Some of Donald Trump’s closest allies would reportedly love it if he could cool it with the unhinged conspiracy theories, antisemitic attacks, misogynistic outbursts, and otherwise insane remarks that regularly come out of his mouth. It’s an extremely big ask, given that unhinged conspiracy theories, antisemitic attacks, misogynistic outbursts, and otherwise insane remarks have long made up about 98% of the things he says. Asking him to dial those things back would be like asking Jeffrey Dahmer to take a break from eating people. But, they’re trying!
Politico reports that earlier this month, GOP mega-donor Steve Wynn, a longtime friend of the ex-president, told Trump his recent talking points—which have included patently false allegations that Haitian immigrants are eating cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio—have been hugely unhelpful and that Trump would be better off focusing on actual policy issues, according to people familiar with the conversation. Wynn’s view is said to be echoed by more than a dozen Trump allies who, per Politico, have “described the former president as reaching a crossroads—faced with the choice of continuing with the missteps that have overtaken the past several weeks of his campaign or embracing a more calculated approach aimed at appealing to a small subset of undecided voters who are likely to sway the outcome of the election.” (In a text message to the outlet, Wynn claimed the description of his chat with Trump was “inaccurate,” though he did not respond to additional requests for comment.)
Ridiculous conspiracy theories concerning immigrants abducting and eating people’s cats and dogs are, of course, not the only offensive, unfocused comments that have come out of Trump’s mouth of late. In response to Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris, he took to Truth Social and wrote, “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!”—sounding more like a hormonal tweenager than someone who wants to be leader of the free world. He’s also come under immense fire for palling around with far-right activist Laura Loomer—who recently wrote on X that a win by Harris, who is partly of Indian descent, would lead to the White House smelling “like curry” and White House speeches being “facilitated via a call center.” (Not helping matters: Trump’s decision to include Loomer in his entourage during 9/11 events, despite the fact that she once claimed the terrorist attack was an “inside job.”) And, never one to pass up an opportunity for an antisemitic tirade, the ex-president declared last week—at an event about combating antisemitism—that if he loses in November, Jews will be to blame.
“Trump is strongest when he is talking about what people care about the most: the economy, immigration, crime, trade, the Trump core messages,” Republican strategist David Urban told Politico. “When he gets distracted and goes in different directions, it’s less helpful. Every day we’re not talking about those issues, we’re letting Harris go untouched.”
