Trump smoked for turning once-rowdy rallies into 'pity parties'

Los Angeles Times columnist Jackie Calmes recently tuned into one of former President Donald Trump's campaign rallies and found something had changed significantly since the first time he hit the campaign trail back in 2015.

In fact, Calmes said that much of the brash rowdiness that had characterized old Trump rallies had been replaced by something else: self-pity.

"And more than ever, given the scores of criminal charges and mountain of legal penalties he’s facing, there are his grievances," she wrote. "These aren’t rallies anymore. They’re pity parties."

She then described how the vibe at Trump rallies isn't the hope for a better future seen at the rallies of other successful politicians, but rather a group of Trump supporters who emit "constant catcalls, boos and their own favorite profanities, in approving response to his nonstop caterwauling."

ALSO READ: ‘Leave the drama to them:’ Mother of Lauren Boebert’s grandson speaks out

In fact, Calmes found that Trump would "sap the crowd's energy" instead of stoking it as he had done in the past.

What's more, Calmes was struck by the fact that Trump increasingly left his followers unable to follow along with his train of thought by swerving wildly from one topic to another.

"Non sequiturs were constant," she observed. "Trump went from grousing about his Georgia case straight into unrelated, and chilling, talk of indemnifying police charged with misconduct once he is president: 'You can stop [crime] in one day, in one hour, if you got really nasty and really tough.' And there was this: 'The great capital, Washington, D.C., is under siege. I will always defend Medicare and Social Security — unlike Birdbrain.'"

"I kid you not," Calmes commented. "That’s what he said. If you don’t believe me, watch for yourself. Spoiler alert: The man is not fit to be president."