Another Trump moment

With the 2026 midterm elections approaching, Democratic Party leaders and candidates have been focusing on the issues they think will work best to defeat the Republicans. For example, Democrats have been hammering “affordability” regarding gasoline prices, food prices, healthcare costs, childcare costs, etc., and that is certainly an important issue to stress.

At the same time, Democratic voters have a crucial role to play, besides just showing up to vote. One area where Democrats can make a difference is to get out their computers, tablets or phones and share pictures and videos of Donald Trump. We can hear you ask, “What? I already do that!” Well, we’re talking about specific pictures and videos showing Trump falling asleep, rambling incoherently, and in obvious declining physical and mental health.

This kind of focus on Trump’s physical and cognitive decline should work well for several reasons. First, Republicans (and their media supplicants) hammered President Joe Biden over his age, stamina, and fitness for office, often on very thin evidence, including Biden’s life-long stutter. During the 2024 campaign, Republicans repeatedly argued that age-related concerns about Biden raised questions of leadership and capacity. That messaging proved effective, helping make Biden’s age a defining story of the election cycle and driving Biden out of the race after just one debate with Trump.