At a campaign event last night, Trump got bored—and weirdness ensued.
Is Donald Trump well enough to serve as president?
The question is not temperamental or philosophical fitness—he made clear long ago that the answer to both is no—but something more fundamental.
The election is in three weeks, and Pennsylvania is a must-win state for both Trump and Kamala Harris, but during a rally last night in Montgomery County, northwest of Philadelphia, Trump got bored with the event, billed as a “town hall,” and just played music for almost 40 minutes, scowling, smirking, and swaying onstage. Trump is no stranger to surreal moments, yet this was one of the oddest of his political career.
“You’re the one who fights for them,” gushed Kristi Noem, the South Dakota governor and animal-abuse enthusiast, who was supposed to be moderating the event. But it soon became evident that Trump wasn’t in a fighting mode. The event began normally enough, at least by Trump standards, but, after two interruptions for apparent medical emergencies in the audience, Trump lost interest. “Let’s just listen to music. Who the hell wants to hear questions?” he said.
He eventually pivoted for good to a playlist of his favorite songs: “Hallelujah,” “Rich Men North of Richmond,” “Nothing Compares 2 U,” Elvis’s rendition of “Dixie.” At one point, he asked his staff to play Pavarotti and display the immigration chart that he was about to discuss when an assassin tried to kill him this summer.
To watch the event is to see signs of someone having a breakdown. Like Joe Biden’s disastrous debate against Trump in June, when the president’s fumbling performance and struggle to get sentences out made it impossible to believe he was up to the task of serving for four years, Trump’s rally last night would force any reasonable person to conclude that he is not up to the grueling task of leading the world’s greatest nation, handling economic crises, or dealing with foreign adversaries.
Which isn’t to say that some people didn’t try to reason through it.
