EARLY VOTING IS NOW UNDERWAY IN THESE STATES: Arizona, California, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, and Wyoming EARLY VOTING BEGINNING THIS WEEK: TUESDAY, OCT. 13 in Kentucky and Texas WEDNESDAY, OCT. 14 in Kansas, Rhode Island, and Tennessee, THURSDAY, OCT. 15 in North Carolina FRIDAY, OCT. 16 in Washington SATURDAY, OCT. 17 in Massachusetts and Nevada |
What did Donald Trump do today?
He said America had gone to hell on his watch.
In a trio of tweets, Trump said that California, Illinois, and New York—three states he has no chance of winning in the upcoming election—were "going to hell," or words to that effect.
As odd as it may seem for Trump to be campaigning on the supposed failure of the country on his watch, it's part of a strategy he's been following almost from the start of the campaign. Trump's list of "must-win" states now includes normally safely Republican strongholds like Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Arizona, and Alaska, as well as traditional battlegrounds like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Florida. He seems to have concluded that any state—or really, any Americans—who can't help him get re-elected are expendable, and safe to attack in order to persuade those who can.
Trump isn't the only one pursuing this strategy. Turning Americans against one another has been the goal of hostile foreign governments since the start of the Cold War. In fact, corroding Americans' faith in government and one another was the main goal of the Putin regime's attacks on the 2016 election.
What's the problem with this?
- People who think America has "gone to hell" probably shouldn't be president of it.
- It's bad if a presidential campaign is singing the same tune as a hostile country's anti-American propaganda campaign—twice.