Holy shit!
This is not normal. This is not even recognizably abnormal. And they said Joe Biden has cognitive issues? Maybe the cognitive problems are with the media themselves.
UPDATE: If Politico is starting to notice, maybe there is hope for the media. The article is titled:
As Trump fumes, Republicans wince at ‘public nervous breakdown’
Of course, the article includes excuses from Republican strategists, and this gratuitous attempt to slime Joe Biden, tucked into the larger point about Trump’s implosion; but that larger point is the entire point of the article.
Republicans on Monday reeled from Trump’s undisciplined approach to the opening stages of his new general election matchup with Harris — following a weekend that saw him praise Russian leader Vladimir Putin while smearing Harris as “low IQ,” and “dumb” and attacking a popular swing-state GOP governor whose turnout operation he may need in November.
“This is what you would call a public nervous breakdown,” said Matthew Bartlett, a GOP strategist and former Trump administration appointee. “This is a guy who cut through the Republican primary like a knife through butter. This is a guy who pummeled a semi-conscious president in a debate and literally out of a race. And now this is a guy who cannot come to grips with a competitive presidential race that would require discipline and effective messaging. And we’re seeing a candidate and a campaign absolutely melt down.”
Republicans who saw their party lose the White House and both chambers of Congress during Trump’s presidency have worried before about Trump’s lack of discipline. But Trump’s venting now comes at a critical point in the election, with Harris surpassing him in fundraising and gaining ground in some battleground state polls.
And Harris isn’t just “gaining ground in some battleground state polls,” she’s leading in all the states she needs, and is well within the margins of error in bonus states. And the trend is clear, the momentum still building.
And almost all the recent national polls have Harris ahead. The latest, this afternoon:
Vice President Harris has upended the presidential race and has now built a 51%-48% lead over former President Trump, according to the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll.
That result is 4 points better than just after Harris got into the race two weeks ago when President Biden bowed out. Harris maintains a 3-point lead (48%-45%) when third-party choices are offered, too.
This, of course, was before she named Tim Walz as her running mate, and we’re still more than a week away from what certainly will be an electrifying convention. The media conventional wisdom still lags the polling, but it will catch up. Trump’s condition is not likely to improve.
