In the age of Marjorie Taylor Green, is Trump really unconventional anymore?

Created
Sun, 26/03/2023 - 05:00
Updated
Sun, 26/03/2023 - 05:00
Undisciplined yes, unconventional? Not anymore: Just a week ago, former President Trump’s team was touting his more disciplined approach to campaigning. But now there’s a more familiar Trump: an angry, scorched-earth force on social media, trying to rally his base by casting himself as a victim. Trump’s tirades on Truth Social over his potential indictment in New York were filled with the type of incendiary rhetoric that preceded the Jan. 6 insurrection — and symbolized the colliding forces inside his campaign. Those forces pit a fiery candidate who’s a social media bulldozer when he feels wronged, vs. the more measured, policy focused ex-president his staff has been hoping to show voters. “The Trump campaign team knows the former president’s candidacy has to be more than a stream of consciousness and listing of grievances,” said Ken Spain, an adviser to George W. Bush’s 2004 presidential campaign. “But no matter how hard they try to build a structure around him, Trump will be Trump.” Trump called Alvin Bragg — the Manhattan district attorney weighing charges against Trump over alleged hush money paid to a porn star — an “animal” who “doesn’t care about right or wrong.” He also called for protests and warned of violence in a way that many people saw as encouraging it: “Our country is being destroyed, as they tell us to be peaceful!” Bragg on Friday was threatened with assassination in a letter containing non-hazardous white powder, CNBC reported.  Trump’s social media posts this week reflect a Trump Truth: When he…