If you’ve ever conversed with your conservative uncle at a family gathering, then Craig Rozniecki’s recent account of his mind-numbing interaction with a MAGA supporter might hit just a little too close to home.
The author, satirist and self-described Boggle champion has been using his X page as more of a personal diary while covering the Democratic National Convention, and his finger on the pulse has served as a conversation-starter, though perhaps not with someone he’d hoped for.
Rozniecki — who has made no secret of his support for the Harris campaign — recently shared a post detailing, seemingly verbatim, the “conversation [he] had with a Trumper last night.” The supporter’s discussion is about as nonsensical as the person he vouches for, proving that there’s a whole bunch of Donald Trump protégés where the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
The apple in question must’ve hit this man in the head quite forcefully, since that would be the only explanation for the featherbrained comments that ensued. Among other quips, Rozniecki recalled the Trumper’s aversion to musician John Mellencamp because he’s “a stupid liberal Democrat,” a natural entryway into the pair’s broader political discussion.
Rozniecki claimed the man called Harris a “communist-Marxist-socialist” (a true multi-hyphenate queen!), even though “those terms aren’t identical”, as Rozniecki reminded him. The pair then chatted about inflation, and Rozniecki cited the Republican Party’s efforts to block the Inflation Reduction Act.
“Inflation was 9.1% and is 2.9% today,” Rozniecki said, a claim which the Trumper described as “bulls***t.” When Rozniecki produced evidence to back his claim, the man — as if summoned upon by some higher force — swiftly declared it was “fake numbers” and questioned if the source was a “fake news site.”
The interaction left Rozniecki understandably perplexed, not just because of the cultish rejection of the facts, but because Trump himself doesn’t really possess the skills needed to cultivate this cult-like following in the first place. “Most cult leaders are great orators; possess charisma; etc,” Rozniecki reflected of the interaction.
“Donald Trump has the vocabulary of a newborn. He possesses the charisma of a deceased moth.” Leave it to an author to make such a savage burn read like poetry and come after someone’s vocabulary. The jab is certainly deserved, since the former president has misspelled dozens of words, has confidently used the word “bigly”, and seems to cycle through monosyllables like “huge” and “great”.
If you’re a MAGA supporter, perhaps it’s wise to save your gibberish for someone other than the human dictionary that is a Boggle champion.