A recent rally speech by Donald Trump in Nassau County, Long Island, left political commentators scratching their heads after the former president launched into an extended, expletive-laden rant about a seemingly fictitious voter named “Harry.”
During his speech, Trump, in his characteristic style, called on “patriotic New Yorkers” to vote, spinning an imagined conversation between a wife and her apparently lazy husband. “Harry, get up Harry, Harry get your fat a– out of the couch,” Trump said in a nagging tone. “You’re gonna vote for Trump today, Harry. Get up, Harry, let’s go.”
The peculiar and foul-mouthed tirade left panelists on CNN This Morning perplexed. Kendra Barkoff, a former press secretary for President Joe Biden, expressed her confusion. “I don’t even know what to do with that,” Barkoff remarked. “I mean, it’s crazy to me. First of all, the swearing is so inappropriate on something like that, but why are you pushing New Yorkers – that is a blue state, so I’m just sort of mind-boggled by the entirety of it.”
Kasie Hunt, the show’s host, added her thoughts on Trump’s choice of language and his apparent insult to potential voters. “I mean, he’s normalized swearing already in our politics,” Hunt said. “But insulting the voters on the couch in the way that they may or may not look.”
Mike Dubke, who briefly served as White House communications director during Trump’s presidency, was equally bewildered by the speech and the mystery surrounding “Harry.”
“I don’t know who Harry is,” Dubke admitted. “I thought that was the question I was going to get. I mean, look, we’ve normalized swearing on the campaign trail. President Biden was swearing left and right in the final days before he dropped out of the race. It is beyond me, I agree with you. We should… let’s get back to, you know, shut the front door instead of using profanity.”
The rally, held in a state where Trump is unlikely to secure many votes, and the bizarre “Harry” story have left both political insiders and the general public wondering what to make of Trump’s message and his strategy as the campaign continues.