In the world of politics, it’s usually a bad strategy to push a wildly false narrative that dehumanizes entire groups while also having a prominent supporter make a creepy remark aimed at a hugely popular celebrity that resembles a desperate middle-aged man’s attempt to flirt with someone younger.

Is that the case? Perhaps not. That certainly appears to be poor political judgment.

Nevertheless, this is precisely what Donald Trump’s campaign has been up to since he emerged from the Philadelphia debate on Tuesday evening, after being thoroughly beaten by Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate. Republicans are echoing Trump’s outrageous claim that immigrants are allegedly consuming people’s pets while simultaneously witnessing Elon Musk, a billionaire supporter of Trump, awkwardly trying to get Taylor Swift’s notice.

Harris’s highly praised debate performance was soon followed by an endorsement from Swift, one of the most impactful figures in America. She stated, “I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election. I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a champion.” She humorously signed it as “Childless Cat Lady,” a cheeky reference to JD Vance’s previous misogynistic comments.

Things went south for Trump, and Musk made it worse

For Trump, the combination of a dismal debate performance and Swift’s endorsement was akin to losing a fight and then suffering an additional injury.

Thus, Musk, the billionaire, decided to step in and attempted to lighten the mood by tweeting: “Fine Taylor . you win . I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life.”

Yikes. I think I speak for many when I say, “Dude, that’s really creepy.”

Musk is 53 while Swift is 34, and although he might have thought his oddball humor was amusing, it definitely wasn’t.

Swift’s message was calm and respectful, in contrast to Trump’s approach

Swift’s endorsement was thought-provoking and respectful, urging individuals to consider different viewpoints and make their own informed decisions. Musk’s response, however, came off as: “HAH HAH, I’LL HAVE A BABY WITH YOU IF YOU WANT, YOU SILLY CAT LADY!!”

Musk’s inappropriate tweet is representative of the low state of Trump’s campaign, which is already flailing. (To clarify: the campaign has dipped below treacherous waters and is now marinating in filth just outside a sewer.)

Trump’s fabrications about pets indicate the campaign’s bizarre trajectory

In the days leading up to the debate, Trump and his team were pushing an outlandish and highly xenophobic lie that Haitian immigrants were supposedly abducting and eating people’s pets. This baseless claim stemmed from nothing more than paranoid fantasies circulating in far-right circles. Local officials in the Ohio area central to these allegations denied any truth to them.

However, Vance, Musk, and Trump himself circulated shameful memes designed to vilify an innocent immigrant community and incite fear among white citizens.

Then, during the debate, when it was clear that Trump’s advisors wanted him to behave just slightly normally, he inexplicably brought up the pet-eating nonsense.

“They’re eating the dogs, the people that came in. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there,” he shouted, much like a distant relative everyone wishes would stop showing up at family gatherings.

Trump and Vance need to drop the ‘pet-eating’ narrative

This was hard to fathom. A candidate in a presidential debate mindlessly raving about a completely fabricated tale, which only adds to a dehumanizing stereotype that should be on the cover of “A Guide to Racism.”

Yet there Trump stood. And afterward, in the media spin room, his running mate doubled down on the offensive lie when speaking to CNN.

They stated it isn’t accurate and that they lack sufficient proof. “No evidence,” they asserted.

Of course, Jan. No proof. That’s a clear indication of a fictional event that supposedly took place.

This is not indicative of a successful campaign – quite the contrary

If you’re claiming that people are consuming pets like dogs and cats, it’s evident you’re trying to smear them, and you’re failing miserably. Nobody is buying into this nonsense. All it does is waste the time of dedicated American writers like myself, searching for alternatives to “strange” and “terrible.” (Found some! How about “bizarre” and “atrocious”?)

I can’t imagine how the Trump campaign will proceed after shouting, “THEY’RE EATING OUR DOGS!” and with Musk acting oddly towards one of the world’s most adored women.

But who knows, the week is just getting started. They’ve got Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as part of their lineup. I’m confident they will discover more ways to decline.

Follow YSL News columnist Rex Huppke on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @RexHuppke and on Facebook at facebook.com/RexIsAJerk