Trump's 11 craziest closing arguments to voters

With less than a week to go until voting ends in the 2020 election, Donald Trump’s pitch to voters as to why they should give him a second term has grown increasingly erratic and scattered.

Trump’s lack of a consistent message is not helping his faltering reelection bid.

Polls show him losing to Democratic nominee Joe Biden by nearly double digits nationally, and traditionally Republican states such as Arizona, Georgia, and Texas are in play.

Here are 11 of the craziest things Trump has said as he campaigns in the run-up to Nov. 3.

Saying he wants the Supreme Court to strike down Obamacare

In the middle of the deadliest pandemic in a generation, Trump told “60 Minutes” reporter Lesley Stahl that he wants the Supreme Court to strike down the Affordable Care Act — a move that would cause more than 20 million people to lose their health insurance coverage.

“I hope they end it,” Trump said.

Trump said that he wants the court to invalidate the health care law as polling shows it is as popular as it’s ever been.

Getting rid of the law would allow insurance companies to charge people with preexisting conditions more for coverage, or deny them coverage altogether. It would also eliminate Medicaid expansion that currently covers 12.5 million Americans.

Trump has said repeatedly he has a better health care plan, but he has never released one. Rather, he’s tried to pass off executive orders that carry no legal weight as a health care plan.

Saying the country is ’rounding the turn’ with the COVID-19 pandemic as cases skyrocket

Trump has consistently been telling his supporters at his campaign rallies — which straight up ignore public health guidelines intended to stop the spread of the coronavirus — that the United States is “rounding the turn” on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yet as he says this, the numbers of cases are rising at their highest rates ever, with hospitals in the Midwest facing overcrowding.

Deaths from the virus also continue to rise by the hundreds each day, with more than 226,000 people in the United States now dead of it — the highest rate of any country.

Bragging about his ‘packed’ superspreader rallies that are hurting his popularity with voters

Trump’s signature campaign rallies, which in 2016 were viewed as a sign of his support, may actually be hurting his standing in 2020.

At a Tuesday rally in Michigan, he bragged about the size of the crowds at these super spreader events.”In Pennsylvania — was incredible. The crowds were incredible, like this, they’re all packed,” he said.

But a poll conducted by the Democratic super PAC Priorities USA shows the rallies, at which his supporters crowd together without masks, often in violation of state regulations aimed at stopping the spread of the virus, are actually hurting Trump’s standing with voters, making them feel less favorable toward him.

And data shows that after Trump holds these rallies, including in states like Wisconsin, which is currently experiencing a massive outbreak that threatens to overrun state hospitals, the number of new coronavirus cases rises.

Telling people they shouldn’t be afraid of a virus that’s killed more than 226,000

Trump tweeted on Oct. 3 that he had tested positive for the coronavirus and was hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Upon his release from the hospital, Trump was flippant about the virus, telling people they should not let it “dominate” their lives or be “afraid” of it — even though it’s killed more than a quarter-million Americans, with hundreds more dying each day.

Of course, Trump received the best medical treatment in the world on the taxpayer’s dime, including experimental treatments not available to the general public.

Polling after Trump’s remarks found a majority of voters were still afraid that a family member might contract the virus.

Saying it should be illegal to report on the virus

Trump has been raging about the dominance of the coronavirus in news coverage, as polls continue to show Americans overwhelmingly disapprove of his handling of the pandemic.

In fact, he is so mad that the newest surge in virus cases is in the news that he said it should be illegal for reporters to cover it, tweeting: “Should be an election law violation!”

Spreading conspiracy theories

Trump and his allies continue to spread debunked conspiracy theories about Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden to try to move the media narrative away from Trump’s coronavirus failures.

However, even conservative outlets like the Wall Street Journal wouldn’t report on some of the baseless conspiracies, according to a report from New York Times. Instead, Trump allies were forced to bring it to the New York Post, where some reporters refused to have their byline on the story because they did not believe it was credible.

Making fun of people without college degrees

At a rally in Pennsylvania on Monday, Trump mocked Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s intelligence, questioning whether the New York Democratic lawmaker had a college degree.

“She did go to college, right?” Trump said.

Questioning the intelligence of someone based on whether they have a college education is an odd choice given that Trump’s largest base of support is white voters without college degrees.

Making racist and sexist pitches to suburban women

As suburban women turn away from Trump in droves, he has made desperate appeals to win them back.

But his messaging is falling flat.

In August he said he would keep “low-income housing” from “invading” their neighborhoods by eliminating Obama-era fair housing regulations.

And he told women at a rally in Michigan on Tuesday that he would get their unemployed husbands’ jobs back.

“Your husbands, they want to get back to work, right? They want to get back to work. We’re getting your husbands back to work. And everybody wants it,” Trump said.

Women have been the ones hit hardest by the coronavirus’ effect on the economy and the workplace.

That’s because the industries in which many women work — such as restaurants, hospitality, and health care — have seen more job losses than other areas, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS also reported that women bore the brunt of child care responsibilities as day care facilities and schools closed to stop the spread of the virus.

Offering free stuff to older people, then not delivering on it

Another group that has abandoned Trump is older Americans, the most reliable voting bloc in the country.

In an effort to win that segment of the electorate back, Trump has pandered to them by telling them that he, too, is a senior, and has tried to bribe them for their vote by saying he was going to give all seniors $200 cards to buy prescription drugs.

Trump could never unilaterally give out free money to people without congressional approval, and there’s been no sign that such cards will ever be issued.

Another situation unlikely to help him win back the senior vote was the debacle at a Trump rally in Omaha Tuesday night, after which several older people in the crowd were treated or transported to hospitals after coming down with hypothermia as they were stranded in the freezing weather waiting to get buses back to parking lots.

Saying kids being held in immigrant prisons are OK because the facilities are clean

At the last presidential debate, Trump defended his administration’s family separation program at the border, which has led to the separation of 545 immigrant children from parents who can now not be located.

Saying he didn’t actually want to go to Pennsylvania but had to because he needs its votes

At a campaign rally last week in Erie, Pennsylvania, Trump lamented that he didn’t actually want to be there but had to visit because he needs to win the state.

Trump said: “Before the plague came in, I had it made. I wasn’t coming to Erie. I have to be honest. There was no way I was coming. I didn’t have to. We had this thing won, we were so far up, we had the greatest economy ever, greatest jobs, greatest everything. And then we got hit with the plague and I had to go back to work. Hello, Erie, can I please have your vote?”

It’s a bold strategy to tell voters in a critical swing state that he didn’t actually want to see them.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.