Inside the ‘Weave’: How Donald Trump’s Rhetoric Got Darker and Windier

DULUTH, Ga. (AP) — Since 2015, no scene has dominated U.S. politics like Donald Trump on stage, broadcasting for over an hour to a chorus of red hats, “Make America Great Again.”

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump arrives at a Turning Point Action campaign rally Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in Duluth, Ga. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard hugs Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump as Tucker Carlson shouts during a campaign rally Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in Duluth, Ga. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump watches a campaign rally Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in Duluth, Ga. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Supporters listen during a campaign rally with former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in Duluth, Ga. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at the Turning Point Action rally Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in Duluth, Ga. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Brittany and Jason Aldean listen as Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at the Turning Point Action campaign event Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in Duluth, Ga. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The routine of the stream of consciousness, the interruption of one thought by the next, is not a polemic that Cicero or Lincoln would have recognized. The former president and Republican candidate calls his speaking style a “weave,” which ranges from dystopian warnings to light-hearted stories and political statements.

“You give a speech and my speeches are long because of the interweaving, you know, I mean, I weave stories into them,” Trump explained to popular podcaster Joe Rogan last week. “If you don’t — if you just read the teleprompter, nobody’s going to be very excited. You have to weave it. So you—but you always have to—as you said, you always have to go right back to work. Otherwise, it is not suitable. But weaving is very, very important. There are very few weavers around. But it’s a big load on your… you know, it’s a big… it’s a lot of work. It’s a lot of work.”

In recent weeks, his the third presidential campaignTrump’s presentation has become as disjointed as ever and noticeably darker. But the crowds keep coming, cheering his nationalist populism, laughing at insults and chanting, fists raised, with his gracious promises to make America strong, proud, healthy, rich and, of course, great again.

Although Trump’s speeches were never the same, they all used consistent techniques and themes. He has humor, bragging, anecdotes, insults and big promises. There are non sequiturs, fantastic falsehoods and sharp attacks on opponents. He sprinkles vulgarisms and superlatives. There are even random quotes from teleprompters that he mocks when any other politician uses them — and then claims he doesn’t use or need teleprompters.

vice president Kamala HarrisTrump’s Democratic opponent, is encouraging voters to see him in person, suggesting it only confirms he’s unstable and unfit for the job. Other critics have compared his extended display to authoritarian leaders. Or they claim that the “entanglement” is just a cover for the cognitive decline of the 78-year-old man, who will become the oldest newly-inducted US president in history.

Here is a “fabric” study conducted one evening last week in suburban Atlanta.

An epic exit and enough details – even lies – testify to that

Perhaps the most important moment is Trump’s entrance. His walk-up music, reminiscent of his brief stint as a pro wrestling promoter, is “God Bless The USA” by Lee Greenwood. The former president stands on stage, silent and serious, while the crowd sings along.

On a the recent Turning Point Rally USA in Duluth, Georgia, pyrotechnics and large video screens surrounding him at center stage added to the effect as his image towered over the crowd. Trump looked at thousands of cellphones recording the spectacle.

With the final notes of Greenwood’s opening anthem, Trump immediately relaxed and praised his audience as “thousands of proud, hard-working Americans and patriots that you are.”

Then, in a more formal tone, he seemed to move on to the prompters: “I would like to start with a very simple question. Are you better off now than you were four years ago?”

It’s a famous question that Republican Ronald Reagan used to defeat Democratic incumbent Jimmy Carter in 1980, and Trump is using it as a way to connect Harris with the president Joe Biden. But as soon as the crowd in Duluth chanted “no,” Trump switched to sweeping promises, hyperbole and great words that doubled as indictments of Biden and Harris.

“I will end inflation. I will stop the invasion of criminals into our country,” he promised, suggesting that all migrants are criminals.

“We are going to fix our nation fast,” he said. “America will be bigger, better, bolder, richer, safer, and stronger than ever before. This election is a choice between whether we have four more years of incompetence, failure and disaster, or whether we begin four of the greatest years in the history of our country.”

Biden and Harris aren’t just bad, in Trump’s parlance. He called them “the worst president” and “the worst vice president.” Harris, he warned, “will destroy your family’s finances forever.” He accuses only Harris of “open borders,” taking liberties with immigration and crime statistics and falsely suggesting that the vice president has sole control over U.S. immigration policy.

He said Harris “didn’t get the votes” — a reference to her becoming the Democratic nominee after Biden dropped out in the party primaries. “Therefore,” Trump insisted, “she’s a threat to democracy” — Trump’s staple projecting his most aggressive attacks against him on his opponents.

By the time he was done in Duluth, he derided Harris as a “low-IQ person” and a “stupid person.”

Thousands laughed at every board.

Transitions and precision are never needed

Trump does not speak in a linear pattern, building to a crescendo. From his initial attacks on Harris, he moved on to expressions of sympathy for the victims of Hurricane Helen, before moving sharply to one of his favorite topics: his social standing.

“Our hearts are with you and we are praying for you — the election, no matter what. Polls,” he said. “Do you see what’s going on here? It’s Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee? And Georgia. Polls. Polls are going through the roof.”

Moments later, during an audible lull, he dropped his trademark “MAGA” catchphrase to cheers.

“What a fine crowd!” he replies with a laugh. “What a fine crowd.”

He returned to the prompter for numbers describing the impact of inflation on US households. He asked if I should sue CBS and “60 Minutes” for manipulating what he called Harris’ interview responses, which were “from a mental institution.”

“This is election meddling and fraud,” he said as he made the charges, which are part of the criminal charges against him.

Trump mocked Harris for saying she would raise taxes, but dismissed her proposals as generic. (It targets corporations and the wealthiest individuals.) Trump’s 2017 tax cut, he said, was “the biggest tax cut in history.” (At best, a charitable interpretation that ignores inflation.)

However, specifics are not the main thing

Timothy and Amanda Browning came to different conclusions about Trump’s style after driving from their mountain town of Lula, Georgia, to attend their first Trump rally.

“I liked it because it shows how real he is,” Timothy Browning said. “There are lulls, but you have to stick with it because there’s always a wave coming.”

Amanda Browning laughed as she recalled leaning over to her husband to whisper that Trump was “definitely going to need a speechwriter.”

Nevertheless, the co-owners of the event space and restaurant business in Lula have reaffirmed their loyalty to the former president.

Timothy was wearing a T-shirt with a sexist slur on Harris, coined by some conservatives after Biden named her as his 2020 running mate. However, Browning said he does not see himself, Trump or the former president’s supporters as evil.

Instead, the Brownings bet on Trump’s first-term economy and his promise of an encore. When talking about their business, they mentioned a specific price increase they’ve seen since inflation during the pandemic. They weren’t interested in supply chain disruptions due to the pandemic or Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which rocked global oil markets. Trump, they said, managed a better situation for them than Biden and, by extension, Harris.

Timothy Browning summed up his conclusion in the words of Trump.

“I hear him,” said Browning, “putting America first.”