I was just watching some of a Trump rally being rerun on Fox News. Donald J. Trump is one of the most talented retail politicians I've watched in a long and somewhat misspent life.
Trump may have a game plan for those hour-and-a-half long, apparently stream-of-consciousness orations of his, but he sure makes it look like he's winging it. He delivers one applause line after another, and talk about mastery of the subject matter, he has it. The crowd is eating it up.
The contrast with shrill and tired Joe Biden couldn't be clearer. Trump gets energy from the crowd, and pumps them up in return. I expect the "Trump rally" will be recorded in the political science pantheon of masterful performances, alongside FDR's radio "fireside chats."
It is populist evangelism, all the way down. Instead of "hallelujah" and "amen" from the crowd, Trump gets "U-S-A," "four more years" and "lock 'em up."
