The clever optics and subtle messaging might reflect the influence of new campaign managers Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway. That the campaign has become a little more sophisticated since Breitbart’s Bannon came aboard strengthens my view that the influence of the so-called Alt Right is overblown.
Whether or not this can make any difference is a tough call for a columnist to make. But the Clinton campaign should be wary of allowing Trump to set the agenda again. Hillary, it seems to many people, has gone into hiding and is relying upon negative campaigning.
Trump, by contrast, is flying down to Mexico and laying out a concrete vision for the country. That vision is a fantasy: the wall would be so absurdly costly and politically difficult that its construction would class it as one of the wonders of the postmodern world.
But that’s not the point. The point is that pay is low, jobs are difficult to get in many rustbelt areas, Americans are concerned about immigration, and Trump has some sort of plan to deal with it. And he re-emphasised an argument on Wednesday that is entirely historically accurate: there have been moments in US history when the country has closed its borders to select groups.
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