With only hours until what may well be the only presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Democrat candidate Kamala Harris, Republican allies of the former president are coming forth with advice on how to handle that affair. Their advice is varied, but there seems to be a common theme: Make it all about policy.
[Republican consultant and Fox News contributor Ari] Fleischer’s advice for Trump is, “Hit her on policy. Just like you did to Biden in the first debate. That was a disciplined, tough, policy-oriented Donald Trump. I would love to see the same Donald Trump against Kamala Harris.”
[GOP strategist and Republican Jewish Coalition CEO Matt] Brooks highlighted that “on policy the distinctions are sharp and clear. It will be teed up to the American people if we stick to policy. That’s what they’re looking for and that’s what they want to hear about.”
This is, of course, the right answer. Trump has the advantage of being a known quantity. Harris? Not even she seems to know what her positions on a range of issues are at any given moment. “Baffling inconsistency” wouldn’t appear to be a good campaign strategy, but that appears to be what the Harris/Walz campaign is going for.
A few other Trump allies are also offering opinions:
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who was seriously considered a Trump 2024 running mate, told Fox News that the former president “doesn’t need my advice. He just needs to be himself.”
Arkansas’ Tom Cotton also weighed in:
Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, another Trump ally and surrogate, emphasized that “the American people know where President Trump stands. They know what they got when President Trump was president.”
Pointing to the vice president, Cotton charged that “Kamala Harris has tried to run as a blank slate.”
Harris may be trying to run as a blank slate, but that’s not likely to work. There’s too much in her history, and she can’t divorce herself from the many and manifest failures of the administration in which she has been the second banana for almost four years. The Biden/Harris administration has been a disaster; Donald Trump knows this and has been speaking on that topic at length. Expect that to be his focus on Tuesday.
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That is, of course, as it should be. In this, the closed-mic format may help Trump, forcing him to stay more focused and more on track, making him use the time while Harris is talking to analyze her statements and think about how best to reply. It will also eliminate the sniping comments that have been unfortunate distractions in past debates. That is, in fact, why the Harris campaign wanted to go back to an “open mic” debate, hoping perhaps she could trip Trump up and provoke him into making a comment that the left could focus on to shout “sexist!” or “racist!”
As the format is now, it favors Trump. And, yes, Trump needs to hammer Harris on the issues where he shows the most strength – the economy, the border, and crime.
Meanwhile, the usual suspects are still clutching pearls and claiming Trump won’t even show. They’re wrong. As usual.
See Related: Nancy Pelosi Projects: Claims Donald Trump May Skip Tuesday’s Debate Because of ‘Cowardice’
Stay tuned! We’ve only hours to go before the spectacle begins.
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