Jenna Johnson, at the Washington Post, “As news of Trump’s taxes broke, he goes off script at a rally in Pennsylvania”:
MANHEIM, Pa. — Donald Trump’s campaign announced Saturday evening that the candidate would soon deliver a nine-sentence critique of comments Hillary Clinton made months ago about many of the millennials supporting her primary rival, Bernie Sanders. It was an attempt to latch onto a new headline in hopes of finally escaping the controversies that had consumed his week.
It didn’t work.
It took Trump nearly 25 minutes to read the brief statement because he kept going off on one angry tangent after another — ignoring his teleprompters and accusing Clinton of not being “loyal” to her husband, imitating her buckling at a memorial service last month, suggesting that she is “crazy” and saying she should be in prison. He urged his mostly white crowd of supporters to go to polling places in “certain areas” on Election Day to “watch” the voters there. He also repeatedly complained about having a “bum mic” at the first presidential debate and wondered if he should have done another season of “The Apprentice.”…
The rally started more than an hour and 40 minutes late because heavy fog delayed Trump’s arrival. His supporters grew tired of his looping musical playlist, at one point chanting: “Turn it off! Turn it off!”
When Trump finally took the stage, it was clear that he was worked up about something as he quickly rushed through his usual talking points…
Trump yelled at the media to show his crowd, which he said would make for “better television,” pledged to win Pennsylvania and called supporters of international trade “blood suckers.”
“Oh, I could be doing the ‘Apprentice’ right now,” Trump said at one point, seeming to harken back to a happier time in his life. “I loved it — 14 seasons. How good was that? Tremendous success. They wanted to extend — I could be doing the ‘Apprentice’ now. Somehow I think this is a little bit more important. Do we agree? Just a little bit?”
As he spoke, dozens of people left the rally early, tired from standing for hours and hoping to beat the traffic. Those who remained leaned against walls, barricades and each other. One woman rubbed her knees. Another took a phone call: “I’m still here… He started an hour and a half late… I’ll call you whenever we get out of here.”
“I didn’t need to do this, folks,” Trump said of his candidacy. “Believe me. This is tough work… This is hard work. Believe me, folks. This is hard work.”…
Guy is unravelling right before the crowd’s eyes, but the GOP is still determined to drag his bloated carcass around for another six weeks, because what else have they got?
Late Night Scary Theatre Open Thread: Trump on A TearPost + Comments (192)