[quote=@mdk] whoa hold the phone -- you watched the rally? Nobody does that anymore. Hats off. Respect level up. So what do YOU think about it? [/quote] I think he's not a great public speaker but that's a petty little jab. The way he spoke at this rally in particular didn't really do anything other than reinforce the things people have been saying ever since he took office. It doesn't come off as someone Presidential but someone trying to sell ice to Eskimo's. Having to say how honest he is after saying how CNN and other places are turning the cameras off (when that's not the case) all before fellating Fox News because they agree with him all the time is clear bias and suggests that the guy can't take criticism. I don't even necessarily disagree with some of the things he said. The media turns a blind eye to gang violence unless it involves a cop doing the shooting or being shot - and just reporting on the violence in, say, certain neighborhoods in Chicago doesn't get attention unless it's "COP SHOT IN GANG VIOLENCE". A lot of the rally comes off as an 'us against them' because that's what it is. It's one man speaking to a modest crowd of people who already agree with everything he does. He chooses his words for maximum response be it from the raucous applause or for the hot takes from articles, such as when he calls illegal immigrants 'animals' and the dismissive way he says 'can you believe we fight for other countries' or how he smugly hinted at his pardoning of Joe Arpaio to a crowd that sees absolutely nothing wrong with how Joe Arpaio did anything. But he's also vague about things and just saying that 'we're doing good, by the way it's going good' because to those gathered there they don't really need proof. Just the words and promise and suggestion that things have done better and are better. The rally is full of exaggerations and blatant false statements but again that doesn't matter because the people he's speaking to won't care enough to check and take it all at face value. He knows what he's doing, he knows who he's speaking to, and he knows that the things he says will likely just get taken out of context (they were) and will only further his claims and fervent support. I think that Trump is a poor leader but he knows how to instigate. And this rally was like a way for Trump to suck his own dick while his supporters use it as a way to suggest how #winning their guy is because he is controlling the narrative and further pushing the 'us vs them' rhetoric.