What the speech was not was any sort of actual turning point for Trump, whose botched handling of the coronavirus pandemic and tone-deaf response to the death of George Floyd have led to a significant polling slump.
Instead, it was sort of like a greatest hits album -- as Trump dialed up the rhetoric against the media, Democrats, Joe Biden and anyone else he could think of. The crowd loved it, but they're not swing voters.
Below, the lines you need to see from Trump's speech.
1. "I'm thrilled to be in Arizona with thousands of patriotic, young Americans who stand up tall for America and refuse to kneel to the radical left."
And also don't wear masks or observe social distancing guidelines! And away we go!
2. "There is something going on. You feel it, right? You feel the spirit?"
I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord. And I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord. Phil Collins rocks.
3. "You know, the other night, a speech I made on Saturday night in a very good place, and we had a great evening and the ratings came out -- you saw that -- on television. It was the number one show in Fox history for a Saturday night. Unbelievable."
There were 6,200 people at Trump's rally on Saturday night in Tulsa. The arena fit 19,000. He said 1 million had RSVPed. So ...
4. "Ratings. For them, it's all about the ratings."
Wait, wait. wait. For the media it's all about the ratings? But you just said it was so highly rated so doesn't that mean you care about the ratin-- [head explodes]
5. "No, no, they're very happy to see that Fox had the number one show. This is the number one show in the history of Fox News."
Important caveat: The Tulsa rally was the largest Saturday night audience in the history of Fox News. But again, he's not big on ratings.
6. "He's good. And people like him. People like him a lot."
Donald Trump on Donald Trump Jr. On a related note: "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me." -- Stuart Smalley
7. "Now, the difference is they get everybody, even if they're not registered, if they're not citizens, if they're here illegally. They get everybody."
[narrator voice] There's virtually zero evidence of widespread voter fraud in US elections.
8. "Check out -- no, check out the deal that they signed with Judicial Watch. It was -- I think Judicial Watch was like 1 million or 1.5 million people. They settled."
I checked it out! What Trump is saying is totally false! Four Pinocchios!
9. "I was talking to somebody who says, 'Well, you know the elite...' I said, 'What are you talking about, the elite? Who's the elite? They're the elite?' They're not the elite. You're the elite. You are. You're smarter, better looking. You have a better future."
Trump, despite his stated disdain for "the elite" is totally and completely obsessed with them -- mostly because he feels as though they never accepted him into their monied circles. It's why he ran for preside
