‘Bonkers.’ That’s how journalist Aaron Rupar describes Donald Trump’s appearance yesterday before the Economic Club of Chicago.
■ Rupar’s thread on Twitter X provided running commentary and video clips.
■ Jeff Tiedrich: “Elderly golfer gets smacked around by a journalist who won’t take bullshit for an answer.”
■ Trump repeatedly refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power after the next election.
■ Columnist Julia Gray: He “appeared to be speaking in tongues.”
■ Editorial Board proprietor John Stoehr: “At least once, he seemed to realize he was humiliating himself” …
■ … but the Sun-Times’ Tina Sfondeles says a “receptive” audience “often applauded the former GOP president’s digs at moderator John Micklethwait, Bloomberg editor-in-chief, and at the ‘fake media.’”
■ Press critic Mark Jacob: “Every day there are multiple examples of Trump babbling like he’s lost his marbles. … It’s dereliction of duty for so much of the media to act like this is normal.”
■ Veteran reporter, foreign correspondent, “editor at all kinds of levels” at the Tribune and college professor Charlie Madigan: “The man is nutty as a bag of bolts.”
An apology. Yesterday’s Chicago Public Square way understated the weirdness that was Trump’s aborted appearance in Pennsylvania Monday. Fortunately, late-night hosts did a better job of breaking it down:
■ Stephen Colbert: “I think I have the experience and discernment to say, with the deepest gravity, last night’s Trump town hall was bananapants boo-boo-bonkers.”
■ Jimmy Kimmel: “Imagine a world in which Kamala Harris just stood there at a rally and said nothing, just danced around for almost 40 minutes. Fox … would have blocked out a full week to cover it. It would have been like the O.J. chase meets 9/11 all at once.”
■ Mother Jones’ David Corn: “Imagine how Fox would’ve covered it if Joe Biden gave the wrong date for Election Day.” (Cartoon: Jack Ohman.)
‘She has allergic rhinitis and conjunctivitis, the medical term for hay fever? Is there a priest on call? She doesn’t have long!’ The Daily Show’s Desi Lydic mocks Trump’s feigned alarm at Vice President Harris’ medical report.
■ An ex-Trump aide to CNN: “Trump dictated the letters that went out about his medical history, but doctors weren’t free to write what they want.”
■ Historian Heather Cox Richardson: “Trump’s issues make it likely that a second Trump presidency would really mean a JD Vance presidency, even if Trump nominally remains in office.”
‘A crafty move.’ Poynter’s Tom Jones says Harris’ dinnertime visit today to Fox News will let her “stiff-arm her detractors who claim she only sits down with friendly interviewers,” but isn’t without pitfalls.
■ Politico: Both candidates are venturing into more challenging media territory.
■ Author and filmmaker Michael Moore appeals to Harris: “Your continued repetition of the party line—‘We are close to a ceasefire!’—as if it’s just around the corner when we all know … that is not going to happen—rings hollow.”
■ The U.S. is warning Israel to up its humanitarian aid for Gaza—or else.
Record crushed. Early voting in the critical state of Georgia’s set a new bar …
■ … as a judge there handed Democrats a win in blocking a ruling requiring Election Day ballots be counted by hand after the polls close …
■ … with an opinion that law professor Joyce Vance says gave a nod to Gandalf in Lord of the Rings.
■ Voting rights groups want a state and federal investigation into anonymous text messages seemingly designed to discourage young Wisconsin voters.
Millionaires, IVF, election interference. Illinois voters get to weigh in on those matters in statewide ballot questions next month.
■ Ready to decide? The Square Voter Guide Guide is here.
Fly this, Illinois. A letter to the Sun-Times contends an “ideal” replacement for the state’s ugly flag is right there for the taking:
■ The 1918 Centennial flag.
C-c-c-cold. Freeze warnings and frost advisories are back for Chicago …
■ … which AccuWeather predicts is in for a colder and snowier winter.
■ The federal loan program for disaster survivors is broke.
■ The American Prospect: Red and blue states are looking past one another on the climate crisis.
■ People’s Parity Project executive director* Molly Coleman: “The Supreme Court’s next big chance to wreck the environment is here.”
Drugpocalypse. CNN explores the factors sending thousands of the nation’s pharmacies into oblivion.
■ Also screwed: Chicago-based hardware wholesaler True Value.
If you’re not all-voted-out … Chicago Public Square welcomes your support in the Reader’s Best of Chicago 2024 nomination round …
■ … for Best Newsletter and Best Independent Website.
Thanks. Mike Braden made this edition better.
* And daughter-in-law to your Square columnist.