The one thing people should know about Donald Trump is that he doesn’t choke.
Not on the golf course and not in life.
That much was obvious when he rose to his feet in Butler, Pa., after almost being assassinated and raised his fist in defiance.
Even champion golfers choke.
But not Trump.
Self-doubt is not part of his DNA, and he’s proud of the fact that when the going gets tough, he’s at his best.
So when the bedwetters and Monday morning quarterbacks freak out over Kamala Harris’ honeymoon polls and start leaking stories about “Donald in meltdown,” they’re probably mistaking his real-time retooling and war-gaming for panic.
Case in point: At Trump’s rally Wednesday in Asheville, NC, a liberal enclave in the battleground state, he was razor-focused on the economy, showing an ability to stay on message that some allies had feared he was incapable of doing.
It didn’t hurt that the latest Consumer Price Index data that day had highlighted the pain felt by everyday Americans every time they buy groceries.
The cost of everything is up more than 20% since Biden-Harris took office.
Real average weekly earnings fell in July.
Unemployment is up.
Median household income is down.
Credit card debt has hit a record high.
Can’t fool families
You know that Democrats will pull every economic lever available to fake their way to an election win.
But you can’t fool working families who roll their eyes when they hear the word “Bidenomics.”
The proof that Bidenomics is a disaster lies in how fast Harris is running away from it.
Her campaign is telling reporters that she is “hoping to distance herself from President Biden’s unpopularity on the economy,” according to Axios, and is planning to debut an economy-focused speech Friday in Raleigh, NC, floating ideas to lower the cost of living.
But she’s been in power for almost four years.
Why not implement her great economic plans today, rather than making people suffer for another five months?
Trump hammered all these points in Asheville and offered a vision of a sunny economic future, harking back to a time voters remember fondly from his last stint in office.
“Vote Trump, and your incomes will soar, your savings will grow, young people will be able to afford a home, and we will bring back the American dream, bigger, better and stronger than ever before.”
He offered specific policies: “Under my leadership, the US will commit to the ambitious goal of slashing energy and electricity prices by half, at least half … within 12 months and at a maximum 18 months.”
He gave an effective and relatively unvitriolic critique of Harris’ economic capacity.
“Kamala Harris wants to be in charge of the entire US economy — but neither she nor her running mate [have ever] held a private-sector job in their entire professional careers. It’s no wonder they’re both socialists.”
He reminded voters that Harris and Biden are “a team. She’s trying to throw him overboard. She doesn’t want to know who he is anymore … No, no. They were a team. He appointed her border czar. And she did the worst job in the history of borders.”
He said people should remember that Harris “goes to work every morning in the West Wing. Her desk is 10 steps from the Oval Office. She cast the tie-breaking votes that gave us record inflation. And for nearly four years, Kamala has cackled as the American economy has burned.”
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Bidenomics disaster
Over and over, he hammered the cost of living under Bidenomics compared to his presidency.
“Does anyone here feel richer under Kamala Harris and Crooked Joe than you were during the Trump administration. Is anything less expensive?”
The disciplined performance ought to go some way toward placating the naysayers who have been concerned that the campaign — and Trump — have lost their way since the Democrats’ last-minute swap-out of Harris for Biden.
Nikki Haley is right that Republicans — and Trump — need to quit whining and focus on winning instead of trying to belittle Harris.
Complaining that Harris doesn’t do interviews and that the media are giving her a free ride is pointless.
She is getting away with it.
Democrats and their shady partners were never going to let Trump have an easy ride to the Oval Office.
Whatever the moment is, Harris is meeting it.
It’s not AI that is generating big crowds at her rallies, and comparing crowd sizes is a fool’s errand.
So is showing patronizing disrespect to your adversary.
Hillary Clinton made that mistake when she called Trump supporters a “basket of deplorables.”
Harris isn’t leaning into her sex and running a Hillary-style “I’m with her” campaign that is a turnoff to men and women alike.
Instead, she is pitching herself as an Obama-esque “hope and change” candidate for an electorate desperate for positivity.
A New York Times/Siena College poll over the weekend had her 4 points ahead in the crucial swing states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
The Cook Political Report now has Harris leading or tied with Trump in six of the seven battleground states.
It found that 59% of swing-state voters feel Trump “is too focused on personal retribution” and 57% think he is “too erratic and out of control to govern the country effectively.”
His job is to change their minds.
A majority agree Harris is “too liberal” (53%) and “too inexperienced” (52%) to govern the entire country effectively.
Trump comes out ahead on immigration, the economy, inflation, crime and foreign policy while Harris is ahead on abortion, “protect democracy,” Social Security and Medicare.
So that provides an obvious campaign platform and an incentive to stay positive.
Trump’s softer side
To his family and those who know him, Trump’s default is a sunny disposition and a generous spirit, but he has been so demonized, a lot of people don’t see it.
He is not given credit for the fact that he has five well-adjusted adult children he is close to and grandchildren who adore him.
More appearances with his family à la the closing piece of the Republican convention would help reset his image in a positive, reassuring light and paint a contrast with Harris without a negative word about cat ladies.
He can leave the attack lines to JD Vance and showcase his optimistic side.
After all, his campaign is in good shape.
He has the right policies.
They are unifying and road-tested and what most people want.
He has plenty of time to define Harris’ policy deficits and highlight his strengths.
If she steals his policies like “No tax on tips,” chalk it up as a compliment — and a win for the beneficiaries. A confident, magnanimous leader is more appealing than a petty, aggrieved one.
Trump is well ahead of where he was in 2020 in the polls and has the advantage that the electorate is looking to his term in office as the golden years.
