Before we get to the day’s link, I just want to say a few things about Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally.
It does not seem to have been a success. Whatever Trump was trying to accomplish with his speech has been drowned out by a supposed comedian whose act ranged from unfortunate to racist (a word I don’t use lightly), a speech from Tucker Carlson that ranged from unfortunate to racist (a word I still don’t use lightly), and an appearance from Rudy Giuliani, who also had some unfortunate things to say.
These men’s presence at Madison Square Garden is not and should not be a reflection of the rally’s attendees. Those who doubt this can hear the crowd’s reaction to the Puerto Rico joke. It’s not enthusiastic, to the point the speaker gets defensive. And their response to the joke about his black friend carving watermelons for Halloween? Crickets. Tempting as it may be for some on the left to label the rally-goers deplorables because of the speakers, that’s a slippery slope. When Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib said, “From the river to the sea…”, a phrase commonly understood to mean the destruction of Israel, were there prolonged discussions about all her supporters being anti-Semites and neo-Nazis? No. Because that would be absurd.
Democrats’ comparisons of a 2024 Republican rally in Madison Square Garden to a 1939 Nazi rally in Madison Square Garden are, without qualification, nonsense. The location is the same aaaaand… that’s it. Billy Joel has played The Garden a hundred times. Is it because he’s a closet Nazi? I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure it’s because he’s an iconic New Yorker and it’s an iconic New York venue. Democratic leaders and candidates have to understand this kind of thing doesn’t work. As a friend texted me yesterday, “This is so much worse than Hillary’s ‘deplorables’ remark. They are flat out calling Trump supporters Nazis.” As someone who thinks Clinton’s “deplorables” remark cost her the election in 2016, I have to agree. According to a tally of that election at the time, she lost by a combined 79,316 votes across three game-making swing states. I have a hard time believing that by blithely insulting one quarter of the nation’s electorate, she didn’t meaningfully sway the margins in Trump’s favor. Because when a voter switches his vote from Democrat to Republican, the Democrat isn’t at a one-vote deficit. They’re at a two-vote deficit (we each have a vote: 1-1; I took your vote: 2-0). So the deplorables line didn’t have to cost Clinton 79,316 votes in the battlegrounds. It needed to cost her half that (23,218 in Pennsylvania; 11,089 in Wisconsin; 5,352 in Michigan) which Trump then added to his tally. That is completely conceivable… and hopefully clearly explained. So this Nazi/deplorable thing doesn’t work. It’s been done before, and now for some reason it’s being done again. Yikes.
With all that said, let’s get to some substance and civility. Hence today’s link. It’s a podcast episode. Give it whatever time you can. It’s worth it.