Conservatives have been less than enthused about Trump’s performance in recent weeks, as the typically bombastic populist had floundered to find an appropriate political response to Harris’s nomination outside of mocking her race, her personality, or her intelligence. Even some of Trump’s most ardent supporters have abandoned ship. Last week, notorious white supremacist Nick Fuentes announced a “groyper war” on Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social, believing that Trump’s current campaign staff are setting the party up for a “catastrophic loss.”
Gun rights activist and charged Kenosha, Wisconsin, shooter Kyle Rittenhouse publicly withdrew his support from Trump earlier this month, announcing in a video statement that he felt Trump wasn’t a true champion of the Second Amendment and that he intended to write in former Representative Ron Paul. (Though less than 12 hours after making the post, Rittenhouse was approached by Trump’s team and subsequently changed his tune.) And users on Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social, got the hashtag “#TrumpIsACoward” trending after the Republican nominee backed out of a prearranged September 10 debate with Harris on ABC News. (Trump has since agreed, again, to the debate.)
But despite Trump’s inability to adapt and change to the new race, Grisham doesn’t believe he’ll be able to keep up the mini rallies—even if they’re for the good of his campaign.