Armchair_Politician wrote on Sep 16
th, 2024 at 9:57am:
I find it remarkably amusing that he brought all of this upon himself.
Naturally, he couldn’t resist continually posting the AI-generated images of "Swift for Trump" to such an extent that he forced her to respond, and respond she did.
Swift had remained largely apolitical and was certainly trying to avoid making any public endorsement. However, once Trump began amplifying the meme, her silence would inevitably have been construed as complicity, leaving her with no choice but to speak out.
But what does her response ultimately mean?
At this stage, it is unlikely to change the minds of those who have already decided how they will vote in November. Yet, what her response has likely achieved is the mobilisation of a wave of new voters, individuals who have never been politically engaged or voted before. Now that they are registered, it stands to reason they are not casting their votes in Trump’s favour.
He has, in essence, managed to secure the political equivalent of the 'Own Goal of the Century.'
One might assume that after such a blunder, he would have learned a valuable lesson. Yet, it took nothing more than a few pointed remarks from Harris during the debate to rattle him. His composure shattered so easily that he spiralled into a meltdown, recklessly repeating a Nazi talking point about Haitian immigrants, falsely asserting, alongside JD, that they are illegally in the country and must be deported to Venezuela, claiming they are eating people’s pets.
It seems he is either entirely incapable of learning from his mistakes or so weak that he can be trivially manipulated, not only by Harris but potentially by world leaders as well.
Now any mention of Taylor Swift or the Haitian Immigrants will remind people of his loss int he debate and keep that front and centre in their minds long after it should have been forgotten.
Is that a second own goal of the century?