Former President Donald Trump started his rally in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, with an odd, not-to-be-missed tribute to golf icon Arnold Palmer, stunning many attendees and social media experts. The rally was supposed to have spent the last days before Election Day listening to the closing arguments against Vice President Kamala Harris and other political opponents from the president’s podium. However, in a speech of the first 12 minutes, Trump spoke about Palmer, from Latrobe, but with an odd peculiarity: he focused on the masculinity and even the anatomy of the golfer.
Trump’s Tribute to Arnold Palmer
Arnold Palmer, a Latrobe native son, born in 1929, was one of the greatest golfers in history and admired not only for his skill but also for his charismatic personality. Praising Palmer in his rally speech, Trump touted him as “all man,” implying that Palmer spent time in locker rooms with other professional golfers-an interpretation that most of his audience received as inappropriate. Trump chortled that: “When he took showers with other pros, they came out of there, they said, ‘Oh my God. That’s unbelievable,’ talking about Palmer’s physical attributes.”.
Although some people did laugh after such statements, they were harshly trolled on social media. The attention that Trump gave to Palmer’s anatomy received backlash from many, who termed the comments crude and irrelevant.
Rally’s Focus Shifts from Election to Arnold Palmer
Trump’s rally was seen as a forum to highlight his policies and trash his political opponents in the last leg of his campaign. Instead, his long tribute to Palmer, who died in 2016, derailed what many saw as yet another focused political speech by Trump. Eventually, he touched on themes of campaign, such as tax policies and the military, and also the criticisms of Kamala Harris, but much of his time was spent reminiscing about Palmer.
Trump’s senior adviser, Jason Miller, had prefaced the rally by saying earlier that Trump would use it to frame his final arguments for why he should win the election. However, the longer the digression into Palmer’s life and the more unusual Trump’s remarks were, the less apt to be what many expected the speech to be-a pointed political message.
Social Media Reactions and Criticism
Trump’s words about Palmer soon did the rounds in social media, evoking shock and disapproval among many. It was an inappropriate tribute, they argued, and to make matters worse, it was personal and at the same time suggestive in nature. A video of Trump’s comments made the rounds on social media as shared by Richard Hanania, founder of the Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology, who felt that Trump made himself awkward during the meeting. Others, including sportswriter Pablo Torre, even went so far as to jest that it was strange for Trump to be bragging about this one issue at a political rally.
Even news outlets weighed in, with NJ.com calling Trump’s comments “crude,” the Daily Mail describing them as “bizarre,” and Politico labeling the speech “raunchy.”
Trump’s Political Attacks
In a strange nod to Palmer, Trump ultimately pivoted back toward more traditional campaign fare, blasting Vice President Kamala Harris with some choice language. He called Harris “crazy” and brought out a colorful epithet to denounce her as vice president. Trump revisited Harris’ long-ago stand on fracking – an important issue for Pennsylvania voters – tore into her for once supporting a fracking ban when her campaign doesn’t.
Trump also brought local steelworkers union members on stage, wearing a construction hat with his name, and boasted about his support for American industry and his military achievements during his first term.
Conclusion
Donald Trump’s rally in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, was by no means routine. While rallies are typically spurs for candidates to sum up their main messages and rally support, Trump’s bizarre fixation with Arnold Palmer and the off-color remarks he made about the iconic golfer have everybody still guessing. And so, while he got back to familiar campaign themes later on, the tone had already been set in his opening words, overshadowing much of his political messaging. The event, and what Trump said, quickly garnered much attention online, proving that even during the final weeks of campaign, Trump still remains an unpredictable force in American politics.
By focusing more on relevant campaign topics, avoiding unnecessary distractions, Trump could have strengthened closing arguments but instead, rallies became known for a bizarre tribute to a golf legend.
