At the rally for Trump and JD Vance in Atlanta - some take-aways
Yesterday, I went along to the rally in Atlanta, Georgia for former President Donald Trump and his VP nominee, Ohio Senator JD Vance.
It was Trump’s second rally since his assassination attempt in Pennsylvania and the event took place under high security (no bags and flags allowed) but still struck a defiant tone.
People wore t-shirts saying “Impeached. Convicted. Shot. Still standing.” Trump volunteers handed out posted with a mug shot of Trump saying: “Never Surrender.” There were hats incrusted with diamanté saying: “voting felon.”
You can listen to my radio report for Newstalk imbedded below which includes voices from the rally and Republican’s rebuttal to Democrats calling them “weird.” (You can listen to a video on the “weird” messaging here if you need more context).
You can also listen to my short update to RTÉ This Week about the rally in Atlanta here
Some take-aways from the rally:
Republicans at the rally in Atlanta did focus more on the economy, as many Americans grapple with inflation and higher costs of living than when Biden took office, but the biggest cheers were for culture war issues.
JD Vance talked about ‘America First’ economic policies and ‘buying American for America.’ These are the types of policies that will worry trading partners like the EU but also don’t necessarily lead to lower prices and less inflation. In fact, the view from many economist is that a mass expulsion of migrant workers and tariffs on imported goods will increase prices. Overall, the policies mark a departure from the free market economics espoused by Bush-era Republicans and another sign of Trump has re-shaped the Republican party
Annie Lowry spoke to Ezra Klein for this podcast earlier in the summer about how Americans perceive the economy and how its increasingly based on who is in the White House rather than economic reality (which is harder to gauge than officials often admit). It’s worth a listen.
The disinformation spread about boxer Imane Khelif was a talking point among attendees and the false rumour was repeated by JD Vance in his speech to a big cheer “the Democrats want biological men to be allowed to beat up women.”
The falsehood was first spread by the discredited International Boxing Association, whose president is Umar Kremlev of Russia, an associate of President Vladimir Putin, that fighters including Imane Khelif had failed unspecified eligibility tests. The decision came shortly after Khelif beat Russian boxer Azalia Amineva, who was previously undefeated. International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said last week that there was “never any doubt” about Khelif being a woman.
El País did a good piece last year on how Russia uses disinformation on LGBTQ+ issues to sow division within liberal democracies.
Trump still doesn’t seem to have fully moved on from running against Joe Biden and spent some time discussing the notorious debate between the two men that exposed Biden’s age and frailties, pushing him to leave the campaign. He also hasn’t moved on from losing in Georgia in 2020 (where the results were audited three times) and name checked the Georgian officials who certified the result. “In my opinion, they want us to lose,” said Mr. Trump.
The Trump supporters I spoke with in Atlanta didn’t universally buy into the idea that the election was stolen from Trump in 2020 (they were still going to vote for him though) and another said they would respect the result in November, IF it was a “clean election.”
Have a good week,
Hannah