Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump raises his fist as he leaves after speaking during a campaign rally at Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, N.C. on Aug. 14.PETER ZAY/Getty Images
A month ago, the world seemed tilted in Donald Trump’s favour.
His campaign for the U.S. presidency against an aging and increasingly mentally and physically frail Joe Biden couldn’t have been going better. After Mr. Biden’s utterly disastrous debate performance in June, and his vow to stay in the running immediately after it, Mr. Trump seemed destined to return to the White House – destined to win the biggest get-out-of-jail-free card there is.
But fate had other plans.
Mr. Biden had a change of heart, announced he wasn’t going to seek a second term after all, and his second-in-command, Kamala Harris, stepped into the void.
What has happened since is simply one of the most compelling moments in American political history. Ms. Harris, and her choice for vice-president, Tim Walz, have completely upended the race. Commanding leads that Mr. Trump once had over Mr. Biden in several key states have evaporated. Most national polls now put Ms. Harris ahead. She and Mr. Walz boast a favourability ratings edge over Mr. Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance, that is sizable. All the momentum the Trump-Vance pairing had coming out of the Republican convention has been stomped out by the hot, new Democratic ticket.
A distinct whiff of desperation is now emanating from the Trump campaign.
The former president is conducting himself like someone who has nothing to lose. If Ms. Harris prevails in the November contest, there is a good chance Mr. Trump ends up in jail – something he’ll avoid if he is victorious. With that much at stake, it’s no wonder he seems willing to do and say anything to win – regardless of how delusional it comes across.
Of course, Mr. Trump is well known for lying and making things up. The Washington Post estimated that he lied more than 30,000 times during his presidency. Once upon a time, a president would be roasted if caught telling a single mistruth. Mr. Trump is a paradigm shifter. But the more angry and trapped he feels, the more erratic and paranoid he becomes.
During a recent hour-long press conference held at his Mar-a-Lago estate, NPR reporters and editors found at least 162 misstatements, exaggerations and outright lies. “The Olympics of lying,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg declared.
He was only getting warmed up. Apparently sick of all the coverage the Harris-Walz campaign has been getting for the size of their rallies, Mr. Trump decided on a bold counteroffensive strategy: send out a post stating that the crowds didn’t exist, that they were a creation by artificial intelligence. He said the hoax was exposed by a maintenance worker at an airport where Ms. Harris was said to be holding a rally.
“She’s a CHEATER [sic],” Mr. Trump railed on his social media platform Truth Social. “This is the way the Democrats win Elections by CHEATING – And they’re even worse at the Ballot Box.”
People can laugh this off, and roll their eyes, and lament that this is just typical Trump stuff. But it’s not. These are the rantings of a very disturbed individual. There is also something sinister about the message imbued in his post on Ms. Harris cheating to win this election.
If he loses – which, if current trends continue, could happen – he wants people to believe this was yet another election “stolen” from him. He’s already planting the seeds of that narrative. This is extremely dangerous; a similar storyline led us to Jan. 6, 2021. Mr. Trump is feeding unrest once again.
Beyond that is the unsettling possibility that this man could still win. He could, in the not-too-distant future, be in control of the U.S. nuclear codes. I won’t apologize for being concerned that a malignant narcissist could once again have the authority to launch thousands of weapons that could annihilate tens of millions of people.
As I say, the man is not well. He has now taken to spewing disturbing conspiracy theories that were once the preserve of the darkest, creepiest corners of the internet. If a relative started babbling about this stuff at the dinner table there would be unnerving glances all around, and afterward a lively discussion about the need for the person to get professional help.
And yet this is not some crazy uncle we’re talking about. It’s someone who once again has a chance of becoming the “leader of the free world.”
Mr. Trump is under more pressure than he’s likely been at any time in his life. He realizes it’s not just the presidency he’s running for, but arguably his life.
And that represents a danger to us all.