Trump’s post-debate challenge – tear down the ‘Kamaliar’ façade  

But Harris succeeds in debate using the Obama B.S. routine to snow millions of unwitting voters

I was a Day One Donald Trump backer in 2015 and was his 10^th District Chairman, and worked hard on the ground for him and other GOP candidates in 2020, and am trying to help the GOP ticket in Virginia as best as possible this fall.

However, he did not do well in the Philadelphia debate last night.  The better question is — not who “won” the debate, but which candidate got helped more and it clearly helped Kamaliar Harris. 

And,  with help from the ABC moderators, she snow-jobbed millions with her better likeability and appearing  more presidential.  She even spoke to Republican voters by bragging of getting the endorsement of 200 former GOP officials in Washington (albeit, mostly Never Trumpers).  

Yes, it was a stacked deck with ABC anchors fact-checking Trump five times and NEVER doing the same with Harris (i.e. 20 states have abortion bans — false).  But Trump should have known that going in and prepared to demand they fact check HER, just to point to the audience it was a 3 on 1 affair. Trump just takes things too personally and fails to speak to the public and their concerns, as she appeared to do.  

Harris will likely rise in the polls and get millions in donations – Taylor Swift even endorsed her, signing her letter as a “childless cat lady.”   She did what she “she came in with a strategy to taunt and goad Mr. Trump into diving down rabbit holes of personal grievance and vanity that left her policies and history largely untouched,” as the Wall Street Journal editorialized in declaring her the winner.  

And, ABC lured him into again repeating that the 2020 election was stolen and the abortion issue, where he confused Ralph Northam’s 2018 response about post-partum abortions with a West Virginia Governor.

No wonder he’s talking about not doing another one . 

Trump failed to do what he did with the June debate with Joe Biden which was to keep his remarks and responses short and be poised.  

Trump forgot he is not just talking to his base in these debates, but the entire nation including undecided voters, which could number about 15% in swing states. He could have said more about anti-Semitism on campuses and how the Democrats have equivocated on Israel to get the radical and Muslim vote; more about the threat of a Harris Administration, populated with woke policy wonks, threatening free speech and pushing racial divides.  Instead, he squandered his time to defend himself and attacked Biden more than her – she even reminded him twice that she’s his opponent, not Biden.

I do not know where Trump went wrong but I can only presume he didn’t listen to his excellent advisers, Virginia’s Chris LaCivita, who was pivotal in electing Ken Cuccinelli and Jason Miyares as attorney general, and his co-adviser, Susie Wiles.  I have incredible confidence in them.

The campaign has less than 2 months to go and Trump has to get off talking about Haitian migrants eating pets – another dumb comment in the debate, though there is a problem with immigrants allowed in by Biden which are overloading Springfield, OH.—and get back to hammering Harris for being a two-faced flip-flopper, as noted in this nice TBE column,  failed economic policies, and pointing to the serious problems of inflation, illegal immigration and a weak foreign policy that threatens the nation.

Some monumental fiasco in the next few weeks that reminds people of the miserable Democrat policies – maybe a stock market crash or more U.S. service personnel getting killed, or a reprisal of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel – could help him, too.  God forbid.

I also expect a number of GOP Senate and House candidates in tough races to distance themselves from him.  A new poll shows Harris now 10 points ahead of Trump in Virginia .  After the Biden debate and RNC convention, Trump and Biden were tied in one poll, which led the Trump 47 Team  to put resources in our state.  Now, there are reports they are pulling back from Virginia, Minnesota and New Hampshire.

How this new poll and the debate plays out in our pivotal House races in Virginia is unclear, but latest polls show our candidates, incumbent Jen Kiggans in the 2^nd and Derrick Anderson in the 7^th are looking good. These are critical races for the GOP to  win to keep the U.S. House.

We know very well that if “Que Mala” is elected – that means “how bad!” in Spanish — she will be nothing more than a feel-good figure head who won’t get anything done of value, other than executive orders and other actions to cater to the radical socialists who have heavy influence in the Democrat Party.  Another Obama bullshitter and someone who will tilt the nation toward more socialism, higher taxes, more regulation and high prices in housing, insurance and everyday expenses. 

Trump has surprised us before.  He could win this narrowly in the Electoral College – but he has to tear down the Harris façade to make it happen.