How does the Trump campaign finish up one of the strangest election cycles in living memory? They use the theme that an assassin thrust on them -- and an image that galvanized a nation. 

This ad dropped yesterday, described as the closing argument for Donald Trump: "We fight." This one-minute spot will almost certainly get run in the battleground states in the final hours before Election Day, and it's about more than just that awful day in Butler County, PA. It reminds us of the cultural dissipation felt by many Americans, and hardly just Republicans -- and what it will take to restore our culture and values:

Powerful closing ad from President Trump… pic.twitter.com/RS16uOHqJO

— Steve Cortes (@CortesSteve) November 2, 2024

That's a smart choice for a closing message -- if that's what this is. Policies and priorities are important in every election, and maybe especially this one, since Democrats turned the previous election into a character referendum. However, the cultural disconnect felt by Americans outside of the Academia-clique elite power centers has a much more powerful emotional draw. 

Politics is downstream of culture, as our late friend Andrew Breitbart insisted, and that may be the key in this election cycle in particular.

To compare, this was the message on which Kamala Harris focused yesterday. While Trump aimed his pitch at Americans in the heartland, Harris focused on ... the Academia-clique elites that think this would actually be funny. YMMV, of course, but this certainly seems a bit like singing to the choir, or cackling to it. And that's not the only question this raises, either. 

BREAKING: The Real Kamala Harris Makes a Surprise Appearance on SNL

This is painful to watch.

KAMALA 1: “I don't really laugh like that, do I?”

KAMALA 2: (Awkwardly smiles) “Well, a little bit.”

In an especially cringeworthy moment, both Kamalas spoke in unison, saying, “We… pic.twitter.com/juK8gy4ZHE

— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) November 3, 2024

Why leave the battleground states with 72 hours of campaign time left to go New York City? And why target the SNL audience, which is already likely heavily inclined toward Harris and consists mainly of younger, urban, progressives? Are they worried about those demos?

— Ed Morrissey (@EdMorrissey) November 3, 2024