It is not always easy to find something positive about Donald Trump's appearances, but one thing has to be given to him: The man expresses what goes through his head.
If you look at his last major election rallies, that's one thing above all: his impending defeat.
It is actually an iron law of politics that candidates do not even use the word defeat before an election.
Trump seems to have recently become obsessed with the issue.
"If I lose, I will lose to the worst candidate in presidential election history," he told a stunned Wisconsin audience.
In Georgia it became even clearer.
"If I lose, I might have to leave the country."
Why is the President talking about his possible political end?
The answer is simple: Because he fears it.
Because from his point of view it is imminent.
As I said, Trump can't help but say what's on his mind.
His talk about an impending defeat says more about the state of the election campaign than the countless polls that are currently published daily.
"If I lose to him, then I don't know what I'm doing," said Trump in North Carolina.
"I will never speak to you again."
What was meant as a threat could be an incentive for many to vote for the Democrats now.
But anyone who thinks that presidential elections should be decided by majorities knows the Republicans poorly.
I just stumbled upon a tweet from Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee that he dropped earlier this month: "We're not a democracy," he claimed.
If that struck you as strange, you should ask Lauren Culp, the Republican gubernatorial candidate for Washington State, to explain what he means by democracy: "Democracy is rule of the mob," said Culp.
"Mao Zedong and Mikhail Gorbachev loved democracy because democracy is a step towards socialism."
I watched Lauren Culp campaign and had a long chat with him.
He also thinks that a police officer only has to enforce laws if he considers them to be constitutional.
In short, the Republican creed can be summed up as follows: Democracy is good when we have a majority.
Otherwise it will lead to socialism.
It's good that Lee once said that openly.
The polls
The stories of the day
I can recommend these reports from my colleagues today:
SPIEGEL cover story: What remains of Trump - even if he has to go (and click here for the audio version)
US Election Court Dispute: Not Every Vote Counts
How Trump and Biden fight for Latino votes in Florida Biden accuses Trump of "superspreader events"
Have a nice day!
Sincerely,
Ralf Neukirch