Trump’s final campaign message muted by distractions and disconnect | Wilnesh News

Former President Donald Trump’s final week in the race against Vice President Kamala Harris was hampered by a series of controversial comments and unforced errors that could undermine the Democratic Party’s chances of winning the election. His closing argument to voters was muted by a barrage of attacks and a legal backlash.

All week long, Trump’s campaign has aired thousands of ads focused on his policy platform: widespread tariffs, deeper policies tax cuts and mass immigration deportations. But it was the comedian’s insults about Puerto Rico, Trump’s violent rhetoric about political opponents and comments about women that attracted the most attention.

The Republican presidential candidate kicked off his final week on the campaign trail with a lively rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Sunday. The event was billed as an economic outreach to New Yorkers, but the message was drowned out by vulgar and sometimes outright racist remarks from some of the introductory speakers.

Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s opening scene drew the strongest backlash when he called Puerto Rico “a floating island of trash in the middle of the ocean.”

Hinchcliffe’s comments sparked a wave of criticism from Puerto Rican celebrities such as musician Bad Bunny, as well as elected officials and voters.

“It’s not a good situation, I think people are very angry,” Allentown Mayor Matt Tulk told NBC News on Tuesday. “I’ve heard a few people say the word angry.”

Pennsylvania is a key battleground state with 19 electoral votes and a large Puerto Rican population, adding to the political damage of Hinchcliffe’s offensive remarks.

Trump campaign officials spent the hours and days after the MSG rally cleaning up and trying to distance their candidate from the controversy.

“This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” Trump campaign senior adviser Danielle Alvarez said late Sunday.

Democrats and the Harris campaign seized on the controversy.

“We view what happened at Madison Square Garden in New York City as yet another attempt to divide us,” Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, said at a local campaign stop in Pennsylvania on Thursday. “The disrespect for our fellow Puerto Ricans is not only unnecessary, it is extremely hurtful.”

Trump’s conclusion was also overshadowed by his verbal attack on former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney.

“She’s a radical war hawk. Let’s have her stand there with a rifle and nine barrels shooting at her,” Trump said Thursday in Arizona with conservative media figure Tucker Carr. Sen said at an event held together. “Well, let’s see how she feels about this. You know when the gun is pointed at her face.”

On Friday, the Arizona attorney general announced that he was investigating whether Trump’s violent rhetoric constituted a death threat and violated state law.

The Harris campaign drew sharp contrasts with Trump’s comments to shore up its bipartisan support for the Democratic presidential nominee.

“Donald Trump is talking about sending a prominent Republican to the firing squad, and Vice President Harris is talking about sending a Republican to the firing squad,” Harris campaign senior adviser Ian Sams said Friday on MSNBC. Enter the cabinet.

Trump’s off-the-cuff remarks about Cheney once again forced him and his campaign to spend the remaining days of the presidential campaign doing damage control.

“I would say she’s a crazy war hawk,” Trump said on “Fox & Friends” on Saturday. He added, “I said, ‘Put the gun in her hand, let her get out, let her face the enemy with the gun in her hand.'”

Trump calls his rambling rhetorical style “weaving,” which often strays from his core policy messages.

“Look, I’m knitting,” he said at a rally in Virginia on Saturday. “No one can weave like Trump.”

Polls show the presidential race is too close in key battleground states for the final weekend, and Republican pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson warned of a possible disconnect.

“His message on the air was, ‘If you want the economy to get back on track and you want the world not to be on fire, vote for me.’ That’s a great message,” Anderson told CNN on Sunday News Network’s “State of the Union” program.

“It’s unfortunate for him that sometimes it’s different than what he said on the stump,” she said. “I think if he loses, that disconnect will be one of the reasons.”

Trump told a rally in Wisconsin on Wednesday that he would “protect” American women “whether they like it or not.” The comments provide another opportunity for the Harris campaign to make the case that Trump and Republicans are trying to impose their beliefs about women’s lives over the objections of women themselves.

That argument is at the heart of Democratic opposition to abortion restrictions in 2022 following the Dobbs decision — an issue that polling shows is driving broad support for Harris among women.

Former Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod told CNN on Sunday that he was paying close attention to the finish of the race and that Harris “ended well.”

“She sends a message. She’s very disciplined. Trump doesn’t have that, and I think that makes a lot of sense.”