Last Minute Outreach to the "Kids"

pic.twitter.com/nk2vKvHuaL

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 2, 2018

Early voting data from Texas shows a 508 percent growth in the youth vote since 2014, which is likely good news for Democratic Senate hopeful Beto O’Rourke.

But "the kids" like this "Game of Thrones" thing, so this works, right?  Except it's not clear how impending sanctions are a thing to look forward to.  I don't watch the show, but I understand the tag line "Winter is Coming" means disaster and doom for all, as the most implacable of villains are empowered by winter (never a time of year you look forward to unless you're going skiing or ice fishing, anyway).  Sanctions are coming for you, courtesy of Donald Trump?  Sanctions are coming for Donald Trump and he's too obtuse to see what's casting that shadow behind him (winter is coming)?

Vox wants to explain it either in terms of GOT iconography, or American foreign policy; and yeah, the reference seems to be to sanctions being reimposed on Iran, which is fine for wonks and geeks, but for the rest of us I think the likeliest response is:  "Huh?  Is he serious?"   Because, honestly, sanctions of foreign countries doesn't mean that much to most of us*, and sanctions on us (which we would care about) is a terrible campaign idea.

Either way, kinda like the pseudo-Willie Horton ad Trump tweeted (which it turns out is chock full of lies), this will be seen more in articles about than by people who don't obsessively follow Trump's Twitter feed.  Gotta say, in general distribution, it would just generate a generic:  "Huh?  Is he serious?"**

*I actually passed a truck on the freeway this morning, covered with signs printed on regular paper in all caps and carefully taped on all surfaces of the pickup.  The only one I had the chance to read said: "IF GOP LOSES RUSSIA, CHINA, AND ISIS WILL ALL GAIN TERRITORY."  For reasons completely obscure to me.  That guy probably thinks sanctions are a good thing.  He's also a guy who puts small signs all over his white truck, so there's that.

**Yeah, it's a little fascistic, too:  the image of the hero who alone can save us with his mighty sword of sanctions.  He can't even steal any glory from pop culture, though.  It must makes him look more like your clueless grandfather.