The Trump shtick grew old.

Less kind. Less Gentle.

Part of Trump's appeal was plain talk. He sounded authentic. Now he seems divisive.

Even Southern Republicans see which way the wind is blowing. 

Trump doesn't sound like a politician. Politicians speak carefully. They try not to offend. They try to be agreeable. In Trump's case, it is like a piano with two keyboards. There is teleprompter-Trump and there is the extemporaneous-Trump, which is the real Trump, the plain talker. 


Trump is settling into the themes of his campaign. One theme is a version of the proverbial fish story--the extraordinary economy that got away. The fish was almost in the net, but then China. Or the WHO. Or Democratic hoax-mongers. Or scientist worry-warts. 

His problem is that there is a growing consensus that Trump himself is to blame. Dr. Fauci is more credible than Trump, and most credible of all are local health departments and hospitals. Case loads are rising in swing states Arizona and Florida so their economies need to retreat. 

Trump has gone back to the tried and true, formula of attacking enemies. Now they are enemies within America, the radical socialist haters of the Democratic left. This might work. PC culture, street violence, and statue-toppling give Trump ammunition. It worked for Richard Nixon in 1968 and 1972. 

But Trump has a problem: Biden is no revolutionary. Biden looks and sounds like an old fashioned sentimental guy, too attached to our history and traditions, not a hater of them. He is so sentimental and old fashioned that he found nice things to say about Strom Thurmond at his funeral, and got criticized for it. Biden is a singularly poor target to turn into a scary revolutionary.   

The real problem is Trump himself. The true, authentic Trump is not a sentimental guy, generous of spirit, a good sport. Trump never pretended to be Mr. Nice Guy. His base likes his no holds barred approach. They are okay with Trump saying Obama committed treason and wearing "Hillary for Prison" tee shirts. They cheer when he says protesters are "stone cold crazy." 

Other Republicans realize that this is turning voters off.

Governor Bill Lee of Tennessee  just agreed to take down the statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest from the State Capital. Forrest was a Confederate General and KKK leader. 

Lee said, “Forrest represents pain and suffering and brutal crimes committed against African Americans, and that pain is very real for our fellow Tennesseans." 

Leave aside what it was doing there in 2020. What is important is that at long last, in this moment, a Republican governor bends with the wind and a statue of a KKK leader and Confederate general gets moved. 

And in Georgia. This ad features Senator David Perdue, the incumbent Republican, who now faces a tough race. Perdue, like Trump, is running against a straw man of "radical leftists" rather than his actual opponent. "I will not let John Ossoff destroy the American dream for our children and our grandchildren." Tough accusation.

Watch: 30 seconds. 

Click: Perdue ad

Notice how different this is from Trump. He sounds inclusive, not divisive. "We are the shining city on the hill. It is up to us to defend. . .  Economic opportunity for everybody."  Hear his voice. It is the same game as Trump but with a sincere and concerned tone, not an angry one.

Trump is Trump. Uncompromising. Not kind, not gentle. It may be what his base wants, but it may be past its pull date for people outside the base. They are tired of angry.

 Democratic voters had every chance to vote for disruption, but instead voted for Sleepy Joe. They wanted peace, not revolution. Swing voters, too, if the polls are right.

Other Republicans feel the wind and are bending with it. Not Trump.