Trump’s schoolyard attacks on opponents continue

DAVID’S TAKE.

While most politicians at campaign rallies spend time promoting their plans for the future, Donald Trump rarely fails to use language more suited to a schoolyard.

At a rally in San Atonio on Wednesday as he urged Texas voters to back embattled Senate candidate Ken Paxton.

There were 14 4 interruptions during his remarks with some hecklers led away by policeTrump briefly stepped away from the microphone after one protester appeared to approach the stage. “He’s going back home to mom,” the president said after the man was removed. “But what he doesn’t know is his mom voted for Trump.”

Maga supporters waving cowboy hats and chanting “USA” drowned out some of the protesters, while Trump told them to “get the hell out of here”. The president also used Wednesday’s rally to address recent comments in which he appeared to suggest that Iran could destroy Los Angeles or San Diego, earning widespread condemnation from Democrats.

Trump said: “I said it the other day, let them hit a missile into San Diego or Los Angeles on the way. Let them hit – you want to see a horror show? You want to see problems? Let them hit San Diego. Let them hit Los Angeles, and you want to see some bad things happen.

“You want to see a country that would be in freefall. We’re not going to let that happen. We protect our cities, we protect our country, we’re not letting that happen.”

The Republican campaign to maintain control of the Senate has become increasingly focused on Texas, where Democrat James Talarico has emerged as a serious threat. A New York Times/ Siena College poll released last weekend showed Talarico leading Paxton 51% to 45% among likely voters. Trump won the state by almost 14 percentage points in 2024, but his approval rating has fallen sharply. A Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Monday put his approval rating at 32%, while registered voters preferred Democrats to Republicans 44%-37%.

Trump did not refer to a leaked recording of Paxton in which the Senate candidate complained about the war in Iran, rising fuel prices and the way his campaign was being run.

Instead, he spent much of the rally attacking Talarico, whom he repeatedly referred to as “Tala-freako”. He claimed without evidence that Talarico is vegan and recently disappeared: “He’s sick because he’s been forced to eat meat for political reasons and he’s throwing up all over the place.”

Trump insisted: “The people of Texas are not going to let weak, gutless, self-hating, transgender-promoting freak shows destroy everything that we’ve built.”

Footnote – I have a daughter in California who is a vegan.