If the press conference Donald Trump called yesterday was designed to contrast his accessibility with his opponent’s stage-managed exclusiveness, that was achieved the moment he approached the lectern. As a tactic, it was a savvy move. And yet, it’s hard to say the press conference was a success. In the new dynamics of the 2024 presidential race, the age issue that once favored Trump has become his Achilles’ heel.
It was clear from the outset of Trump’s press conference that the whole point of the exercise was to hold one. He emerged from the bowels of his Florida country club to first deliver a statement about nothing in particular. But as he rattled off a list of the “bad things coming up” for this country — a litany that ranged from “a depression of the 1929 variety” to “a world war” — he managed to summon none of the passion that should accompany such dire warnings. He was enervated and breathy. He appeared to lose his train of thought mid sentence. He struggled to find a period that would signal the conclusion of a coherent observation.
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