Trump Swiftly Hits the Self-Destruct Button

Trump was a bad caricature of himself.

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The first, much-anticipated debate between former President Trump and Vice President Harris unequivocally demonstrated the stark contrast between the former President and the current Vice President. The themes of past vs. future; inclusion vs. division and sanity vs. insanity were clearly on display when Trump lost control not only of the debate but of his temper and composure when goaded by Harris on his temperament and other personal attacks.

To add insult to injury, minutes after the debate, Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris in an articulate and passionate Instagram post, signing off as "childless cat lady", mirroring the swift endorsement of President Biden, likewise minutes after retiring from the presidential race last July. Celebrity endorsements are rarely significant in terms of moving the electoral needle. Still, in a year when previous rules about presidential elections have been turned upside down, this endorsement may, in fact, have a real tangible impact given the large following that Taylor Swift enjoys.

Trump and his allies will most probably complain about the supposed bias of the ABC News moderators, who performed admirably, correcting Trump's most egregious lies in real-time and exposing Trump at his worst. They will quibble about the so-called "vagueness" of Harris' program whilst, in reality, it is Trump who is incapable of articulating a single coherent policy, in particular with regard to healthcare where, despite having been president for four years and being on the political scene for nine years still only has a very vague "concept" of a program to provide better healthcare promising to release his plan sometime in the near future.

Harris couldn't have hoped for a better outcome. She left Trump just enough rope to hang himself (see his comments about dog-eating immigrants in Springfield, Ohio) while presenting herself as a competent, professional, forward-looking commander-in-chief. She accomplished what she had set out to do and much more. The election is gearing up to be a referendum on Trump, and as a tired, grievance-fuelled old man, he is not standing up very well to his opponent's youthful energy and image.

Source: The New Zealand National Library

Even the most casual observer realised that Trump's performance was disastrous, on par with Biden's similarly damaging performance on June 27th. Whether or not this debate will change the dynamics of what is essentially a dead heat remains to be seen, and one must be cautious not to get carried away by the hype.

Nonetheless, the race is now Harris's to lose. She may declare that she still is the underdog, but with her fault-free performance in yesterday's debate, coupled with her significant advantage in fund-raising and her laser focus on the battleground states making sure she does not make the same mistake as Clinton in 2016 by taking votes for granted, she enters the final stretch of the election campaign in an almost ideal position. She has not yet reached her limits in capturing the undecided voters and can still progress, whereas it seems that Trump has already maxed out his potential support.

Trump and his team will throw everything at her, including the kitchen sink, but Harris has the upper hand and can dodge the attacks. She is focusing not only on fundamental principles such as the defence of democracy but also on kitchen-table issues that concern every American. Trump is obsessed with himself, whereas Harris is addressing the concerns of the American people. In today's political climate, the kitchen table beats the kitchen sink. Rock, paper, scissors. Advantage Harris.

The dogs and cats in Springfield can take a collective breath of relief.