There was a point when the camera was fixated on Trump, when multiple friends and politicos are texting me in group conversations on the moment we are witnessing, where Trump is appearing publicly for the first time since the assassination attempt, when I caught a snippet of a speech I was hardly focused on.
It was an all out thrashing of corporate America. It was as pro-union as it gets. It singled out Amazon (non-union) and praised UPS (union). And it blended in perfectly to every Democratic National convention I’ve ever watched.
Are you seeing this? I typed.
By then I raised the volume, and the more I heard, the more I was in shock. What the hell is the head of the Teamsters union doing speaking at a Republican convention?
And then the declaration that the Teamsters were not loyal to any party. And my jaw hit the ground.
“Today, the Teamsters are here to say we are not beholden to anyone or any party. We will create an agenda and work with a bipartisan coalition ready to accomplish something real for the American worker.”
Now, it was brilliant on the part of Sean O’Brien, the Teamsters head, to take steps to reach out to everyone. It was a massive statement to Republicans, letting them know votes that were rarely available were now in play. And it was a warning to Democrats, making clear you no longer have every union in lock step.
But it was also a declaration from Trump: we are now on offense. We are not simply sitting back as attacks come in, we are courting demographics and voting blocks that in the past we had no right courting. The two major issues, border security and the economy, Republicans win on. And they know it.
But the biggest indicator that Democrats are now playing defense isn’t just the age and coherence of Joe Biden, its that the issues they have dominated traditionally we now hear nothing of. When’s the last time you heard Democrats talk about healthcare? Childcare? Or any social issues they have dominated?
So while the Democrats fight over Bidens age, Trump, off a near death experience, and the Republicans are now moving into solid Democratic territory that doesn’t seem so solid anymore.
In the same text thread were 2 Democrats and 1 Republican. The Democrats were as depressed as it can get, the Republican elated. I remained shocked at what I was seeing.
Maybe the GOP was actually changing. Or maybe the Democrats just spent far too much time, not just ignoring much of the country, but looking down on them.
Either way, all the momentum is on one side, and time is short to turn this around.