David, thank you for this thoughtful analysis in the use of “weird” as a campaign tactic. For me, it’s the gut check that makes sense. The LIV gets weird, knows it when they see it - so the invitation to view Trump and his followers from the perspective of weird helps them see how “off” he is. Like “spoiled milk” as you wrote.

I also thought your point of ridicule was interesting - that treating MAGA as a joke desensitized us to their grim agenda. That’s going to be important for us to remember. They are not “haha” weird. They are “oh-oh” weird.