The corporate media has launched a concerted effort to paint the Trump-Vance ticket as “weird,” with CNN and MSNBC using the term over 160 times each on Monday alone. This coordinated messaging campaign follows President Joe Biden’s decision to end his reelection bid and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris, as reported by Time magazine.
The trend began on July 23 when Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota used the term during an appearance on “Morning Joe.” Since then, the word “weird” has gained traction among Democrats and media outlets as a preferred attack against former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH).
After Trump announced Vance as his running mate on July 15 at the Republican National Convention, old interviews and speeches of Vance resurfaced. These included comments where Vance questioned why prominent Democrats such as Harris, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg do not have children. These remarks led to the label of “weird” being applied to Vance. Additionally, Trump’s references to Hannibal Lecter and sharks during rallies have been cited by Democrats to justify calling him “weird.”
According to the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF), MSNBC used the term “weird” 179 times in segments related to Trump or Vance on Monday. The show “Inside with Jen Psaki,” hosted by the former White House press secretary, used the term 35 times. “Morning Joe” used it 32 times, with Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan also referring to Trump and Vance as “weird.”
CNN was close behind, using the term 170 times on Monday. Democratic Reps. Eric Swalwell and Barbara Lee of California both used the term to describe Trump and Vance. Swalwell remarked on “CNN This Morning” that Harris would never choose someone “as weird and creepy as J.D. Vance.” Lee, on “CNN News Central,” said that selecting Vance showed Trump’s true beliefs, calling Vance “weird” and “pretty unprepared.”
Tom Elliot, founder of Grabien News, noted that both networks used the term over 150 times on Saturday and Sunday. “Usually the host will ask a Democrat, ‘Many Democrats are saying JD Vance is just plain weird, what do you think … is he really a huge weirdo?’ And then the guest will inevitably agree Vance is a weirdo,” Elliot told the DCNF. He explained that the goal is to reinforce the “weird” label in viewers’ minds.
