Same Circus, Different Clowns: Nothing Has Changed Since Hunter S. Thompson's '72 Campaign Coverage
In preparation for the 2024 election (and out of love for Thompson's writing), I read "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72." To my surprise, I found more similarities between Thompson's words (being 52 years old) and today's political climate than I had previously anticipated. There were many moments that reflected the last five years: the state of both major political parties, the Trump/Harris differences, accusations of voter fraud, and the "MAGA cult," to name a few. I also have a sneaking suspicion that these words will be true for many years to come.
Although I didn't pick up the book thinking it would lead to a Long Knuckle article, I eventually realized that Thompson's words provided humor, solace, misery, wisdom, or catharsis—perhaps all the reasons we elect to pick up books in the first place. To wit, I wanted to share some of these lines, compiled into six buckets:
- General American Politics
- President Donald Trump
- Vice President Kamala Harris
- Trump & Harris
- The Republican Party
- The Democratic Party
Feel free to skip around; this compilation doesn't need to be read straight through. Some lines are accompanied by sources or my own thoughts, while other lines are left standalone. For any lines that are not contiguous (whether by appearing in different paragraphs or different parts of the same paragraph), I separated the quotes with a slash (/).
As a final note, the pages I am referencing are with respect to the 40th Anniversary Edition released in June 2012.
