Why the “weird” attack is working

► Check out more analysis from Mother Jones's Jacob Rosenberg on how "weird" works

In this week’s video for Mother Jones, Kat Abughazaleh@katmabu breaks down the Democrats' latest attack line: calling out Republicans as "weird." The recent embrace of the word “weird” started with potential VP candidate Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, who used it on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" to describe JD Vance, President Trump, and the out-of-touch policies of MAGA types: “These guys are just weird!"

It's getting under the skin of Trump and his allies. While they argue this insult is on par with Hillary Clinton’s infamous “basket of deplorables,” let’s be real: This isn’t about name-calling for its own sake. Who in their right mind wants to eliminate the Department of Education or inspect kids before they play sports? That's just weird. Defunding libraries and banning no-fault divorce? Also weird.

"Constantly talking about genitals, having an opinion about skull size, and burning books in the 21st century?" Kat says. "All of that is indisputably weird."

Ultimately, "weird" is about framing the debate in a way that cuts through the noise and speaks directly to what most people already feel: That Trump's agenda for the Republican party and the country is all a bit… weird.

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