In a deep dive into the debate preparations currently underway for Tuesday night when Donald Trump will face off with Vice President Kamala Harris, the New York Times is reporting that some of the former president's advisers are worried he may come on too strong and alienate voters who have tuned .....
I'm not sure they are not sending their best. When looking at people like Ron de Santis or Mike Johnson, I actually like the idea of them sending an imbecile into the race instead of a crazy but potentially capable candidate.
Remember, everybody thought the last debate was going to be a cakewalk for Biden. All he had to do was show up and not look like a sundowning dementia patient. And look how that turned out.
Harris may be able to "handle it" in that he's not going to get her all worked up where she'll break down and cry or something. But will she be able to hold her own on the debate floor? She is untested in that realm and her rally speeches show that she's still not the most confident public speaker, and I could see a situation where Trump just doesn't allow her to get a word in edgewise. Even if he says nothing but his usual incoherent word salads, if he can essentially bully her into silence by just throwing her off with his usual interruptions, firehoses of lies, and shouting down her responses, it could bolster his strongman persona, play to his mysoginist base by "putting her in her place", and give some independent voters the impression that she can't keep up.
Like I said, Harris hasn't been tested. Arguing in a courtroom is one thing when there's a judge who can keep the opposition in check and has the ability to enforce it. It's different when it's moderators who are toothless and can't or won't do anything about Trump who doesn't give a shit about the rules at all. And her continuing uneasiness when she gives rally speeches in front of friendly crowds makes me wonder how she'll handle someone who's game plan is literally to make her look like she belongs back in the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant.
Harris' game plan right from the beginning is that he goes to the debate and just lashes out. That's why she wanted the open mics. But like I said before, Biden got the debate he wanted on his terms and it ended up ending his campaign. Hopefully Harris isn't making the same mistake.
What's even worse, I worry that Harris may be getting coached to try to thread the needle between getting words in edgewise and not opening herself up to accusations of sounding "shrill," which is probably literally impossible.
Personally, I think her best bet is to give zero shits about being called "shrill" or "nasty," address Trump with every bit as much of the insulting and contemptuous attitude as he tries to use on her while also calling out his bullshit directly and expressing coherent policy positions, and then -- crucially -- respond to anyone who calls her "shrill" afterwards by derisively laughing and mocking weak crybaby Trump for whining that he can't handle her.
Even then, it will be an incredible challenge for her to be perceived as the winner, no matter how much sh wipes the floor with him in any objective sense.
I could see a situation where Trump just doesn’t allow her to get a word in edgewise. Even if he says nothing but his usual incoherent word salads, if he can essentially bully her into silence by just throwing her off with his usual interruptions, firehoses of lies, and shouting down her responses
You know they have closed mics. How do you think this situation possible?
Harris was in debates during the Democratic primary in 2020 (her and Joe Biden got into it over his past voting record) and debated Mike Pence in the VP debate.
Also Trump's mic will be off when it's not his turn to speak. So he won't be able to interrupt her.
Saddest thing is nobody is going to watch this who hasn't already decided.
The people who voted for him in the last two elections, who would gladly lick the diaper leakage dribbling down his leg off his lifted loafers, will not watch this. They will watch the clips of Fox News sycophants highlighting the two or three gotcha lines and declare him the victor, regardless of his performance.
People on the fence will tune it out, as they have everything else, because they are absolute fucking morons who don't give a shit about anything outside their own sight line.
Harris supporters will confirm that she is a competent orator and debater who won against a gibbering human suitcase full of soiled laundry, and nothing will change.
They're falling over themselves to suck his dick. None of those people is in any way compelled to do what they're doing. None of them deserves the slightest bit of pity.
Well, let him run head-first into this trap of his own making. Let the nation decide when Harris can address all given issues with ease and coherent sentences while Trump produces random gibberish.
I think when he starts going off and the spittle starts flying out of his mouth she should interrupt and ask that someone put up a shield in front of him or put a mask on.
Harris should wheel a loveseat out onto the stage, and when asked about it, say “oh, I was just trying to help my opponent’s running mate feel more relaxed and comfortable”
Like, holy fuck, can you imagine how hilarious it would be if she just went full troll and started needling him with oblique, subtle jabs? Not saying it’s a good idea considering how dumb our median voter is. But it would be quite funny.
I'm not at all sure he can play "tough". It's a lot easier to do when not actually facing the opponent. I predict that he'll attempt to make a joke of it all and complain about something irrelevant. Unless of course he's all drugged up. Then nobody can predict how fucking weird he's going to be.
This sounds more like a brag coming from the Right. “It’d be a damn shame if Trump showed up and bullied Kamala at the debates, I sure hope that doesn’t happen! (wink)(wink)”