Yesterday in Pennsylvania, the former president decided to put the “DJ” in Donald J. Trump.
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After nearly a decade of his ubiquitous presence on cable news networks, on social media, and in the national press, Donald Trump has normalized insanity.
Or, perhaps, it might be more accurate to say that he has been so consistently nuts that the American people, and journalists in particular, have grown numb to his bizarre behavior.
Therefore, it takes something extraordinary to remind them of just how weird the former president is.
And, boy, did he deliver in the past 24 hours.
Ironically, it all began with Trump asking Vice President Kamala Harris to take a cognitive test because “her actions have led many to believe that there could be something very wrong with her.”
Little did we know at that time that the former president was about to deliver a masterclass in projection.
Undoubtedly, the standout event of the day was Trump’s “town hall” event in Pennsylvania.
About 44 minutes into a Q&A session during which the former president fielded questions from pre-screened audience members, a couple of medical emergencies caused significant delays. At that point, Trump asked his staff to play Franz Schubert’s “Ave Maria.”
After taking one more question and another interruption, Trump had apparently grown tired of the format and decided to put the “DJ” in Donald J. Trump.
“Let’s make this a musical fest,” he said before asking his staff to play another version of “Ave Maria,” this one performed by famous opera singer Luciano Pavarotti.
And that kicked off a truly memorable hour.
Or, as his campaign spokesman Steven Cheung put it, “Something very special is happening in Pennsylvania right now at the Trump town hall.”
Well, it was special all right.
Over the next 30+ minutes, the audience was treated to recordings of some of Trump’s favorite songs.
“I think it will be beautiful,” Trump said before the musical interlude began in earnest an hour into the event. “Don’t you think? A little different.”
“I think it will be amazing, sir,” dutifully responded South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R), who was hosting the town hall.
Even after watching the video of it multiple times, it’s unclear what was supposed to happen next.
It appears as though Noem was wrapping things up, and the next song was indeed “Time to Say Goodbye.” However, Trump was clearly not prepared to do so, because he remained on stage and swayed to the music while everybody else pretended that this was normal.
After a couple of songs, the former president asked whether he should take “another question or two” but then thought better of it. He then suggested that everybody listen to “YMCA” by the Village People and then go home.
But the event went on for another 30 minutes after that.
It’s really worth watching the entire thing because it not only encapsulates how odd Trump is but also how much everybody else just goes along with it.
Next up, the former president, who had previously suggested that CBS should lose its license for editing a 60 Minutes interview with Harris, went on a rant about Fox News allowing Democrats on the air.
Finally, on Tuesday morning, Trump, who is refusing to release his medical records, suggested that the vice president’s seasonal allergies and hives are “a very messy and dangerous situation” and “are deeply serious conditions that clearly impact her functioning.”
He followed that up with another post that was… well, not normal.
“Kamala’s Medical Report is really bad,” he posted on Truth Social. “With all of the problems that she has, there is a real question as to whether or not she should be running for President! MY REPORT IS PERFECT – NO PROBLEMS!!!”
While that is in no way medically accurate, severe mental illnesses, such as malignant narcissism or sociopathy, are serious conditions that could lead to dangerous situations, which is something that voters may want to keep in mind.
In his Navigating the Insanity columns, Klaus Marre provides the kind of hard-hitting, thought-provoking, and often funny analysis you won’t find anywhere else.
