Donald Trump Has 'Big Lunatic Energy': Republican Strategist

Sarah Longwell, an anti-Donald Trump Republican strategist, said on MSNBC's The Weekend on Saturday that Trump has "big lunatic energy" with voters questioning if he is fit to be president from a "moral and ethical standpoint."

The Context:

Trump, who is the only remaining Republican presidential candidate in this year's primary, will likely face off against Democratic incumbent President Joe Biden once again in November's general election. With Biden being 81 years old and Trump only four years his junior, the age and mental capacity of both candidates have been a major talking point.

What We Know:

Alicia Menendez, co-host of The Weekend, asked Longwell on Saturday: "I wonder, Sarah, in your focus groups, how those two issues are bearing out, both the question of the acuity of both of these candidates and the comparison points between the two them."

Longwell said, "whether it is fair or not, voters don't question Trump's mental acuity," but "question his sanity."

"They question whether or not he's fit to be commander-in-chief from a moral and ethical standpoint," she added. "But, Trump, because he has sort of big lunatic energy, he just doesn't come off the same way that Biden does. The concerns from voters around age really do rest with President Biden."

Longwell is the founder of Republican Accountability Project, a group of Republicans and conservatives determined to keep Trump out of office. She is also the publisher of news site The Bulwark.

Newsweek reached out to Trump's and Biden's campaigns via email for comment.

Views:

A recent poll by The Associated Press/NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that roughly six in 10 U.S. adults doubt the mental capabilities of both Biden and Trump.

A total of 63 percent of U.S. adults said that they are not very or not at all confident in Biden's mental capability to serve effectively as president. Meanwhile, 57 percent said they are not very or not at all confident in Trump's mental capability to serve effectively in the Oval Office.

The poll, which was conducted from February 22 to 26, surveyed 1,102 adults and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.

In an Emerson College poll conducted between March 5 and 6, 56.9 percent of voters said that Biden's age raises serious doubts about voting for him. Meanwhile, 54.3 percent of voters said that Trump's criminal indictments raise serious doubts about voting for him.

The poll surveyed 1,350 registered voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.

Trump has been criminally indicted in four separate cases, including two related to election inference, one related to stolen classified documents, and one related to hush money payments. The former president has pleaded not guilty to all charges and claims the cases against him are politically motivated.

What's Next?

There is still roughly eight months until Americans cast their ballots for president. Biden has not shied away from talking about his age recently.

During his State of the Union address on Thursday night, he said: "In my career I've been told I'm too young and I'm too old...My fellow Americans the issue facing our nation isn't how old we are it's how old our ideas are."

Meanwhile, Trump has been facing the challenge of juggling his court schedule with his campaign schedule. His lawyers have been making efforts to delay—at least until after the 2024 presidential election—or even dismiss the criminal cases against him.

Update 3/9/24, 10:02 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.

Update 3/9/24, 10:33 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.