Trump’s 'buffoonery' doesn't make MAGA any less 'dangerous': conservative

When Vice President Kamala Harris gave her acceptance speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Thursday night, August 22, she laid out a variety of reasons to vote against GOP nominee Donald Trump. And one of her attacks was, "In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious."

Never Trump conservative Bill Kristol, one of Harris' best-known supporters on the right, analyzes that line in an August 26 column for The Bulwark — agreeing that Trump is both "unserious" and "dangerous."

"Harris didn't dwell on the first point at all — that Trump is an unserious man," Kristol explains. "She did spend a fair amount of time discussing the very serious consequences of putting Trump back in the White House. But why even mention the fact that Trump is an unserious man? Because I think the Harris campaign understands that it's precisely Trump's unseriousness — his showmanship, his buffoonery, his shtick — that can make it hard to appreciate just how dangerous he is. So somehow, one has to stipulate Trump's apparent unseriousness in order to get to his dangerousness."

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Kristol adds, "After all, it’s Trump's unseriousness as an individual that gives some people an excuse to overlook his danger as a political figure."

The Never Trumper notes that veteran Democratic strategist's recommendation that Democrats "run against MAGA and not Trump, because MAGA is less popular than Trump." And Kristol, similarly, argues that Democrats need to campaign against the MAGA movement in general.

"Carville's point was that the public seems to dislike Trumpism, the Trumpist movement, more than they dislike Trump," Kristol observes. "Similarly, many observers have been struck by how much Heritage's Project 2025 resonates as an issue with the public as something to be worried about. The public seems to fear the Trumpist agenda more than they fear Trump personally. The public is ready to be persuaded about the danger of Trumpism."

Kristol continues, "But Harris will have to spend much of her time making the case for herself. Which means the burden will be on other individuals and groups to make the case against Trumpism.

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Read The Bulwark's full column at this link.