If Democrats can’t make the nation fear Donald Trump, they have decided that perhaps they can persuade voters to laugh at him instead.
For more than four years, under the leadership of President Biden, the party built up Mr. Trump as a supreme threat: powerful, brutal and, if not invincible, at least supremely resilient — like some kind of comic-book mutant who couldn’t stay slain.
Then, over the course of two ebullient nights at the Democratic convention in Chicago, on Monday and again on Tuesday, party leaders old and new tried a new tack.
They made fun of their foe, relentlessly, mercilessly and almost always with a good laugh.
The shift appeared meant to zero in on one of Mr. Trump’s best-known vulnerabilities: If there is one thing he cannot countenance, it is not being taken seriously.
On Tuesday, Michelle Obama, the former first lady who once famously declared, “When they go low, we go high,” took a blowtorch to Mr. Trump, singeing him over the Republican Party’s recent obsession with affirmative action and its latest incarnation, diversity, equity and inclusion.
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Democrats have determined that if they can’t make people fear Donald Trump, maybe they can get people to laugh at him.
Under the direction of President Biden, the party elevated Mr. Trump into an enormous threat for more than four years. He was vicious, strong, and, if not unstoppable, at least incredibly resilient — like a mutant from a comic book that was too strong to kill.
Then, party leaders both old and new tried a new strategy over the course of two wild nights at the Democratic convention in Chicago, on Monday and again on Tuesday. They constantly, ruthlessly, and nearly always with a good laugh, made fun of their opponent.
It seemed that the change was intended to focus on one of Mr. Trump’s most well-known weaknesses: if there is something he cannot accept, it is not being taken seriously.
Michelle Obama, the former first lady who famously said, “When they go low, we go high,” gave Mr. Trump a hard time on Tuesday by criticizing the Republican Party’s recent fixation with affirmative action and its most recent iteration, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Mr. Trump, the affluent real estate developer’s son, was granted the privilege of “failing forward” by Ms. Obama’s “affirmative action of generational wealth.”. “.
She reminded the audience of Mr. Trump’s golden escalator in his Manhattan tower when she said, “If we see a mountain in front of us, we don’t expect there to be an escalator waiting to take us to the top.”.
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