Donald Trump gave a profane and conspiracy-laden speech two days before the presidential election, talking about reporters being shot and suggesting he “shouldn’t have left” the White House after his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
In remarks on November 3 that bore no resemblance to his usual ranting campaign speeches, the convicted felon repeatedly cast doubt on the integrity of the vote and resurrected old grievances about being prosecuted after trying to overturn his defeat four years ago.
Trump intensified his verbal attacks against a “grossly incompetent” national leadership and the American media, steering his Pennsylvania rally at one point to the topic of violence against members of the press.
The GOP nominee for the White House noted the ballistic glass placed in front of him at events after his experience in July with gun violence at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump talked about places where he saw openings in that protection.
“I have this piece of glass here,” he said. “But all we have really over here is the fake news. And to get me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news. And I don’t mind that so much.”
It was the second time in recent days that Trump implicitly implied that his enemies should be shot, a dog whistle to his personality cult calling for violence. Trump recently suggested former Representative Liz Cheney, a prominent Republican critic, should have “nine barrels shooting at her” in reference to a firing squad.
Some of his allies, notably former chief strategist Steve Bannon, have encouraged him to prematurely declare victory on Tuesday even if the race is too early to call. That was what Trump did four years ago, kicking off a process of fighting the election results that culminated in the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
For much of this year, Trump ran a relatively disciplined campaign that emphasized the issues and voters who could deliver him victory, even as his frequent digressions and improvisations sometimes brought controversy. But that discipline is increasingly collapsing along with a notable decline in his cognitive abilities. Medical experts suggest Trump’s mental health is deteriorating rapidly, supported in part by his refusal to release any medical records.
Trump has joked about golfer Arnold Palmer’s genitalia, continues using gendered language in his efforts to win over women, and staged a rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden that included crude and racist insults that dominated headlines.
Trump usually veers from subject to subject, a discursive style he has labeled “the weave.” But outside the Lancaster airport, he went on long tangents and hardly mentioned his usual points on the economy, immigration, and rote vicious criticisms of Harris.
He repeated familiar and debunked theories about voter fraud, alleging that Democrats could only win by cheating. Public polls indicate a tight and competitive race across the battleground states that will determine the Electoral College outcome.
“It’s a crooked country,” Trump said. “And we’re going to make it straight. We’re going to make it straight.”
Harris pushed back at Trump’s characterizations of U.S. elections, telling reporters that Trump’s comments are “meant to distract from the fact that we have and support free and fair elections in our country.” Those “good systems” were in place in 2020, Harris said, and “he lost.”
The vice president said she trusts the upcoming vote tally and urged voters, “in particular people who have not yet voted to not fall for this tactic, which I think includes, suggesting to people that if they vote, their vote won’t matter.”
