Preparing for the debate, Trump hints at imprisonment for election administrators
Trump has threatened to imprison individuals he perceives as election cheats; he continues to claim that Pennsylvania's voting process is fraudulent; he has pledged to pardon participants of the January 6 riots; he's lambasted women who accused him of sexual misconduct; and he's spent prolonged periods recently delivering incoherent rants, raising doubts about his mental state.
In contrast to recent polling, the race appears to be equal nationwide, suggesting that Harris' increased visibility after substituting Biden on the ticket hasn't yielded a decisive advantage.
The tightness of the contest illustrates both Trump's ongoing allure to numerous Americans seeking a political resurgence and the task facing Harris, as she strives to preserve an election that Democrats initially appeared to lose before Biden stepped down.
Tuesday's debate, the first since June's critical CNN clash that ultimately concluded Biden's campaign, assumes utmost importance as it's the most critical scheduled event before Election Day.
The necessity of exceptional concentration for Harris in confronting Trump
The method of each candidate's preparation underscores the distinct choices Americans have in November, coupled with the stark contrast in leadership styles should either Harris or Trump secure the Oval Office.
Harris has secluded herself in Pittsburgh to fine-tune her abilities for tackling Trump in a debate. Choosing Pennsylvania for prep signifies the vital importance of a state she almost certainly needs to carry to secure the presidency. According to a source, her advisors are brainstorming strategies for addressing a rule that mandates muting a contestant's mic while their adversary speaks. Her advocates had pursued the overturning of this rule, anticipating that her background as a former district attorney would enable her to confront Trump in real-time. However, she acknowledged, "I'm ready," while strolling in Pittsburgh with her husband, Doug Emhoff, last Sunday.
Pete Buttigieg, the Transportation Secretary, acknowledged Harris' challenge as she endeavors to capture the attention of Americans seeking to learn more about her while positioning herself against an unpredictable force like Trump. "It will require almost superhuman focus and discipline to face off against Donald Trump in a debate," Buttigieg said on CNN's "State of the Union" last Sunday. "It's not an ordinary proposition, not because Donald Trump is an eloquent proponent of policies designed to improve peoples' lives. It's because he's adept at exploiting any medium of broadcast, transforming it into a spectacle centered around him."
A New York Times/Siena College poll published last Sunday demonstrated that 28% of likely voters desire to discover more about Harris, contrasted to only 9% for her rival. This potentially leaves room for advancement for the vice president. Yet, she confronts pressure to justify policy reversals regarding issues such as immigration and fracking while displaying increased precision than she did in some contentious interviews from her early vice presidency. Moreover, she has forsaken major television interviews, barring one on CNN in October, which means a candidate who sometimes struggled to articulate cogent arguments in high-stress situations enters the debate with little recent practice in adversarial political sparring.
Trump's persistent difficulties adhering to the GOP agenda
Trump's Republican supporters have been pressuring him to address key issues like the economy, immigration, and national security while avoiding unruly behavior that could bolster Harris' argument that the country is now prepared to progress beyond his divisive reputation for many voters. The Republican strategy posits that Harris, as a prominent member of an unpopular administration, lacks the credibility to function as a catalyst for political reform.
However, Trump's conduct leading into the debate highlights their concerns over his potential misstep in highlighting the clear contrast outlined by Sen. Tom Cotton to CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union." Cotton mentioned Sunday that "when Donald Trump was in office, prices were low, wages were high, we had peace and stability globally." He added: "Kamala Harris, as vice president, has brought us record-high inflation. We have an open southern border, and we have conflict everywhere you turn around in the world."
Trump, however, has been reluctant to restrain himself lately.
In the most alarming development, the former President used his Truth Social network last Saturday to accuse Democrats of engaging in "Cheating and Skullduggery" in 2020, before transitioning to the 2024 election, warning, "WHEN I WIN, those people who CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law, which will include lengthy prison sentences to discourage future abuse of justice." He railed against "Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials" who, in his opinion, would be "prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our country."
There is no evidence to support the theory that the 2020 election was corrupt. Trump's failed legal challenges were rejected by judges, and even his own Attorney General, William Barr, acknowledged that there was no widespread voter fraud. The fact that the former President attempted to steal the previous election adds an even more perilous dimension to his threats against officials who do not align with his perception of fairness in this election, and it foreshadows unsettling consequences should Trump lose in November.
In another Truth Social post, Trump brought up a chat with Tucker Carlson to suggest, with no backing evidence, that around 20% of mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania are deceitful. This isn't the first instance where it seems like Trump is planning a justification to contest the 2024 election should he lose.
Trump isn't just role-playing debates — he's merely airing his thoughts publicly
Trump's debate preparation tactics are unlike any modern presidential candidate.
In recent public appearances, the ex-president has been relishing the more eccentric aspects of his personality, engrossing his supporters but causing concern about his ability to display the traditional presidential traits of discipline and mental clarity.
On a Friday broadcast in New York, he gave meticulous and explicit commentaries on accusations against him of misconduct by women — part of a broader tale of his view as an innocent target of justice's weaponization. His comments aren't expected to boost his popularity among female voters, who favor Harris over him by 11 points, according to the New York/Times Siena poll.
At a Wisconsin rally on Saturday, Trump veered off into baffling diversions — like discussing Al Capone and Hannibal Lecter — and praised Putin as a strategic mastermind. Trump claimed he was the only barrier preventing Americans from facing World War III. He vowed to pardon individuals jailed for attempting to overturn the election on January 6, 2021, under the "Harris regime." This would circumvent the justice system and abolish legal responsibility for crimes. In a self-absorbed aside, he complimented one of his speeches as being "brilliantly" delivered since Franklin Roosevelt. His speech was peppered with exaggerations and distortions, although his conspiracy theories and lies are so frequent that they often avoid scrutiny due to their sheer volume.
At one point, Trump referred to Elon Musk as "Leon." Whenever Biden committed such errors, Trump and allies questioned his mental faculties. But the 78-year-old Trump's unchecked public appearances and apparent belief in unproven facts also raise doubts about his fitness to serve as commander-in-chief and the threat he poses to constitutional democracy. Due to his control over the GOP, however, anyone likely to raise such concerns has been pushed out of the party — such as former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, who recently endorsed Harris and her father, former vice president Dick Cheney.
Trump's growing affinity with Musk is offering a taste of how a potential second term for the ex-president might look. His promise to give Musk authority over a campaign to eliminate government regulations would enable Musk to restructure federal regulations and safeguards at a time when his businesses stand to gain significant influence from the government. This would result in conflict-of-interest controversies that would outshine those Trump encountered during his first term.
Despite evidence of Trump's tumultuous character and Harris' success in enhancing Biden's performance in the race, the most recent polling shows no clear winner between them. Harris holds an average of 49% support, while Trump boasts 47% in the latest CNN Poll of Polls, which incorporates surveys conducted between August 23 and September 6. The new average is almost identical to the previous one, taken before the Democratic National Convention, when Harris was averaging 50% to Trump's 48% among polls taken between August 1 and 16.
In light of Trump's unconventional debate preparation, the burden on Harris to maintain focus and counter Trump's rhetoric becomes even more crucial.
The ongoing threats by Trump to imprison perceived election cheats and his continued allegations of voter fraud demonstrate the divisive politics that could dominate the upcoming debate.
