Axios Breaks Radio Silence

Trump's bombastic speeches have always mixed anger, falsehoods, conspiracy theories and vague, sweeping plans. But recently he's gone deeper into bizarre tales and vulgarities.

Here's a look at what's behind his rally rants.https://t.co/b2l0GVMPdN

— Axios (@axios) June 24, 2024

In Donald Trump's rally-speak — the far-fetched stories he uses to entertain his loyalists — President Biden will be "jacked up" with drugs on debate night, fictional killer Hannibal Lecter is "a wonderful man," and sharks are bad.

Or, you know, not:

Zoom out: Those who've examined Trump's rhetoric see comments like that as an acknowledgment that while some of his words are strategic, many are meant simply to get attention — and that more than anything, Trump sees his rallies as entertainment. 

"He frequently digresses, then digresses from his digression, and never finishes a complete thought," Jennifer Mercieca, a Texas A&M University professor who wrote a book called "Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump," said in an email to Axios. "It's hard to know why he does this," Mercieca said. "Perhaps new ideas occur to him as he is delivering his speech, perhaps he's playing off of the crowd or changing topics when he suspects the audience is bored." 

"Or perhaps his mind is incapable of staying focused long enough on one idea to see it through to its logical conclusion."

Let’s walk through those a second: if his rallies are “entertainment,” why doesn’t he get new material? If he’s so in touch with his audience, why does he imagine crowds ten and twenty times the size of those in attendance?  Does he think digressions are entertaining, especially when the audience lapses into confused silence as he talks about sharks and batteries in Nevada, or shampoo and water pressure in Wisconsin?

How about we consider that he can’t complete a thought? Because more and more, it seems evident he can’t. This is the world’s longest and largest job interview, after all.

But Axios likes “Entertainment.” Where does Axios get that one? Oh , of course:

The rallies-as-entertainment theme is reflected in how Trump's campaign has talked about them. 

"We are essentially producing rock concerts inside of a week, and we're doing it multiple times a month," Trump deputy campaign manager for operations Justin Caporale told Reuters.

Once a month? Twice? In the last month, anyway. And it’s the same speech every time, just like the rock band plays the same set list every night. And Trump is not setting up a rock show once a week. A simple stage, a microphone, some speakers. The Kingston Trio used more equipment.

What they're saying: "Of course media elites and Beltway crybabies would be engaging in faux outrage because of their delicate sensibilities," Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement. 

"They neither understand hyperbole or humor or anything that might make them laughingly clutch their pearls and run across the street to the other side of the sidewalk."

So your Presidential candidate is a bad street comic who makes people want to cross the street to avoid him? Good to know. 

The bottom line: Trump "definitely thinks of his rallies as opportunities to entertain as much as inform and persuade, and he's very good at reading his audience and playing their 'favorite hits' from his talking points," Mercieca added.

Or, you know, Trump is a one-trick pony talking to a diminishing group of people (his rallies are poorly attended and people leave early) who’s favorite hits now include batteries, boats, sharks, water pressure, shampoo, and getting people to yell “Bullshit!”

The same rally featured what amounted to a vulgar call-and-response between Trump and the crowd, in which the former president said he has been indicted on "bullsh*t," prompting the crowd to chant the word. 

Trump also led the crowd in a chant directed at Biden's administration: "Everything they touch turns to what...," Trump said. "Sh*t!" the crowd responded.

That’s entertainment!