" That is unearthly behavior . And I do n’t think you call it anything else . It is simply what we ’re keep . "
I do n’t cognise who in the Kamala Harris movement was behind the strategy to call Donald Trump and JD Vance “ uncanny ” but I can not remember the last metre something so simple has had the total right backstage this spark off . They are truly plug atmosphere .
And if you haven’t…well, let me explain!
It arguably started when Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (who people havespeculatedmight be a VP pick for Harris) went on MSNBC last week andsaid, “These are weird people on the other side.”
I ’m telling you : these guys are weird.pic.twitter.com/fvNRNf7T7 tonne
Note: He’s been calling conservatives weird since February.
I ’m narrate you : These guys are just weird.https://t.co/mLGrh7l6lY
The phrase stuck and kinda started a moment. The Harris campaign co-opted the sentiment in a press release that asked, “Is Donald Trump ok?” and “Trump is old and quite weird?”
Did a two-fold take to check that this was a veridical press release . " Trump is old and quite weird ? " is kind of genius.pic.twitter.com/e4SIP4ittY
And then the campaign released another one, which declared “JD Vance is weird” in its first sentence, with “JD Vance Is A Creep (Who Wants To Ban Abortion Nationwide)” as the headline.
Yes . This is a real pressure dismission from our campaign : " JD Vance is a spook . JD Vance is unearthly . “pic.twitter.com/2xIqa20OL0
Noticing that calling conservatives “weird” was taking off, this week, CNN’s Jake TapperaskedTim Walz, “Why do you think weird is a more effective attack line against Trump than what Democrats have done previously, which is argue that he’s an existential threat to democracy?”
As Tapper and others have pointed out, the shift in messaging haschanged dramaticallysince Biden dropped out and Harris became the presumed Democratic nominee.
visualize : The overnight shift in tone when the Biden safari became the Harris campaign . It ’s the same staffer writing these statements.pic.twitter.com/yI6q6D7JsF
Somesaythe new messaging has been “much more effective” than the previous “when they go low we go high” messaging.
I ’m so glad Democrats have moved on from “ When they go low we go high ” to “ lol aspect at this loser ” … much more effective messagingpic.twitter.com/q9a44IgBIy
This personsaidit’s a better strategy because “moralizing at” conservatives doesn’t work.
we joke but for genuine laughing at trump supporter and telling republicans how weird they are is actually a better strategy than waggle our fingers and sermonise at them . they do not care about morals , that does n’t work — but no one likes to be laughed at
Basically, “meeting them at their level” is working.
i do kinda love that the right was so used to dems bend the other cheek/“when they go abject we go high ” that now that people are refusing to prosecute that way and direct up call them weird / meeting them at their level they are having conniptions and crying for politeness lol
In response to Tapper’s question, Walzsaidremoving some of the scariness from communication (like Trumpputting women’s rights at riskandconstitutional libertiesat stake) and just naming it what it is — weird behavior — takes away some of Trump’s credit and power. He said, “Listen to the guy. He’s talking about Hannibal Lecter and shocking sharks and just whatever crazy thing pops into his mind, and I [think] we just give him way too much credit. I think one of the things is [to] just ratchet down some of the scariness and just name it what it is.”
Gov.@Tim_Walz : It ’s dead on target that Donald Trump is going to put women ’s liveliness at jeopardy and require to cease constitutional liberties . But also just listen to the guy . He ’s talking about Hannibal Lecter and fry shark . Have you ever seen the guy laugh ? If he has laughed , it ’s at…pic.twitter.com/pDFX21kqp0
He continued, “I’ve got to tell you. My observation on this is: Have you ever seen the guy laugh? That seems very weird to me that an adult can go through six and a half years of being in the public eye, if he has laughed, it’s at someone, not with someone. That is weird behavior. And I don’t think you call it anything else. It is simply what we’re observing.”
In further response to the new communication tactic, Harris supporters are standing behind the strategy.This sociology professorsaid thatmaking fun of fascists has worked in history because they “cannot deal with being laughed at.”
