Donald Trump hopes he can confuse people about Vice President Kamala Harris's intelligence through sheer force of racism and repetition. "She’s lazy as hell," the GOP candidate said during a fundraiser held at his own golf resort in Florida. Trump, who has canceled multiple interviews outside of his own home, due to "exhaustion," falsely claimed Harris has a "reputation" and accused her of being "on drugs." The Associated Press classified this as part of the "overtly racist rhetoric" that has been "fixtures of Trump’s public life." Ironically, the reliance on silly racist stereotypes is a sign of Trump's own laziness, as he can't be bothered to come up with something more original.
Trump is scared of letting ordinary voters see him as he is.
He's also been using one of his most tired insults for Black people and women: "low IQ," which is rooted in his lifelong obsession with the racist pseudo-science of eugenics. As he becomes even more disinhibited with age, Trump has been less capable of wrapping these white supremacist views in terms of plausible deniability, instead raving about his utterly false belief that people from non-European nations have "bad genes."
We were reminded again of why Trump flees from anyone who would dare ask him a real question this week, due to extensive reports from the Atlantic and the New York Times which reiterated Trump's loathing of the American military and his affection for Adolph Hitler and his fantasies of a fascist army. Harris responded Wednesday with a speech asking Americans if they want to put a man in office who admires Hitler but disdains everyday American soldiers tasked with defending democracy.
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When asked about this during the town hall, Harris said, "The people who know Donald Trump best, the people who worked with him in the White House" have "all called him unfit and dangerous." She reiterated that Trump's former chief of staff, General John Kelly, "is putting out a 911 call to the American people" by labeling Trump a fascist. When asked by Anderson Cooper if she agrees Trump is a fascist, she said, "Yes, I do."
Trump, however, could not answer questions about his fascist views or Hitler affection, because he was too afraid to show up. His campaign is likely terrified he'll get angry and defensive and like his Fox News buddy Brian Kilmeade, go off on a tangent arguing that wanting to be more like Hitler isn't such a bad thing.
Wednesday night, Trump was trying — and failing — to accuse Harris of being unable to speak.
Anyone who watched her town hall could see why Trump's lame insults aren't landing as he hopes they will. As usual, she was sharp, disciplined, and able to speak about policy issues instead of ranting about Hannibal Lecter or electrocution sharks. The questions were generally good, as is often true with town halls. Voters tend to ask about issues, unlike Beltway journalists who all too often focus on the horserace issues, instead of the stakes. In this environment, Harris shined, arguing Americans "deserve a president who is focused on solutions, not sitting in the Oval Office plotting their revenge and retribution." She was heavy on specifics, detailing her policies on housing, immigration, reproductive rights, and inflation.
One can see why Trump will never let himself be subject to questions from voters who haven't been screened to make sure they're already fully MAGA. He was always touchy, but lately has decompensated so much that he can't handle anything but a Fox News host asking how he got to be so awesome. Trump can lob all the insults he wants, but he can't hide from even his super-fans that he's afraid to face Harris again. That is why she sat for this town hall at all. It was supposed to be a debate, but Trump knows she would wipe the floor with him, as she did in September. Losing a debate is painful for someone with an ego as fragile as Trump's, but it's even harder when you're running around calling your opponent "stupid." If she's stupid and beats you in a debate, what does that make you?
In the past few weeks, Trump has retreated to the safe spaces of far-right media, phony events with only hand-picked supporters in attendance, and rallies, coddled from any scary reminders that most Americans dislike him. He spews insults against Harris, but nearly everyone listening to him already shares his racist, sexist views. It's questionable that he could get fence-sitters to believe his lies about Harris, as ill-formed and lazy as his insults are. But it doesn't even matter, because the people who don't have a firm opinion about her are likely not listening to him.
Of course, the problem is they probably didn't watch this town hall, either. As we saw in September, debates are a terrible way to convey information to voters. Town halls like last night's are far better, as evidenced by Harris's meaty and thoughtful answers to voter questions. But both the press and the public are far more attracted to the drama promised by conflict, rather than to listening to a politician explain themselves simply. So while Trump is a coward to avoid another debate with Harris, it does make strategic sense. His campaign knows the more voters see of her, the more they like her. So their best bet is convincing people not to tune in at all.
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To be honest, the town hall was kind of boring, especially after Cooper got the headline-grabbing question about Trump's fascism out of the way. Talking about the nitty-gritty details of policy is important, but it's not entertaining. Harris is a competent politician and knows how to work in personal details and feelings-talk to liven things up, but ultimately, there's a reason so much of the news industry is geared away from issues coverage and towards the horse race. News consumers may complain about the shallow coverage, but their clicks and ratings reveal their desires. Audiences crave the excitement that discourse about tax rates and border policy can't provide. It's a shame more people just won't tune in, because I suspect Harris would be way ahead of Trump in the polls if they would.
Still, there was something soothing about watching a sleepy town hall with a normal politician. Even with the talk about Trump and the threat he poses, his absence was such a relief. No one screaming lies, demonizing huge swaths of Americans as "enemies" or "poison," or running through the behavioral checklist for psychopathy and narcissism. Perversely, that was the problem. Watching this, it could be all too easy to forget the stakes of the election and to imagine it's just a matter of judging whether you like this woman's answer on immigration. Trump is scared of letting ordinary voters see him as he is. But hiding him is also a smart strategy for his campaign.
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