Dimensions Become Dominant: The 2024 Race Turns Into the Genitalia Campaign
The former president is presenting a concluding statement that openly supports locker room talk.
TroibNews 
The 2024 presidential election is concluding in a manner that mirrors the conclusion of the 2016 race: in the locker room.
To be more specific, it's unfolding in the showers at the clubhouse.
During the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump was on the defensive following the release of the “Access Hollywood” tape, an incident that drew significant backlash from within his own party and threatened his candidacy. At that time, the term “locker room talk” to explain his comments was met with widespread criticism.
Now, however, Trump has shifted gears, actively embracing locker room talk — including its vulgarity and laughter — and encouraging his supporters to join in the amusement.
Reflecting on a raunchy story about the late golfer Arnold Palmer’s anatomy — “all man,” Trump remarked at a rally over the weekend — he has taken the campaign down a path familiar to him and the broader GOP.
As he wraps up this election, whether by design, instinct, or a combination of both, Trump is projecting a message of masculinity aimed at individuals disillusioned by evolving sexual norms and the surrounding political correctness.
This entire situation illustrates how the crude nature of the 2024 campaign has not only become normalized but is actively celebrated by his base.
Amid a party grappling with a widespread crisis of male disenchantment, Trump is increasingly appealing to those who resonate with the Barstool culture. While Trump’s latest remarks may be considered vulgar, they align with the current conservative spirit.
The contrast between reactions now and in 2016 is striking. Eight years ago, many Republican voters and officials expressed genuine alarm in response to his remarks about grabbing women. At that time, nearly a third of the Senate Republican caucus publicly stated they would not endorse him.
Currently, there is no similar outcry.
This shift isn’t solely due to heightened familiarity with Trump. A significant undercurrent of this campaign has surged into visibility, illustrated by the Trump campaign and Republicans at various levels employing anti-transgender messaging or derogatorily dubbing Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate Tim Walz as “Tampon Tim,” referencing legislation he enacted to ensure access to menstrual products in schools. Notably, even former President Barack Obama referred to the size of Trump’s genitalia during a high-profile speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
In contrast to 2016, Trump’s key allies appear less shocked and more accommodating. House Speaker Mike Johnson stated on CNN that Trump “has fun at the rallies; he says things that are off-the-cuff.”
“At this point, it’s not exactly news that Donald Trump is a different kind of candidate and a different kind of cat, and he says and does things that other traditional candidates don’t,” Ralph Reed, chair of the Faith and Freedom Coalition and a long-time Trump supporter who remained loyal through the Access Hollywood episode, told PMG. “That doesn’t mean that voters of faith always agree with what he says off the cuff or an occasional profanity, but I think at this point it’s baked in the cake.”
Reed added: “He’s a real performer. He’s very entertaining. And I think trying to change his personality at this late date is probably an exercise in futility.”
Trump’s remarks about Palmer were consistent with his usual persona. In the campaign’s final stretch, his comments have included numerous references to illicit behavior and golf, reminiscent of a John Updike novel. Just prior to his comments about Palmer, he took a dig at Harris surrogate Mark Cuban’s “Really low clubhead speed.”
The notion that any single statement from Trump might harm him has long been dismissed by many Democrats — or as one adviser to major Democratic donors, who spoke anonymously, put it: “The man could shoot someone on 5th Ave. and no one would care.”
However, when viewed collectively — the Palmer anecdote, the strange dance party performance, and the rambling speeches causing concern among even his supporters — some voters might be reflecting on Trump’s mental state.
“Donald Trump is the 78-year-old who’s flailing around on stage doing crazy stuff like talking about Arnold Palmer in the shower,” said Paul Maslin, a leading Democratic pollster with experience in the presidential campaigns of Jimmy Carter and Howard Dean.
Maslin suggested that, if Harris secures a win, part of the reason will be “because people don’t want to go back to all the insanity of Donald Trump.”
Harris has labeled Trump as “unhinged,” linking his unusual dance routine during a rally to his physical and mental well-being. “Hope he’s okay,” she casually remarked on X.
Conversely, this approach could benefit Trump as he seeks to attract male voters to offset his shortcomings among women.
“I think what they’re leaning into is this overly masculine message of saying these crass things, being a shock jock, saying these vulgar things that are essentially locker room talk,” noted Danielle Cendejas, a Democratic strategist whose firm supported both of Obama’s campaigns.
Indeed, some voters have interpreted Trump’s crude anecdotes in a favorable light.
Patti Moon, a 54-year-old from New Bern, stated at a Trump rally in Greenville, North Carolina, that Trump’s comments during his Pennsylvania rally didn’t alter her perception of him. She appreciated that Trump “talks just like us.”
Jason Mayou, a freshman at East Carolina University, found the former president's remarks about Palmer to be “kind of crazy” but did not reconsider his support for Trump.
“I feel like you just have to have a little sense of humor,” he said. “And then get over it; it is what it is. He made a funny comment.”
In the Philadelphia suburbs, at a campaign event aimed at appealing to Republicans alongside former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, Harris cautioned voters not to be sidetracked by Trump’s humor.
“There are things that he says that will be the subject of skits and laughter and jokes, but words have meaning coming from someone who aspires to stand behind the seal of the president of the United States,” Harris asserted. “These are the things that are at stake.”
Yet at Trump’s Greenville rally, longtime supporter Wendy Coyne, from nearby Nashville, likened his Palmer comments to something her partner might say — something that would surely elicit a laugh.
