Trump has always been weird - really weird.
Trump has always been creepy - really creepy.
When Mike Pence became Trump’s running mate, Pence added a veneer of authenticity; a mask of seriousness; a gloss of legitimacy.
But Trump was still weird and creepy.
Think about it.
If Trump showed up at your house selling solar panels for your roof, you’d slam the door on him.
If Trump sat down next to you on a stool in your favorite bar, droning on about sharks and electric boats and saying Putin is a hero, you’d tell him to shut up.
If Trump wanted to date your daughter, Holy Moly, that would not be happening.
But like those inflatable clown punching bags, you’d shove him away and he’d bounce back up again. No, not as a sign of resiliency. It was that false mantle of power, coupled with the weight of his new Republican Party and Mike Pence. They became his ballast - cowed and kept in place by his unrelenting bullying and name calling.
Then 2024 arrived and Trump chose J.D. Vance to be his running mate.
Many had become inured to Trump’s insults. Now Vance was echoing Trump in his misogyny, authoritarianism and bigotry. But Vance’s statements landed with additional inelegant, brutish force.
Mike Pence had camouflaged Trump’s true nature. J.D. Vance amplified Trump’s true nature.
Enter Tim Walz.
High school teacher, football coach, lunchroom supervisor and Dad, Tim Walz sized up the situation. In Trump and Vance he recognized a pair of weird, creepy, bullies. And he called them out as such.
Suddenly, what people had felt was named. Permission was granted.
Tim Walz had walked over to those two relentless, inflatable clowns and popped open the valves. Feeling the rush of hot air whistling out of those oversized ballon buffoons was a turning point.
Joe Biden handed the baton to Kamala Harris. Harris chose Walz to be her running mate.
The actions of all three of them have ignited a wave of energy, enthusiasm, fierce determination and, yes, joy.
We’ve got a long 90 days ahead of us.
Trump, Vance and the Project 2025 engineers are still hellbent on winning and then dismantling our Democracy.
But we are not going back.
We won’t let a couple of weird, creepy bullies and their puppeteers take power.
We will do this together.
Because when we all vote, we win!
