And you know what? I’ll give you a little secret. He hates her. He can’t stand her.
One instant from the debate that stood out to me was the former president’s display of obvious projection quoted above. I haven’t seen much discussion of this specific moment, perhaps because it was indeed so obvious. But wow. To my ears, this statement shows his misogyny, his feral rage, and his diminished ability to recognize reality.
Anyone who has heard Joe Biden speak about his VP or that has seen him together with Kamala cannot help but see the genuine affection that he has for her. The idea that Biden would secretly hold such strong animosity (for the person he immediately endorsed after ending his own bid) is preposterous on its face.
When Trump made this aside he was in the middle of characterizing Biden’s exit from the race as a bloodless coup engineered by the entire Democratic Party. It goes to show just how incapable he is of recognizing any kind of self sacrifice or higher purpose. In his mind, Biden was forced out by his inner circle in an act of stunning betrayal. And his imagined reaction to that (he hates her) is simply how he views anyone who doesn’t show him loyalty and admiration.
Let us also not forget that Trump similarly implied that Willie Brown had said, “terrible things about her” in that story of the helicopter crash that never occurred. It must seem like such a given to him that every powerful man in Harris’ orbit would see her as a threat and therefore must become an object of derision.
In three short words (he hates her) he gives us a very clear window into his dark, tortured worldview. It’s no longer surprising but it remains endlessly disturbing.
