The Republican Party Is a Cult, RNC Day One: Kimberly Guilfoyle’s Speech

If you watched day one of the Republican National Convention last night, you surely remember Kimberly Guilfoyle’s speech. If you didn’t watch but read about the convention, you probably heard about it. But you really should watch it. It is… something. It’s worth noting that Guilfoyle’s speech wasn’t live — they recorded this and either this was the good take or it was one and done and they thought this was good to go.

Angry, screaming, jingoistic speeches are not new to Republican conventions. Proto-Trump white nationalist Pat Buchanan delivered a speech in 1992 about which the late Molly Ivins famously quipped, “it probably sounded better in the original German”. But at least Buchanan’s speech was coherent. One needn’t agree with the style or the substance to agree that it at least had substance. Guilfoyle’s speech, removed from her histrionic delivery, was pure authoritarian pablum. Just read the transcript. Mother Jones set Guilfoyle’s speech to North Korean propaganda music and it works perfectly. This isn’t preaching to the choir; it’s screaming at one’s fellow fundamentalists.

You really have to see it.

★ Tuesday, 25 August 2020