Friends, my latest article is hot off the digital presses, and it's a doozy! I upbraid Trump for all the opportunities he missed in the debate, which were numerous, and which may end up hurting his chances more than the unfortunate gaffes he actually made. I also suggest that there is still time for the Trump-Vance campaign to correct these errors and get its messaging on track.
Losing By Omission
To be clear, there
is little sign at this stage of the presidential race that Donald
Trump is destined to lose. According to the polls
and the betting
markets, the only reasonable conclusion one can reach currently
is that the outcome is a toss up. Nonetheless, there is no denying
that the debates have hobbled Trump and have caused him to lose
momentum, and, lest we forget, in such a close contest, every drop,
every iota, of momentum is precious and could ultimately be
determinative.
The
first mistake Trump made vis-à-vis
the debates was to announce that he would face off against Joe Biden
“anytime, anywhere”. This forfeited Trump's leverage over the
timing and the venue(s), needless to say, and led to an
early debate on CNN that, while it yielded a Trump “win” over
Biden, also facilitated a successful Democratic Party coup that
ousted Biden, a weak
candidate, and replaced him with, by most accounts, a younger and
abler competitor. Thus, in the grand scheme of things, the big loser
of the June debate was...Trump himself. And it need not have been so.
Had Trump not given the coup plotters an opening, the Democrats would
be saddled with Sleepy Joe to this day.
Because Trump had
already agreed to debate his opponent, who was then Biden, on CNN and
ABC, he was essentially boxed in and had to accept a September debate
against Kamala Harris on ABC – a network whose documented
hostility to Trump and Republicans made it highly unlikely that
the questioning and moderation would be congenial. Quite predictably,
it wasn't. Harris put forth a performance that exceeded
expectations – especially those of Trumpers, Republicans, and
conservatives – while Trump seemed defensive, repetitive, and
poorly versed in policy and facts. Meanwhile, ABC's crack team did
its best to kick Trump while he was down.
I
would like to suggest, however, that Trump's biggest failures in the
recent debate do not flow from what he said, or what Harris said in
response. The most shocking and egregious fumbles that Trump made lie
in what he didn't
say, and in the golden opportunities that he missed. These omissions
lead one to question whether Trump's political instincts are as sharp
as they used to be.
First,
in discussing abortion, Trump talked up the virtues of the
overturning of Roe
v. Wade
and the consequent empowerment of the states. That is a sound
approach, but what Trump did not do was personalize the issue. Harris
did: she made it clear that real women are suffering because of
the abortion restrictions passed by Republicans at the state level.
The natural retort, which Trump failed to make, is that real babies
are being born, and actual human lives are being saved, by abortion
restrictions as well. At the very least, Trump could have suggested
that the issue is a complicated one and there are valid reasons –
politically, constitutionally, morally, emotionally, religiously,
etc. – to respect both sides.
Second, both candidates were asked a question about race and
identity, which was a perfect opportunity to make their pitches to
voters of color. Harris did so, and Trump did not. Obviously, one of
Trump's most serious weaknesses as a candidate is that he is widely
perceived to be a racist and a sexist. Indeed, Democrats,
progressives, and so-called journalists have invested much time and
energy in painting him as a bigot. Thus, when Trump has a chance to
build bridges with minority and female voters, he should probably
make the effort. He has plenty of potential ammunition: from the
legions of minority and women voters who already support him, to the
gains that people of color and women made during his first
administration, to the fact that Democrats so often take these
demographics for granted and do not genuinely care about their
interests. Trump could have attempted to appeal to this massive and
growing component of the electorate in countless ways. He didn't even
try, which is political malpractice.
Third, Trump did not mention Kamala Harris's long period of
self-isolation
after her crowning as the Democratic Party's presidential nominee,
including her refusal to give press conferences or do one-on-one
interviews. He didn't mention in any detail her record as a San
Francisco District Attorney or as California's
Attorney General, which could be used to peg her as a typical Bay
Area leftist. He didn't allude to her steadfast
support for Joe Biden, up to the moment that she stabbed him in
the back and took his place as her party's standard-bearer. In short,
Trump missed countless opportunities to attack Harris based on her
record, her ideology, her trustworthiness, and other personal
defects.
Fourth,
Trump did not push back against hostile questioning regarding January
6th
and his rejection of the results of the 2020 election by focusing
instead on the Democrats' and the Biden Administration's sponsorship
of censorship
and their attempts to keep their political opponents off
the ballot. Why not put Democrats on the defensive on the issue
of “democracy” whenever possible? Trump did address lawfare and
the “weaponization” of the justice system against him personally,
but he might have driven home these points by underlining the close
connections between the prosecutors who are targeting him and the
White House, and he might also have pointed out to the American
people that, if he, a candidate for president and a former president,
can be a victim of lawfare, then they, as ordinary citizens, are
arguably even more exposed to persecution and prosecution. In other
words, no one is safe when the rule of law breaks down.
Lastly, there is a burning issue in American political life that
admittedly no politician likes to talk about, but every educated and
informed voter finds highly concerning: our deteriorating fiscal
situation. With recent
yearly deficits of $1 trillion to $3 trillion, and a debt-to-GDP
ratio that is now way
above the danger point of 100% – meaning that our $35 trillion
debt exceeds
our $27 trillion economy – America simply cannot afford to keep
spending wildly, while also cutting taxes, which is the apparent
preference of both Trump and Harris. Something has to give, and our
president, or our future president, needs to be straight with us and
lay out the sacrifices that will have to be made to restore our
financial soundness and stability. Almost every Republican and
conservative, and many independents, understand this, but Trump said
nothing that might appease those voters who are concerned about
nation's fiscal future. In fact, he showed no awareness of the
problem.
Trump's errors and omissions in the recent debate were serious. For
some people watching, they may even be disqualifying. Luckily, there
are still two months left for Donald Trump, J.D. Vance, and their
many capable surrogates to address some of these gaping holes in
Trump's messaging, and to reassure the American people that, on these
critical issues, while the GOP may not have all the answers, it will
not be altogether silent.
Dr.
Nicholas L. Waddy is an Associate Professor of History at SUNY Alfred
and blogs at: www.waddyisright.com.
He appears on the Newsmaker Show on WLEA 1480/106.9.
And here it is in the Olean Times Herald:
https://www.oleantimesherald.com/commentary/losing-by-omission/article_c6208b48-75e8-11ef-8381-fffc9a6069db.html
***
In other news, Trump was the intended victim of yet another assassination attempt today! If some of these Trump haters learn better markmanship, and if these trends continue, Trump may not make it to November... Of course, don't expect to learn much about the shooter from the federal authorities. They'll be sure to paint him as a "lone wolf" and leave it at that.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3rllnd1pypo
