.” As always, they are doing the very thing they claim is the most despicable: appealing to the politics of identity.
