Tennessee WordSmith: A Liberal Dose, Sept. 12, 2024 “What a Crazy Ride This Summer Has Been”

A Liberal Dose

September 12, 2024

Troy D. Smith

“What a Crazy Ride This Summer Has Been”

Things have been pretty hectic and unpredictable this summer in the presidential election cycle. Trump and Biden had their first of several planned debates on June 28, and Biden supporters were left clutching their chests like Fred Sanford by their candidate’s feeble demeanor and weak performance. Then, two weeks later on July 13, Trump survived an assassination attempt (though a member of his audience did not). The dramatic image of Trump pumping his fist defiantly seemed likely to seal his election victory. Just two days later, on the first day of the Republican National Convention, Trump announced J.D. Vance as his running mate. While still close, the GOP ticket seemed to be pulling ahead in the polls.

Just six days later, on July 21, Biden dropped out of the race, and his biggest detractors in his own party hailed him as a hero for it. Within days, Vice-President Harris had become the heir-apparent of the Democratic Party, which infused many Democratic voters with -first, relief -then hope and energy. She had the best week of fundraising in presidential history. Less than a month later, the Democratic National Convention amped up that energy. Meanwhile, J.D. Vance either made, or was learned to have made in the past, one colossal public relations blunder after another, making many women voters even madder about the prospect of a second Trump administration (and many were plenty mad already). Also meanwhile, Trump has been even more incoherent than usual, showing his (very advanced) age, and has been even more combative and nasty. And… the race still seems to be neck-and-neck, and anything could happen as we go into the final lap of the election season.

And all this happened in the space of two months.

I have rarely in my lifetime seen such a succession of seismic political shifts happen so quickly. The complete shift in global mood 23 years ago on the day of September 11, 2001, certainly counts, as does the unexpected collapse -over a four-month period -of the Soviet Union in 1991, but those were events that existed apart from (although certainly affecting) U.S. politics. My mind has been boggled this summer, and I’m sure yours has, too.

And in only two MORE months, it will have all been played out and decided (we hope). I find myself hoping that the fact election day falls on November 5, Guy Fawkes Day in the U.K. and a symbol of anarchy and destruction, winds up being purest coincidence and not prophetic. After all that rapid change, it almost feels like -now that the pieces have all been put in place -time has slowed down to a standstill. Like we’re in the eye of a storm. Of course, by the time this column (which I am writing Sunday night) comes out, we will have seen the debate between Trump and Harris -and who knows what other seismic shifts may have occurred.

One thing is for certain. We are no longer living in the same world we inhabited nine years ago when Donald Trump first came down that golden escalator. Much as we probably all long for a return to normalcy, even many of his supporters, I am not sure how “normal” life can be in a (hopefully!!) post-Trump era. I thought his candidacy was a joke in the summer of 2015. As he ran away with the Republican primaries, I found myself almost joyful about it -I couldn’t believe my party’s good luck, that the other side was going to put forward a buffoon with absolutely no chance of actually being elected by the American people, unlike a Jeb Bush or a Marco Rubio. It was only when I started to notice people I knew, liked, and respected starting to talk admiringly about him that I started to worry. Wow, what I’d give to be able to return to that sort of naivete. Of course, knowing just how naïve those thoughts were is, in itself, a protection against overconfidence and against letting up before the final whistle has sounded.

Buckle up, we’ve still got a bumpy ride ahead.

--Troy D. Smith, a White County native, is a novelist and a history professor at Tennessee Tech. His words do not necessarily represent TTU.

Buy the book A Liberal Dose: Communiques from the Holler by Troy D. Smith HERE