Column: Who really loves America, Donald or Kamala?

Hello and happy Thursday. There are five days until the election, and OMG, it’s finally almost over.

Most of you have likely voted by now, but the candidates are still hard at work attempting to woo those final, crucial few who somehow haven’t made up their minds. Really?

Both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have been pushing a message of love and unity. No, I have not lost my mind. It’s true.

Though Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally was hate-filled to the point of being chilling, the first five or so minutes of Trump’s speech (the part television viewers were most likely to hear) were reasonably inspiring if you didn’t know his subtext.

“I am here today with a message of hope for all Americans,� he said. If elected, “Our country will be bigger, better, bolder, richer, safer and stronger than ever before.�

Here’s the thing: His crowd — and a lot of Americans — loved it, and they believed him when he said that he loves this country, and cares about making it better.

Which brings us to our questions for the day. Who loves America more, Donald or Kamala? And what exactly does that love mean to each of them?

Kamala’s joy

Harris gave a speech Tuesday evening on the Ellipse, the iconic park south of the White House where Trump memorably stirred up the Jan. 6 insurrectionists.

More than 75,000 people attended, and there was nary a riot vibe to be found. Harris gave a resounding performance as a leader and a uniter, delivering a grand finale to her joy-themed campaign.

The part that got me was when she spoke about the American Dream in personal terms. By now, most of us know that her mom (like my own father) was an immigrant from India, and her dad emigrated from Jamaica (though she rarely mentions him).

“I’ve lived the promise of America. I saw how hard my mother worked to give her daughters the same chances this country gave her,� she said. “I’ve lived the promise of America. I’ve spent my life fighting for the people who have been hurt and counted out but never stopped believing that, in our country, anything is possible.�

The promise of America. How can we not love that?

So Harris’ devotion to our country is a traditional one — the idea of an America rooted in hope for all people, including the vulnerable, the marginalized and even the ones that don’t like her.

“Unlike Donald Trump, I don’t believe people who disagree with me are the enemy. He wants to put them in jail. I’ll give them a seat at the table,� she said.

Take it for what it’s worth, but it’s a fact that this two-culture kid from Oakland is a few thousand votes away from the Oval Office. So she’s telling the truth when she says she’s lived the American promise.

And you can’t live it without feeling its importance, and loving that it exists, even if it is far from perfect. Maybe she will deliver on her policy promises and maybe she won’t.

But I trust she understands the fundamental promise of our country.

Trump’s ‘lovefest’

And at the end of the day, the best love is built on trust.

Let’s be real: Trump is entirely, completely, painfully untrustworthy. He is untrustworthy about paying his bills. He is untrustworthy about keeping his marriage vows. He is untrustworthy about his record as president, and his intentions if he is reelected.

Trump called Jan. 6 “a day of love� and the Madison Square Garden rally a “lovefest,� and indeed they were — about the insatiable, unquestioning love of a narcissist for himself. Trump’s rallies are as much about him basking in his own glory as anything to do with politics. The adoration is the point.

Which is why, as I wrote about Tuesday, this rally devolved into something so ugly. It wasn’t just about the trashing of Puerto Ricans, which grabbed headlines.

The racism and misogyny extended to Jewish people, Black people, Palestinians, Democrats and, of course, Harris herself. Trump’s speakers seemed not just willing to follow him into any darkness, they were competing like dysfunctional children to prove themselves the most willing, the most devoted.

The thing is, loving a narcissist is like kissing a rattlesnake. You can put your heart into that smooch, but you’re still going to get bit.

Which is why I’ll end with Arnold Schwarzenegger. The former governor of California on Wednesday described Trump as “a candidate who won’t respect your vote unless it is for him, a candidate who will send his followers to storm the Capitol while he watches with a Diet Coke ... a candidate who thinks Americans who disagree with him are the bigger enemies than China, Russia or North Korea.�

A candidate, in short, who is a dangerous narcissist, incapable of putting the well-being of a country ahead of his own desires.

Schwarzenegger said he will vote for Harris, because he is an American first, more than a Republican, and doesn’t want “four more years of bull—.�

And tough as he is, he knows better than to kiss a rattlesnake.

What else you should be reading:

The must-read: Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and the Billions of Ways to Influence an Election
The Oh Joe: Did Biden mean to call Trump supporters ‘garbage,’ or just stumble defending Puerto Rico?
The L.A. Times special: When should a candidate apologize? The question roils an L.A. City Council race
Stay Golden,
Anita Chabria

P.S. I love that Joe Biden put country first when he stepped aside to allow Harris to run. If anyone needs proof that this was the right choice, just look at how he’s making headlines this week. Biden may or may not have called Trump supporters garbage. It’s hard to tell. Personally, I don’t think that’s what he was trying to say — but he said it. And now the Republicans will go nuts until election day trying to turn the gaffe into votes. Really, that’s fair. But oh, Joe — why?

Here’s the clip:

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