Trump Takes Kamala Harris' Bait at the Debate
Old man yelling wasn't a good look
Prior to the start of Tuesday night’s debate there was trepidation in the air; Donald Trump’s WWF style of dealing with opponents by playing the Big Man was foremost in my mind. Would he pull it off against a prosecutor?
After all, as we were reminded constantly during the “pre-game” shows, his last debate ended a sitting President’s reelection campaign. What people don’t remember is that Biden’s poor performance initially did not lead to a dip in polling; it was the post game chattering of the pundit class becoming so loud their disparagements became news that led to Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket.
Right out of the gate, the Vice President pulled a power move, walking across to Donald Trump's side of the stage and shaking his reluctantly offered hand. The challenger wasn’t happy about it, and it may have been the only time all night that he looked her in the eye.
In fact, it was the first time the two had ever met in person. Trump passed on an earlier opportunity to meet at the inauguration, breaking tradition by flying home to Mar a Lago.
I thought Kamala Harris struggled a bit in the early moments of the debate. She was trying to go with the litany of the hope Democrats are campaigning on, and obviously had a case of dry mouth. Her practices in the prior week included sessions on staging, and she knew that grabbing a drink from the glass down in the lectern was a weak move.
Never-the-less, she persisted. You can tell Kamala Harris won via the debate among commentators about just where Trump lost it and descended into angry old man mode. And the whining coming from the likes of Rep. Darrell Issa about the moderators signals that even the former president’s supporters knew the score.
Facts contradicted Republican fantasies about the course of the debate. Trump spoke more often for more time than did Harris. The moderators corrected the challenger on a few of the most outrageous lies, like the story started by a real life Nazi (see below) about Haitians and the statements about post-birth abortion/baby-killing. They let both candidates get away with not answering questions posed.
Maybe Darrell Issa, et. al., really are stupid enough to believe nonsense. Maybe the Russians or the Iranians or the boys in the Slovakia hood who spread this nonsense know just what suckers right wingers are.
FYI– the final count on lies told was Trump 33 and Harris 1.
Harris invited viewers to attend one his opponent’s rallies, characterizing them as lacking substance.
“What you will also notice is that people start leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom.”
Trump took the bait. When it was his turn to speak to the moderators’ question on immigration, he declined, telling moderators, “first let me respond to the rallies.”
“People don't leave my rallies. We're the biggest rallies, the most incredible rallies, in the history of politics. That's because people want to take their country back.”
It was all downhill from there. Harris looked at Trump when criticizing him and at the camera when making her assertions about her vision and plans.
And then Trump got backed into a corner on his promise to replace the Affordable Care Act, sputtering about having ‘concepts for a plan.’ The fifty million people who’ve benefited from better healthcare probably don’t want concepts instead of seeing a doctor.
In cities around the country and via virtual groups, people opted in to watching the debate as a group. In San Francisco (surprise!) an in-person gathering had a festive atmosphere.
Via Politico California:
The audience at Manny’s in the Mission howled when Trump falsely claimed that immigrants in Ohio are eating pet cats and dogs and then wrangled with ABC’s moderators who tried to fact-check him live. The mood was so jubilant that the gathering often felt more like a comedy roast than a presidential debate.
The laughter continued as Harris baited Trump by mocking the size of his rallies, and the crowd of several hundred cheered and whistled as the Democrat landed one-liners like, “Donald Trump was fired by 81 million people. Clearly, he is having a very difficult time processing that.”
They cheered again when Trump tried to evoke President Joe Biden and Harris responded: “You’re not running against Joe Biden, you’re running against me.”
Trump calling in on Fox this morning: "ABC took a big hit last night. I mean, to be honest, they are a news organization, they have to be licensed to do it. They ought to take away their license for the way they did that."
Don’t expect a big bump in polls. It didn’t happen for both Trump in 2016 and George W. Bush in 2004, who were viewed as having lost debates but went on to win the White House.
Where last night’s TKO should make a difference is with party enthusiasm on the ground. This election is still about turnout.
Obviously there were people who liked what they saw and voted with their wallets. Donations for the first hour of the match up came to $9 million and another $12.5 million came in during the second hour.
Childless Cat Lady Taylor Swift’s endorsement was just icing on an already rich cake.
Oh yeah, about that Nazi in Springfield… (Screenshot is linked to source)
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Wednesday News Clipz
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Environment Report: ‘Compostable’ Bag Likely Not What It Claims to Be via MacKenzie Elmer at Voice of San Diego
In my effort to understand why the city of San Diego doesn’t accept bags marketed as compostable or biodegradable in its food waste recycling program, I uncovered another inconsistency in advertising by the California-based plastics company, Crown Poly…
…Crown Poly markets this product as something that is good for the Earth and can return to nature without harming it. But, whether intentional or not, some of their advertising appears to be false.
Intentional false marketing goes by another name: Greenwashing. It’s a problem so prolific, the United Nations designated a group of experts to enforce credibility and accountability in this space where seemingly everyone – from utilities to soft drink companies to entire nations – is making commitments to go “net zero” on carbon emissions (in other words, remove as much greenhouse gas from the atmosphere as something generates).
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Animated San Diego GOP Crowd Hoots, Hollers as Trump, Harris Tangle in Debate by Ken Stone at Times of San Diego
Corey Gustafson, elevated to chairman of the local Republican Party in April after Paula Whitsell was ousted, opined that the widely seen debate would help GOP candidates in San Diego County.
“Well certainly, I think so,” he said. “I mean … President Trump’s closing statement was exactly right. He said for the last 3 1/2 years Democrats have controlled this country” to little gain.
“Same thing in San Diego County — we’ve had Democratic rule at least the last four years. … So San Diegans have a choice. Do they want more of the same failed Democratic policies? Or do they want to have successful Republican policies as demonstrated during the Trump Administration?”
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San Diego County pays out-of-state contractor Equus millions for emergency flood housing amid billing concerns by Craig Harris at 10 News
The Kentucky company hired to run the county's emergency temporary lodging program sent one flood victim to a hotel that had been shut down, while others said Equus repeatedly lost their information and put their hotel stays in jeopardy.
Team 10 now has uncovered the millions of dollars paid to Equus, which included substantial payouts to a few employees.
For example, records show Equus billed the county more than $70,000 for two project directors in February. That's about $35,000 each for one month of work at an hourly rate of almost $257.