His remarks, Coyne stated, were simply “locker-room talk.”
Debra A Smith for TROIB News
To be more specific, it's unfolding in the showers at the clubhouse.
During the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump was on the defensive following the release of the “Access Hollywood” tape, an incident that drew significant backlash from within his own party and threatened his candidacy. At that time, the term “locker room talk” to explain his comments was met with widespread criticism.
Now, however, Trump has shifted gears, actively embracing locker room talk — including its vulgarity and laughter — and encouraging his supporters to join in the amusement.
Reflecting on a raunchy story about the late golfer Arnold Palmer’s anatomy — “all man,” Trump remarked at a rally over the weekend — he has taken the campaign down a path familiar to him and the broader GOP.
As he wraps up this election, whether by design, instinct, or a combination of both, Trump is projecting a message of masculinity aimed at individuals disillusioned by evolving sexual norms and the surrounding political correctness.
This entire situation illustrates how the crude nature of the 2024 campaign has not only become normalized but is actively celebrated by his base.
Amid a party grappling with a widespread crisis of male disenchantment, Trump is increasingly appealing to those who resonate with the Barstool culture. While Trump’s latest remarks may be considered vulgar, they align with the current conservative spirit.
The contrast between reactions now and in 2016 is striking. Eight years ago, many Republican voters and officials expressed genuine alarm in response to his remarks about grabbing women. At that time, nearly a third of the Senate Republican caucus publicly stated they would not endorse him.
Currently, there is no similar outcry.
This shift isn’t solely due to heightened familiarity with Trump. A significant undercurrent of this campaign has surged into visibility, illustrated by the Trump campaign and Republicans at various levels employing anti-transgender messaging or derogatorily dubbing Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate Tim Walz as “Tampon Tim,” referencing legislation he enacted to ensure access to menstrual products in schools. Notably, even former President Barack Obama referred to the size of Trump’s genitalia during a high-profile speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
In contrast to 2016, Trump’s key allies appear less shocked and more accommodating. House Speaker Mike Johnson stated on CNN that Trump “has fun at the rallies; he says things that are off-the-cuff.”
“At this point, it’s not exactly news that Donald Trump is a different kind of candidate and a different kind of cat, and he says and does things that other traditional candidates don’t,” Ralph Reed, chair of the Faith and Freedom Coalition and a long-time Trump supporter who remained loyal through the Access Hollywood episode, told PMG. “That doesn’t mean that voters of faith always agree with what he says off the cuff or an occasional profanity, but I think at this point it’s baked in the cake.”
Reed added: “He’s a real performer. He’s very entertaining. And I think trying to change his personality at this late date is probably an exercise in futility.”
Trump’s remarks about Palmer were consistent with his usual persona. In the campaign’s final stretch, his comments have included numerous references to illicit behavior and golf, reminiscent of a John Updike novel. Just prior to his comments about Palmer, he took a dig at Harris surrogate Mark Cuban’s “Really low clubhead speed.”
The notion that any single statement from Trump might harm him has long been dismissed by many Democrats — or as one adviser to major Democratic donors, who spoke anonymously, put it: “The man could shoot someone on 5th Ave. and no one would care.”
However, when viewed collectively — the Palmer anecdote, the strange dance party performance, and the rambling speeches causing concern among even his supporters — some voters might be reflecting on Trump’s mental state.
“Donald Trump is the 78-year-old who’s flailing around on stage doing crazy stuff like talking about Arnold Palmer in the shower,” said Paul Maslin, a leading Democratic pollster with experience in the presidential campaigns of Jimmy Carter and Howard Dean.
Maslin suggested that, if Harris secures a win, part of the reason will be “because people don’t want to go back to all the insanity of Donald Trump.”
Harris has labeled Trump as “unhinged,” linking his unusual dance routine during a rally to his physical and mental well-being. “Hope he’s okay,” she casually remarked on X.
Conversely, this approach could benefit Trump as he seeks to attract male voters to offset his shortcomings among women.
“I think what they’re leaning into is this overly masculine message of saying these crass things, being a shock jock, saying these vulgar things that are essentially locker room talk,” noted Danielle Cendejas, a Democratic strategist whose firm supported both of Obama’s campaigns.
Indeed, some voters have interpreted Trump’s crude anecdotes in a favorable light.
Patti Moon, a 54-year-old from New Bern, stated at a Trump rally in Greenville, North Carolina, that Trump’s comments during his Pennsylvania rally didn’t alter her perception of him. She appreciated that Trump “talks just like us.”
Jason Mayou, a freshman at East Carolina University, found the former president's remarks about Palmer to be “kind of crazy” but did not reconsider his support for Trump.
“I feel like you just have to have a little sense of humor,” he said. “And then get over it; it is what it is. He made a funny comment.”
In the Philadelphia suburbs, at a campaign event aimed at appealing to Republicans alongside former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, Harris cautioned voters not to be sidetracked by Trump’s humor.
“There are things that he says that will be the subject of skits and laughter and jokes, but words have meaning coming from someone who aspires to stand behind the seal of the president of the United States,” Harris asserted. “These are the things that are at stake.”
Yet at Trump’s Greenville rally, longtime supporter Wendy Coyne, from nearby Nashville, likened his Palmer comments to something her partner might say — something that would surely elicit a laugh.
His remarks, Coyne stated, were simply “locker-room talk.”
Debra A Smith for TROIB News
