“We Will Root Out the Communists”: Trump’s Troubles and Inflammatory Language Might Lose Him the 2024 Election

William FurneyNov 29, 2023

Minute Read

Donald Trump’s incendiary rhetoric and myriad of legal problems might turn some swing voters off the former president in next year’s presidential election — and opt for President Biden instead, a political analyst has said.

2024 Line-Up

The 2024 presidential election is less than a year away — next November 5 — but it’s shaping up to be a rematch of the controversial 2020 election that Trump lost to Biden. Both men are leading their respective parties in national polling: Trump with around 60 percent Republican voter support and Biden about 70 percent support from Democrats.

Swing-State Lead

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Both Biden and Trump are about equal in national polling, when voters are asking who they would choose in 2024. But polls also show that Trump has the edge in five of six crucial swing states, including Iowa and New Hampshire, that could decide the election outcome.

Biden’s Popularity Slump

But President Biden’s approval rating is at an historic low, of 38.9 percent, according to an average of polls compiled by aggregator site FiveThirtyEight. He is losing support, analysts say, over his unflinching support for Israel as it conducts a devastating war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza that has left around 12,000 Palestinians dead and created a humanitarian catastrophe.

Biden’s Age Issue

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The incumbent is also facing calls to step down from the next presidential race, due to his advanced age. Biden is 81 and has recently stumbled on stage, tripped on the steps of Air Force One and been incoherent and rambling in speeches and comments to reporters. Polling shows most Americans, including Democrats and Republicans, want a younger candidate and eventual next president. Trump is only a few years younger than Biden, however, at 77, and some say he’s also too old to run again, amid a string of his own, apparently age-related blunders.

Biden Trump-Threat Focus

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President Biden’s re-election team is focusing on what might happen should Trump return to the White House — portraying it as a threat to American democracy that might turn voters off Trump, political analyst Ronald Brownstein writes in The Atlantic magazine.

‘Meet the Moment’

Brownstein points to a recent press release issued by the Biden campaign team that calls on the American media “to meet the moment and responsibly inform the electorate of what their lives might look like if the leading GOP candidate for president is allowed back in the White House.”

‘Think About a Re-Elected Trump’

He writes: “That sentence probably says as much as any internal strategy memo about how Biden’s team plans to win a second term, especially if the president faces a rematch with Trump. With that exhortation the campaign made clear that it wants Americans to focus as much on what Trump would do with power if he’s reelected as on what Biden has done in office.”

Trump ‘Vermin’ Remark

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Trump, 77, has come under fire from all sides, including from some in his Republican Party, for branding political opponents “vermin” in a speech at a recent rally.

Controversial NH Speech

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Trump told a GOP crowd in November: “We pledge to you that we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists, and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country.”

‘Hitler-Like Language’

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Critics pounced on Trump for using words that had echoes of Hitler’s Nazi regime in Germany. He was also accused of using authoritarian language by referencing Hungary’s strongman leader, Viktor Orban, and praising his clampdown on immigration — something Trump intends to do again if he’s elected next year.

Trump’s Other Big Problems

Apart from Trump’s fiery speeches and comments, he is also facing another threat that could see voters potentially choose Biden instead, say analysts: four indictments that carry a total of 91 criminal charges that could see the former president imprisoned for decades.

The Trump Indictments

Trump has been indicted for allegedly trying to overturn the result of the 2020 election that he lost to Biden and prevent the peaceful transfer of power to him. He’s also charged with mishandling of classified government files and for allegedly making hush money payments to a former adult film actress to cover up an alleged affair.

Trump Business at Risk

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As if all that wasn’t enough for the former president to be dealing with, he is also facing the real prospect of losing control of his Trump Organization real estate empire. A trial in New York city has found evidence of fraud being committed by Trump and his adult sons and has revoked some of their licenses to do business in the state. Prosecutors are seeking a fine of at least $250 million.