I had a prof in undergrad whose country of expertise was modern European history , and one of the thing he always emphasized , with total earnestness , is that you should always make fun of Fascists , because the one thing they utterly can not deal with is being laughed at.https://t.co/TrAFVo9qDj
This has proved somewhat true for the conservative media — they are NOT having it with the “weird” remarks.
For instance, Fox News has beendissectingandrebukingthe remark incessantly:
…and J.D. Vance visibly cringed before answering a Fox News reporter whoasked, “There’s a new insult that her [Harris] and her husband have been using, calling you weird. Does that hurt your feelings?”
On Twitter, Vivek Ramaswamycalledthe “they’re weird” argument “dumb” and “juvenile” and compared it to a “high school prom queen contest”:
This whole “ they ’re unearthly ” argument from the Democrats is dumb & juvenile . This is a presidential election , not a gamey school prom queen contest . It ’s also a shade ironic number from the party that preaches “ variety & inclusion . ” get ahead on insurance policy if you’re able to , but cut the Irish bull please .
In response, userspointedout that Trump is playing the same game:
Vivek say “ rationalise the crap ” while Trump is workshopping 69 different nicknames for Kamala Harris is also weird .
Dumb and crashing juvenile person ? Trump literally jokes about the size of his dick on internal TV . Also if you got ta say your are n’t weird- I receive bad tidings for ya .
AOC chimed in,writing, “Being obsessed with repressing women is goofy. Trying to watch what LGBTQ+ people do all the time is abnormal. Punishing people who don’t have biological offspring is creepy. It’s an incel platform, dude. It’s SUPER weird. And people need to know.”
Being obsess with repressing women is goofy . taste to watch what LGBTQ+ people do all the time is unnatural . punish people who do n’t have biologic offspring is creepy . It ’s an incel weapons platform , dude . It ’s SUPER weird . And people need to know.https://t.co/vgDeM9e7pU
And as othershave pointed out, some conservatives who are rebuking the “weird” claims are doubling down by being even weirder. Like this lady who said calling people weird is a “feminine behavior”:
how did this oeuvre so well they ’re fucking flailinghttps://t.co/A346soxMHP
Or when Ben Shapiro argued that Harris hanging with the cast ofRuPaul’s Drag Racewas “substantially weirder than anything Vance has ever done”:
It ’s so funny that the only conservativist that are fighting back against the unearthly allegations are in the weird people hall of fame.https://t.co/88xIYNoMYg
As this person said, “it’s genuinely amazing that in response to being called weird, conservatives keep saying the oddest shit.”
it ’s genuinely awesome that in response to being called unearthly , conservatives keep saying the oddest shit.https://t.co/Skr8NOVihf
Conservatives have alsoattemptedto fire back by calling the left weird, but Democrats have argued it’s not the same thing:
There ’s a difference between " ananas on pizza " weird and " ca n’t stop talking about sterilisation and birth rates " weird.https://t.co/Ta4CzZK4uC
it ’s weird to be transphobic . it ’s weird to be anti - abortion . it ’s weird to be afraid of drag queens . it ’s weird to call people DEI hires . it ’s weird to get radicalize by youtube . it ’s weird to require to make it harder for citizenry to disassociate . it ’s all blinking weirdo behavior .
y' all there ’s weird like " has a massive collection of postage stamp " and there ’s weird like " cover your swallow when he ’s nearby at the legal profession " and we are not lecture about the seal here
you are trying to conflate “ early era wes anderson character ” weird with “ cousin who does n’t get ask in to thanksgiving because you have to ensure he ’s not left alone with your fourteen year older niece ” weird and it ’s not gon na workhttps://t.co/WpTfzwkBcx
JD Vance is like when your friend brings a newfangled person to a party and he spends the whole fourth dimension saying weird and provocative thing to seem cool and get attention . You smile and nod , and when your friend leave you deplume him away and go , “ Never get that junky around again . ”
Welp, whatever it takes!
