Kamala Harris' campaign taunted Donald Trump and his "handlers" in a dispute over the rules for their upcoming presidential debate.The former president has suggested he might not take part in the Sept. 10 debate because he doesn't believe ABC News would be an impartial host, and his team would like ...
I hope they know what they’re doing . Trump voters don’t expect Trump to present logical arguments and back them up. They expect him to shout nonsense, talk over his opponent, and then declare victory at the end because that’s what their idea of “tough” is.
So I hope the Harris camp has thought this strategy all the way through. A debate “win” isn’t determined by who presented the most logical arguments or the most coherent vision. The winner is determined by who gets a bump in the polls and ultimately gains voters afterwards, and potential Trump supporters aren’t looking the same things as Democrats.
Harris isn’t using the debate to win over Trump supporters. That ship has sailed. She is using the debate to win over swing voters and motivate her own supporters.
Polls show swing voters don’t like it when Trump interrupts people, and it can motivate (ie enrage) her own supporters.
I hope this is true, but there are definitely many swing voters who consider Trump’s bullshit to be how tough people behave , and it makes them more likely to vote for him. If that weren’t the case I doubt he would have been elected.
I suspect ultimately Harris will agree to mute mics and just use Trump’s reluctance to ridicule him.