From “dogs eat dogs” and “childless cat ladies”: Trump is back in the White House

We know when US presidential campaigns end, but not always when they begin. That’s how things are in a seriously divided country. THE Donald Trump he is the ultimate winner.

And while it’s unclear when the campaign began –either by presenting Trump’s candidacy in November 2022 or with Joe Biden’s announcement in April next year that he will run for re-election – it is possible to determine its turning point: On June 27, when a debate was held in Atlanta that pitted the two candidates against each other. It was there that we all became aware of Biden’s physical and mental abilities, which resulted in him withdrawing from the race.

That day marks the beginning of this journey through the most memorable comments of the strangest… campaign in recent history. A crazy rollercoaster ride with twists as unexpected as the decision not to seek re-election for the president for the first time in half a century, two assassination attempts and the meteoric rise of a candidate few initially trusted. The reason for Kamala Harris.

“We finally beat Medicare”

Eleven minutes into that night in Atlanta, Biden was lost in a maze of his own making, a speech that made no sense and boiled down to nonsense: “We finally beat Medicare”he said, referring to the public health system, while wanting to talk about the pandemic. “I don’t think he even knows what he’s talking about”Trump said after a moment.

It was a disastrous night, which ended up being summed up in one word: panic. That’s what the Democrats felt when they saw their “captain” hit an iceberg. Voices calling for his resignation, from media editorials to commentators, from party bigwigs to minors, ended up twisting the candidate’s arm, and Biden announced he was abandoning his efforts in a letter released on July 22 at X: “It is in the interest of my party and the country that I resign,” he wrote.

“Fight, fight, fight!”

On July 13, the unthinkable happened: a bullet fired by a sniper, Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old whose motives remain unclear, missed Trump by 0.6 centimeters. Several agents of the Secret Service, who were responsible for the security of the former president and who that day failed in their mission, ran to cover him with their bodies. Within seconds, Trump became a hero. He raised his fist and shouted to the crowd: “Fight, fight, fight!” This phrase – like dozens of other Trump statements “born” from improvisation – became a slogan of his campaign and a rallying cry for his followers.

The childless ladies with the cats…

That line really deserves a mention, given the notoriety it gained within days of Trump announcing the nomination of JD Vance. The statement comes from a 2021 interview with then-Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson.

Vance campaigned for his Senate seat and complained that the United States is run by a cabal of Democrats, corporate oligarchs and “a bunch of childless, cat-loving ladies who are unhappy with their lives and the choices they’ve made, and thus want to make the rest of the country unhappy.” His misogynistic reference caused a stir on social media – and beyond – and became an ideal slogan for T-shirts of women who are proud of their decisions.

“dog eat”

On September 10, the first and only debate between the candidates took place. It ended with a clear victory for Harris. The two candidates were debating immigration when Trump pulled off a miracle and spouted (in front of 60 million people watching) a baseless conspiracy theory circulated by accounts linked to a neo-Nazi group. According to this theory, Haitians living in Springfield, Ohio eat their neighbors’ pets. “They eat the dogs, the people who came, they eat the cats. They eat the pets of the people who live there and it’s happening in our country and it’s a shame.”Trump said.

“I’m not just a MAGA, I’m a dark MAGA”

The strangest addition to Trump’s campaign involves the world’s richest man, Elon Musk. Not only has he donated generously to his “buddy” (at least $75 million), but the owner of Tesla, SpaceX, and X has held rallies in Pennsylvania, the mother of all critical states. Before taking to the streets, he accompanied the candidate on October 5, where the first attempt on Trump’s life took place. Musk stormed in, dressed in black, and said: “I’m not just MAGA, I’m dark MAGA.” “MAGA’ is, of course, an acronym for ‘Make America Great Again’, the great slogan of Trumpism, which calls for the return of a supposed lost greatness to the United States. So now we’ll see it in action…