Trump Is Weird

A new line of attack

Hopefully, many of you have better things to do this weekend than immerse yourself in the headlines, web postings, and cable discussions of the political commentariat. But even passing attention might have made you aware of a new line of attack that the Harris campaign and its Democratic surrogates have unleashed against their opponent. 

It’s a pretty basic message that can be boiled down to three words, one syllable each: Trump is weird. 

(Oh, and you can undoubtedly include his running mate, J.D. Vance, under the “weird” heading for good measure.) 

This striking rhetorical approach—bold, direct, and simple—contrasts with the more substantive critiques of Trump’s unfitness for office we’ve heard over the years, such as his lack of morality and empathy, dangerous policy positions, dishonesty, and threat to democracy. 

Calling Trump “weird” might be seen as vague and unserious, potentially opening you up to criticism from the solemn protectors of the Washington establishment for being juvenile or stooping to Trump’s level of name-calling. It’s certainly not something I would imagine Biden saying. 

I happen to think it’s perfect. 

Here’s the thing about political attacks: They work best when they are easy to remember, widely applicable, and based on the truth. “Trump is weird” checks all three of those boxes—over and over again. 

It’s a catchall phrase that can be used to frame almost everything outrageous he says — from his incoherent musings on sharks and electrocutions (if you don’t get the reference, consider yourself lucky) to his lies about winning the 2020 election to his preoccupation with having the government deny women control over their bodies and health. 

All of those things are weird in their way.  

Moreover, you can put years and thousands of clips under the hashtag #TrumpIsWeird.

Remember when he said we should inject bleach to avoid Covid? Weird. 

Bear hugged an American flag? Weird.

Used a Sharpie to draw on a map to reimagine the path of a hurricane? Weird. 

Made J.D. Vance his pick for VP? Very weird. 

If anyone says this type of messaging is childish and demeans Harris, I would ask, who brought us to this point? It is the political party that let themselves be taken over and then surrendered to a would-be autocrat, convicted felon, and serial liar, who also happens to be very, very weird. 

One of Trump’s significant vulnerabilities has always been his fragile ego. It’s what made him lie about the size of the crowd at his inauguration (another instance of manifest weirdness). He’s constantly needy, a sucker for sycophancy, and a man who, deep down, knows he is a far cry from how he wishes he were. 

“Trump is weird” is going to hit him where it hurts, right below his very thin skin. 

“Trump is weird” is very easy to chant at a rally or a convention, and it puts him on the defensive. The more he and his surrogates try to argue that something he says or does going forward isn’t weird, the more his weirdness is out in the open. 

And it does so in the everyday language people can relate to. 

Another major reason “Trump is weird” is so effective is that he and most of his followers live in a right-wing bubble. They say all sorts of weird things all the time that they don’t think are weird because their echo chamber is very loud. Just look at Vance and his cat lady comments. He has no idea how weird (and creepy) he really is. 

Trump has always been a name-caller. His latest attack on Harris is to revert to his inherent racism and misogyny. Today, at a Bitcoin conference in Nashville, Tennessee, he called her “a low IQ individual.” That’s not a dog whistle; it’s a bullhorn. He can’t help himself. Of course, this will only fuel Harris’ campaign because no one who listens to her outside of the MAGA world would think she’s stupid. 

In contrast, it doesn’t take long to listen to Trump before you realize he’s weird. In fact, I think most voters have already come to that conclusion, even if many didn’t verbalize it before. 

It’s a sign of a pretty effective slogan when it just puts words to what you’ve already been thinking. 

Trump IS weird. Do you agree?