Trump’s debate mistake
There’s no law of physics or politics that says that upward trends have unlimited potential and must go on forever. Right now Kamala Harris is trending upward — in popularity, in enthuse and in crowd sizes. That upward trend could and probably will stop at some point. In any case, she is clearly ahead of Trump, and we’re close enough to the election that, barring something dramatic or catastrophic, she will probably stay that way.
There is no question in my mind that Kamala Harris would kick Donald Trump’s ass in a debate. She has all the advantages. She is smarter, younger and quicker on her feet than Trump. Best of all, she has truth and hard statistics on her side. She could prepare a devastating case against Trump that he can’t answer without his resorting to baldfaced and obvious lies. If real-time fact checking is employed, that could hurt Trump even more and where it counts. Independent voters will be watching the debate and using it, in part, to help them make up their minds who to vote for.
It’s no wonder Trump is talking about dropping out of the debate, and even now he’s testing narratives calculated to make it look like Kamala Harris’ fault. To that question I say let him. Let him drop out and good riddance. No matter how he frames it, if he drops out it will be HIS decision, and that could hurt him further.
Moreover, Kamala Harris doesn’t need the debate. She’s already ahead. Trump, by contrast, DOES need the debate because it might contain the miracle he requires to turn his fortunes around. He is out of miracles just now and nothing seems to be working.
In fact, if Trump drops out of the debate, that could be the end of all hope for his return to the White House. If the election were held today, most analysts agree that Kamala Harris would be elected President of the United States. And what a glorious moment that would be. All we need to do is make sure things don’t change between now and November 5th. All we need to do is freeze the current moment in political amber.
So if you’re lamenting Trump’s testing the waters about dropping out of the debate, consider this: dropping out might be the biggest mistake of his life. And “never interrupt your enemy when he’s making a mistake.” Donald Trump very well could die in prison because he decided against the debate. It could be his one last and only chance to snatch the momentum away from Harris.
Again, I want to emphasise, it’s a near certainty that Kamala Harris would wipe the floor with Trump in a debate. But nothing is absolutely certain, and it could be Trump’s only chance of winning. So let him drop out. We can blame him for it and heave a secret sigh of relief. We don’t need the debate — and he does. Desperately. And, as ever, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, comrades and friends, stay safe.
Robert Harrington is an American expat living in Britain. He is a portrait painter.