As election season rushes toward a close the track becomes increasingly muddied by vitriol. Both sides, short of something to sell, have leaned heavily on innuendo and ad hominem attacks. Aunt Hillary in her campaign of 2016 spoke of supporters of Trump and the MAGA movement as “deplorables”, which brought to mind deprecating imagery of belching behemoths of the easy chair who but for lust or lack of alcohol would never leave their lairs, seen as slothful dullards, mouth breathing knuckle draggers. When Hillary called them out they took it personal. As so they should have: don’t see them quittin’ drag’n knuckles yet, and, as one might paraphrase, if the slur suits wear it. Rather, than brushing their teeth, they have doubled down. They’re working on their PR by presenting lack of decency as a hallmark of authenticity, and portrayal of the Democrats as evil effete elites bent on replacing loyal American patriots—of the sort who carry guns to PTA meetings and fly six by eight-foot flags from the backs of their pickups—with immigrant “garbage”, the effluent of “shithole” countries, and Puerto Rico in particular as one big garbage scow.
Of course Biden could not resist an attempt to return to relevancy by removing one foot from his mouth in order to replace it with another. Whether ‘supporters’ or ‘supporter’s’ was intended, we will likely never know. But if we are to assume the worst, as things will expectantly be taken, MAGA-nates are now to be seen in eye of mind as ‘deplorable garbage’, which does seem somewhat catchy. In any case it would seem, as we approach the climactic, and would be hoped decisive, moment of this interminable election season, there is plenty of garbage to go around.