Searching for voters, Donald Trump goes dark(er) with pre-election rhetoric

WASHINGTON – While telling a crowd of supporters at a recent rally in western Wisconsin about violent crimes committed by immigrants in the U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump interrupted himself to tell attendees that he would get back to talking about "making America great again," just not now.

"We’re going to do that ... don’t worry ... We haven’t gotten to that part yet," Trump said during his Sept. 28 speech in Prairie Du Chien. "No, I’m just saying this is dark. This is a dark speech."

It was one of many in recent weeks.

While Trump has engaged in rough rhetoric since entering politics in 2015 – particularly against migrants – he appears to be ratcheting it up in the final weeks of his third general election campaign. In Trump's comments, political opponents have gone from incompetent to "mentally impaired;" migrants are murderers with "bad genes" and World War III is right around the corner.

According to a New York Times computer analysis, Trump has used 32% "more negative words than positive words now, compared with 21%" in his 2016 campaign. That analysis also cited the increasing length of Trump’s rally speeches, which have averaged 82 minutes in this campaign, compared with 45 minutes in 2016.

Other research reflects the same trend. A UCLA study released in August said that "the former president’s use of violent vocabulary has increased over time."

Trump supporters don't seem to mind the direction of the riffs at Trump's rallies. Some break out into chants of "fight, fight, fight!" echoing the mantra that Trump yelled after a bullet nicked his ear and drew blood during a July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, the first of two assassination attempts against him this election year. One rally attendee, Corey Comperatore, was killed in the attack.

Shane Chesher, 37, a church maintenance worker who attended both the July rally that ended abruptly due to the gun fire and the Oct. 5 reprise in Butler, said Trump has "experienced evil himself" in the form of two assassination attempts. He also said Trump feels obligated to address the many threats the country is facing.

"He's just trying to point out the realities of the situation," Chesher told USA TODAY.

Trump called for unity in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, and during the second event in Butler last weekend, the former president memorialized the victims of the attack. But he also said, "we have an enemy from within, which I think is much more dangerous than the outside enemy."

Also: "We have an evil world, we have a very sick world."

Trump has always been a strident speaker, but he appears to be getting more vehement during his third general election campaign in 2024, said political analysts.

"Trump intensifies his language in response to stress – when he’s feeling like a loser, he gets more aggressive," said Jennifer Mercieca, an historian of American political rhetoric who teaches at Texas A&M University.

Trump and his aides, however, said he is simply telling the truth, calling out things as they are.

"We cannot play games," Trump told supporters Sunday in Juneau, Wisconsin. "I'd like to be nice; I want to be nice; I think I'm a nice person. But we can't ... if we lose this election, this country is finished."

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Trump has taken several avenues as he's recently ramped up his personal attacks against opponents.

Harris and Biden aren't just "incompetent;" they are "mentally impaired,” Trump has said in recent weeks. He has also described Harris as "stupid" and "dumb as a rock." Harris’ running mate Tim Walz is not just "weird" – a word the Minnesota governor has used against Trump – the former president also calls him a "total moron," and "sick."

Police shouldn't just crack down on crime-ridden cities; in Trump's view, they should engage in "one really violent day" against alleged lawbreakers. "One rough hour," Trump said last month in Erie, Pennsylvania. "And I mean real rough. The word will get out and it will end immediately.”

Migrants, meanwhile, could “walk in to your kitchen" and "cut your throat," Trump has repeatedly said of late, and "the very fate of the United States is at stake in this election."

Trump has long argued that the nation is on the brink of World War III, but has amped up that assertion in light of the military conflict involving Israel, Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah. He claims that Israel will "cease to exist" if Harris becomes president, though Harris has long supported the country and ongoing American aid as the Israel-Hamas war rages on.

A response to a stronger opponent?

Democrats have also deployed dark rhetoric during the 2024 campaign. Before dropping out of the White House race, President Joe Biden built his reelection around a campaign message that a Trump victory this November could mean the end of democracy as Americans know it.

With Biden now a lame duck who has ceded the stage to Harris, the Democratic campaign strategy has shifted to a more upbeat vision for the country with fewer references to "democracy" and more mentions of "freedom", according to a Washington Post analysis of the two candidates' public remarks. Even so, Harris in her Democratic National Convention acceptance speech warned of the "extremely serious" consequences of Trump returning to the White House and during an interview with Howard Stern on Tuesday said her GOP opponent has a "desire to be a dictator." The Democratic nominee's crowds have also launched into their own "lock him up" chants about the former president and his unprecedented four criminal indictments.

"He’s got nothing ‘inspiring’ to offer the American people, just darkness," said Harris campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika.

Trump on the campaign trail has made promises about bringing down costs for Americans, expanding the nation's energy production and instituting major immigration policies, but he's provided few specifics.

Another reason Trump's tone has darkened, opponents and political analysts said: Trump is increasingly worried about polls that show a dead heat with Harris in the key swing states ? a stronger showing for the Democrats compared to Biden's polling numbers when he was atop the ticket.

Throughout the campaign, Trump acknowledged that aides and Republican lawmakers want him to focus more on issues rather than personal attacks. He has also made clear that he believes the latter is more effective when it comes to moving voters who could decide the election.

While Trump's language has gotten rougher, his goal has remained constant, analysts said: Try to scare voters about his opponent, whether it's Hillary Clinton, Biden or Harris. Trump in 2016 labeled Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee that cycle, as "crooked" and led chants of "lock her up."

"Trump has used ad hominem attacks on his opposition since he began running for office in 2015, so this is unfortunately not new," Mercieca said.

In his interview with Harris on Tuesday, Stern referred to Trump's many threats to prosecute political opponents and asked the Democratic presidential nominee: "If he wins, God forbid, would you feel safe in this country? Would you stay in this country?"

Harris responded: "Howard, I'm doing everything I can to make sure he does not win."

The UCLA study released in August, based on Trump speeches between 2015 and 2024, said the candidate's "embrace of populism, which included references to 'the people' and using 'us' more during his first presidential run, now involves more frequent use of 'them,' often to target such 'out-groups' as immigrants and perceived 'elites.'”

Asked for comment, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung did not directly address the topic of the Republican nominee's rhetoric but said he "has more energy and more stamina than anyone in politics, and is the smartest leader this country has ever seen."

Liz Mair, an anti-Trump Republican consultant, said Trump has always made outrageous statements, but most of them have contained at least "a tiny sliver of truth;" not now. For example, in last month's debate with Harris, Trump falsely claimed that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, have eaten pets.

"Now he’s just saying stuff that is completely and utterly made up with zero kernel of truth," Mair said.

Long-time Trump watchers said the tone of his speeches is part of strategy to attract the pivotal swing voters who are likely to determine the election in November.

Columnist Jonah Goldberg, writing in the Los Angeles Times, said that "Trump’s increasingly repugnant rhetoric is an effort to win over undecided voters," particularly people who don't often vote.

"If you’re not normally inclined to vote, policy differences aren’t going to motivate you to do so," Goldberg wrote. "But being told America’s very existence depends on it might."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump embraces increasingly dire rhetoric in search of voters