Trump’s speech started off well, Naughton says. “The retelling of his near-death experience was powerful and lent him some vulnerability and humility.”
But then the wheels began to fall off.
“The speech devolved into a typical Trump rally: a long set of criticisms, hyperbole and vague promises. Round and round he went, with nobody knowing when he would stop.”
Trump failed to put “real meat on the bone" of this policy proposals. For instance, he went “jabbering on” about “right to try” without “explaining what it is (it’s the use of experimental drugs in emergency situations).”
Trump made some good points. But, writes Naughton, they “were stranded in a morass of repeated catchphrases and riffing. That speech was a momentum-killer and a stupendously lost opportunity.”
Trump continues to lead in the polls but it’s not because of anything he’s doing. His campaign has been “coasting on Biden’s bad news buffet, and coasting is no way to win an election.”
Read the op-ed at TheHill.com.
