Donald Trump has no idea what his campaign should be about beside himself

Donald Trump has always been a supreme narcissist. One of the political miracles of 2016 was that he somehow convinced enough voters that his grievances were their grievances too. The idea that Trump, a real-estate heir who declared bankruptcy four times, was the champion of the common man is something that is still hard to imagine, except for the darker fears about losing a 1950s version of America that he conjured up.

This time out, though, Trump is a different man. The novelty act is old, and he is even older. People are familiar with his schtick, which feels tired after eight years. He has upped the apocalyptic and race-baiting rhetoric to new levels, but this just feels more like louder shouting. For a man who has won control of the Republican party, Trump looks a lot like a lost man, flailing at a time when he should be riding high.

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“Because when your campaign’s headed for an iceberg, you might as well set it to music.”

Trump’s change of fortune has everything to do with Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the race and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris. A fundamentally lazy man, Trump felt that all he had to do was count on voter concerns about Biden’s age to win the election.

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Biden’s decision to do the right thing has left Trump adrift and brought out his worst political impulses. Practically everything Trump has done since then has been to complain about how he has been wronged. At first he demanded his money back, as if a presidential campaign was an ill-fitting sweater. “Shouldn’t the Republican party be reimbursed for fraud?” he asked.

Then he fruitlessly cast around for a nickname for Harris, trying out “Laffin’ Kamala Harris” and “Lyin’ Kamala Harris,” he seems to have settled on Kamabla. (Privately, Trump reportedly calls Harris a misogyinistic slur.)

At their best, Trump’s insults in the past had a way of capturing his opponents worst characteristics. (Remember “Liddle Marco” Rubio?) No one can explain this one, not even J.D. Vance. As if that’s not bad enough, Trump has suggested no one knows Harris’ real last name.

Of course, that’s nothing compared to claiming that Harris wasn’t always Black. As bad as that was, Trump reached for the gold in offensiveness by making that claim to a convention of Black journalists. Then at a subsequent rally, Trump displayed old headlines describing Harris as the first Indian-American senator, doubling down on a stupid idea that his own party members disavowed.

Then there is the constaint whining about the past. Trump cannot stop complaining about losing the 2020 election, or as he calls it “the Big Steal.” He brings it up all the time. He spent a chunk of a rally in Georgia trashing that state’s Republican Gov. Brian Kemp for not helping him steal votes in 2020. Kemp would be forgiven for not lifting a finger to help Trump’s campaign this year, especially since Trump also attacked Kemp’s wife.

The biggest sign that Trump has lost it is his obsession with crowd size. The enthusiasm for Harris’ candidacy is reflected in the huge turnout for her at rallies, far larger than the turnout Trump has been getting for his, sometimes at the same venue. Trump has long boasted about his drawing power and now he finds himself outmatched by Harris. It is clearly driving him nuts, and the Harris campaign is fueling his rage by trolling him about it relentlessly.

In his rage, Trump is coming across as the kind of cognitively impaired old man that he made Biden out to be. Trump has insisted that Biden wants to return as the Democratic nominee. He has claimed that Harris is speaking in front of empty halls and that photos of the crowds she attracts are A.I.-generated. Even the usually discreet New York Times called his press conference last week “meandering,” which is Times-speak for “train wreck.”

The more Trump gives into his anger, the worse it is for his campaign. And he’s only going to get angrier. Polls show that Harris is now slightly ahead or tied with him in the key battleground states. That’s before the usual post-convention bounce that candidates get after the party formally nominates them.

A lot can change between now and November, but right now Trump is his own worst enemy. As long as Harris can live rent free in his head, he will keep talking about himself and alienating voters. In the meantime, the line of attacks against Harris that actually might resonate with voters will go unmentioned.

As fun as it is to watch Trump in this spiral, there is a big downside. When Trump feels he is losing, he will stop at nothing. The January 6 insurrection proved that. This time it’s even going to be worse, because Trump’s one escape from his legal problems is winning the White House.

Trump is already laying the groundwork to declare the November election a fraud. That will only intensify the further behind he falls in the polls. Trump may be faltering, but he will do everything he can to destroy everything around him—including the country—if he knows he’s going to lose.

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