Meeting after meeting, Donald Trump paints an apocalyptic picture of America, ravaged according to him by migrants, galloping inflation and devastating self-righteousness.
“Our country is heading towards ruin,” repeats the Republican, candidate for the third time at the head of the United States.
According to the tempestuous septuagenarian, the country is suffering from an “invasion” of migrants, whom he accuses of all evils: “raping young American girls”, “poisoning the blood” of the United States, eating domestic animals .
If he does not win the American election, scheduled in a month? “Our country will sink into an economic depression,” he warned during a recent exchange with voters. “Your electricity bill is going to explode. »
“Communist” and “fascist”
Donald Trump had already used this very dark rhetoric during his victorious 2016 campaign, then during his defeat in 2020.
But his speech has since become considerably more heated, notes political scientist Julian Zelizer.
“The arguments are the same, the approach is the same, but everything is increased tenfold and with even fewer safeguards,” he notes to AFP.
The shift in tone is particularly notable since Kamala Harris entered the race, replacing President Joe Biden at short notice, in one of the biggest upsets in recent American political history.
Without the slightest proof, Donald Trump repeats that his Democratic rival wants to “execute babies” with his program on abortion, is “Marxist”, “communist”, “fascist” too, and suffers from “an intellectual deficit”.
“In the middle of the balls”
What matters, ultimately, is that he is accused of multiplying lies or inaccuracies.
For this new race for the White House, the tempestuous Republican is relying on a party under his thumb, which crowned him with fanfare during a spectacular convention in July in Milwaukee, just a few days after his first attempt at the White House. assassination.
His base, which does not rule out the fact that his life was saved thanks to a divine act, also swears absolute loyalty to him, despite his legal troubles.
“If someone were to shoot Trump, I would be the first to dive into the middle of the bullets to try to save him,” bluntly stated Donald Owen, 71, interviewed by AFP in Michigan.
In addition to the famous red MAGA cap, his supporters now wear t-shirts representing Donald Trump with his fist raised and his ear bleeding, in reference to the shots that targeted him during one of his campaign meetings.
“When I lose control”
These events, meticulously choreographed down to the small steps that Donald Trump delivers as he leaves the stage, punctuated the billionaire’s three campaigns for the White House.
They are also the occasion for sometimes very confusing stories, strange anecdotes about shark attacks, electric battery boats and electrocutions…
These tirades arouse mockery from Democrats, who point to these as illustrations of the advanced age of Donald Trump – he who is now, by far, the eldest in the race.
The 78-year-old candidate, who would be the oldest president to take the oath of office if he wins, brushes aside these criticisms.
“I will keep you informed when I lose control, I really think I will be able to tell you,” he told his supporters.
Donald Trump, however, ruled out running again in 2028 in the event of defeat on November 5, indicating that this campaign would indeed be his last.
The former president, however, did not commit to recognizing the result of the election, causing some to fear a return to the chaos of 2020, in the event of defeat.
These tensions peaked until the attack on the Capitol by thousands of Donald Trump supporters on January 6, 2021. One of the darkest days in American democracy.