Trump’s closing message: From cows to genitalia

It’s easier running for president today than it used to be. In 1987, Joe Biden was driven out of the Democratic primary for quoting a line from British Labor Party leader Neil Kinnock without giving him credit for it. 

How things have changed. Today, as a candidate, you can say almost anything without consequence. No matter how big a lie. You can say illegal immigrants from Haiti are stealing pet cats and dogs and eating them. You can say FEMA has no money to help hurricane victims because the president stole FEMA’s money and gave it to illegal immigrants. You can say the Jan. 6 assault on the United States Capitol, prompting every member of Congress and the vice president to run for their lives, was “a day of love.” Today, a presidential candidate can say all of that and get away with it. 

As long as you’re Donald Trump. But if Kamala Harris were to say anything close to such nonsense, she’d be roundly condemned by the media and declared unfit for public office. Meanwhile, Trump gets a free pass. The media either ignores his increasingly weird statements or dismisses them as “just Trump being Trump.” 

And the closer Trump gets to Election Day, the more bonkers he gets. “She wants to get rid of your cows,” he told a crowd in Georgia. “No more cows.” Not only that, claims Trump, to flight climate change, Harris will also ban windows in new buildings. Note: Trump made the exact same claims against Joe Biden in 2020. The last time I looked out the window, there were still cows in the fields. 

When it comes to personal insults, anything goes. Having already, on several occasions, called Harris “mentally impaired” or “mentally disabled,” Trump stunned a New York donor’s reception, as reported by the New York Times, by calling her “retarded.” Last week, in Pennsylvania, he sank even lower, calling her “a s— vice president.” Again, he does so with the media’s permission. 

The list goes on, becoming more dangerous. Trump has demanded that CBS lose its broadcast license over its interview with Kamala Harris on “60 Minutes” — an opportunity Trump was also offered, but declined. He’s also ominously warned that, if reelected, he would use the National Guard or the military to go after those he labels “enemies from within,” Democrats like former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Rep. Adam Schiff (Calif.) — whom he says are more dangerous than Iran or China.

And if that’s not crazy enough, then there’s Arnold Palmer. At a rally in Latrobe, Pa., on Oct. 19 — billed ahead of time as an event where Trump would unveil his closing message against Kamala Harris —  Trump spent the first 12 minutes praising golf pro Arnold Palmer —  including the size of his genitalia. “But Arnold Palmer was all man,” Trump told the crowd. “This man was strong, and I refuse to say it, but when he took showers with the other pros, they came out of there, they said, ‘Oh my God. That’s unbelievable.’” It’s also unbelievable the “party of family values” would even remotely consider embracing a candidate who talks about penis size.

With just two weeks to go, it’s time to start telling the truth about Donald Trump’s increasingly bizarre behavior. The media must tell the American people: These are not the statements of a normal candidate. These are the ramblings of a man who’s completely unhinged and mentally unfit to be president of the United States.  

Press is host of “The Bill Press Pod.” He is the author of “From the Left: A Life in the Crossfire.”