Luciana Moherdaui | Trump changes tone on stolen 2020 elections

Super Tuesday projections indicate that former president Donald Trump is the favorite to run for command of the United States against current president Joe Biden. At the event, candidates compete for the largest number of delegates in order to decide party representatives for the North American elections.

Since 2016, Trump’s campaigns have been driven by the spread of fake news on social platforms and media outlets, such as FoxNews. In the 2020 election, in which Biden was elected, the denial of the result and misinformation about the voting system led his supporters to invade the Capitol, in Washington, to prevent the Democrat from graduating.

This year, however, the former president has been advised to change his tone, to focus more on borders and the economy, and less on old grievances and personal dramas, according to an analysis by the Axios March 4th. In a speech aimed at college students who don’t believe the election was stolen, Trump went on to say “we were interrupted” or “something very bad happened”.

In a speech made on Tuesday (5 March 2024), at his resort in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, he promised to close the border and deport immigrants. The former president also said that he intends to regain trust in the press, which, in his opinion, no one trusts anymore.

With his speech recalibrated, he did not repeat unproven allegations of fraud that day. In a subliminal message, however, he defended the need for a free and fair election. However, he continues to ramble on to his entourage. At a meeting of the Cpac (Conservative Political Action Conference), in the US capital, maintained its conspiracy strategy.

Critic of press coverage, professor Jay Rosen, from New York University, questioned a headline in the NBC News February 24th: “Fewer grievances, more policy: Trump aides and allies push for a post-South Carolina ‘pivot’” (“Less complaints, more politics: Trump advisors and allies push for a post-South Carolina ‘axis’”, in the English translation). O Axios addressed the topic days later.

“Framing ‘less grievances, more politics’ as a plausible next step for Trump is more than a stretch. This conflicts with everything we know.”stated on X (formerly Twitter).

Without believing in a change of attitude, he asked:

“Is there any evidence that Trump is interested in – and capable of – a shift to ‘politics’ as the centerpiece of his campaign?”

When judging his statements made at Mar-a-Lago, the angle changes depending on the audience. Which is consistent with the assessment of the Axios, according to which the votes of his loyal base are not enough to win on November 5th. Hence the calculated speech.

It remains to be seen Trump’s ability to attract this electorate, given the entire repertoire of disinformation solidified over 8 years, and the behavior of his supporters in the face of his vague euphemisms.