Article originally published 03/08/2016: due to a technical issue this article may have resurfaced for some readers, and the original publish date may not have been visible.
Donald Trump’s plan to get to the White House has struck a nihilistic tone as the Republican candidate attempted to offend every group of people in America - and beyond - in a week.
Barack Obama this week publicly called Trump “unfit to serve” and urged Republicans to withdraw their support for him, an extraordinary statement from a sitting President of the United States. He seems to have a point.
These are the people he’s offended already, and it’s only Wednesday.
1. Babies.
“I was just kidding, get the baby out of here.”
And so the world got a glimpse of Trump’s approach to childcare, publicly mocking a woman holding a crying baby at his rally in Ashburn, Virginia.
“Don’t worry about that baby. I love babies,” Trump started, sarcastically, after hearing the baby crying during his speech.
“Don’t worry about it. I love babies. I hear that baby crying, I like it. What a baby. What a beautiful baby. Don’t worry, don’t worry. The mom’s running around like — don’t worry about it, you know. It’s young and beautiful and healthy and that’s what we want.”
His tone then shifted.
“Actually, I was only kidding, you can get the baby out of here,” he boomed, to laughter and applause.
2. Military veterans.
The Purple Heart is an honour America bestows upon servicemen and women when wounded in combat. So, naturally, Trump mocks it.
“I always wanted to get the Purple Heart,” said Trump after having one gifted to him by a supporter. “This was much easier.”
3. Other Republicans.
Former Republican Presidential candidate John McCain is a war hero. As The Washington Post noted: “As Trump was preparing to take Manhattan, McCain was trying to relearn how to walk.”
McCain was as Navy pilot who was held hostage in Vietnam - a war Trump avoided - after his plane crashed. He was tortured for months.
Trump has already claimed McCain is “not a war hero because he was captured”, and this week suggested he had “not done a good job for the vets”: “And I’ve always felt that he should have done a much better job for the vets.”
Meanwhile, Trump refused to endorse the Republican Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, against his primary challenger. How to make friends and influence people.
4. Military families.
Trump continued his row with the family of a dead US war hero, as you would.
At the weekend, Trump said Ghazala Khan, the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq, wasn’t allowed to speak at the Democratic Convention because of her Muslim religion as her husband took a swipe at Trump’s lack of “sacrifices”. He said:
“If you look at his wife, she was standing there. She had nothing to say. She probably, maybe she wasn’t allowed to have anything to say. You tell me.”
Despite universal condemnation, including from prominent Republicans, Trump refused to back down. This week, he said the father, Khizr Khan, was “bothered” by his anti-Muslim immigration plan and had no regrets about his clash with the family.
5. US investors.
He told Americans to avoid the stock market. “I don’t like a lot of things that I see,” Trump said, admitting he go out with “very god timing”. “I don’t like a lot of the signs that I’m seeing.”
Wall Street is doubtless thrilled.
6. Women.
If offending mothers broadly, and mothers of war heroes specifically wasn’t enough, Trump went further in his attempts to belittle women - claiming the handling of workplace sexual harassment has “got to be up to the individual” - excusing employers from a duty of care.
He used the example of his daughter, Ivanka, who he said should “find a new career” or company if she were harassed by her boss at work.
7. Fried chicken fans.
With a knife and fork?!