On Tuesday night Donald Trump couldn't switch gears out of his rally mode into a more adult theater. Considering that Kamala Harris was charged with immigration, and that it had gone out of control, all Trump needed to do was mention the basics, and forget about cats and dogs.
Considering that there is a large army of pro-lifers, all Trump needed to do was mention that states now have the authority, and that people are free to choose their state of residence.
But who knows what lurks in Trump's mind and what propelled him to forget what venue he was at.
Robert Kennedy Jr. thinks that the poor performance cost Trump with the undecided independents. I would agree that he gained no votes at the debate, but I question how many undecided remained before the debate. Taylor Swift's endorsement that evening only added to Harris's quiver.
At the very best, Trump had a very expensive night.
What independents noticed was the three against one debate. Trump is a flawed candidate and could have done much better in this debate. This said, is Kamala not also a flawed candidate, in fact deeply flawed for a a variety of reasons? Her record of radical beliefs can't be papered over with her, "I've changed my mind" excuse. Her positions have always been far outside the mainstream of American political beliefs while Trump's belief's are well within. Yes there is a likability factor with both candidates, many instinctively dislike Trump's brash personality, but ask yourselves, is Kamala likable? No she isn't and never has been. In the debate Trump seemed angry and unpolished, conversely Kamala was over prepared with what appeared to be canned responses, and staged irritating facial gestors. In short, both turned off viewers for different reasons. So although Kamala scored a technical win, the facts one the ground haven't changed. Inflation has driven up costs 21% since Biden/Harris took office, 12.5 million people have poured unchecked into our country, crime is up and policing and crime reporting have declined, we are playing with fire on the world stage with war and talk of war. The Democrats are now the party of the elites, rich, powerful, and global interests, the Republican Party is now the party of the working men and women. Life has become harder for these people since 2021 and this debate doesn't change that.
ReplyDeleteAnd yours is a flawed comment. The Republicans have been severely divided since the dawn of the tea party now maga's. No wonder the area Republican party is dead. Heidt was the last of the greats.The Republicans will never be a viable party again in Allentown until the maga's lose and lose big.So join me and many others to keep your Republican values and secretly vote for Harris.Believe the October surprise this time will be Bush's endorsement
DeleteI agree, he spent most of his time responding to her. He has all the policy and facts on his side. I suspect he underestimated her preparation and did little of his own.
ReplyDeleteAnd that is what we want from our President? Arrogance, ignorance and old age? He showed it all. Actually Harris had him at the handshake.
DeleteScott, when you're talking about dogs and cats, and post birth termination, and firing well respected people in his first administration, it's not clear to me that Trump is a better choice. I may be leaving the top of my ballot blank.
ReplyDeleteRay, I don't believe that Trump's responses were from Harris baiting him, instead rather indicative of his current style. Ask Tillerson, Mattis, Kelly, etc.
So firing "respected people" is worse than the 21% percent increase in inflation, 12.5 million illegals crossing the border unchecked, increased crime and less policing, and the catastrophic foreign policy?
DeleteTrump's propensity not to take advise seems to have only gotten worse...he now doesn't take it even from his campaign staff. You may find him smart enough to run the country himself, I don't.
DeleteAs a moderate, I watched with an objective mind and I thought Trump was terrible. Harris was in full courtroom mode hitting him with hard punches and he was on his heels in a defensive mode throughout. There are so many policy issues where Trump could have really scored points on (i.e. her performance as Border Czar, unrealized capital gains etc...) and he was too busy defending himself to score points that way. While Harris was optimistic and calm, Trump was pessimistic and volatile using non-factual lines throughout such as "she's destroying the country" or "the country is going to Hell" etc... It was very obvious that Harris out-prepared Trump and her courtroom experiences were a real asset in a debate.
ReplyDeleteI struggle with voting for Trump. His weaknesses were very much drawn out by Harris. That is all on him. However, I cannot vote for Harris as I know her policies are destructive . While she may not ban fracking, she will choke it to death. While she claims she will protect the border she will simply decriminalize and alter the system. Inviting more chaos and harm to both the country and the aliens. Price gouging baloney will be price controls. Inflation will continue and discord will get more strident while free speech is pinched.
ReplyDeleteAgree! Don't forget how she will pay for all of her give aways to illegal immigrants and other low income/ unmotivated Americans (all Americans should be able to buy cars and homes etc..) ...unrealized capital gains are a policy she is keeping real quiet about but will be an all out assault on older productive middle class Americans who worked hard to pay off their mortgages or who carefully saved money in their 401 K accounts.
DeleteWhat a rare morning for me this morning. I agree with MM commentary and the majority of what has been posted, as of this minute.
ReplyDeleteShe put aside her giggles and stammers replaced by the faces and body gestures and revealed little in terms of her position.
He demonstrated his impairments with the cat and dog comment. I feel sorry for his staff. They need to line up for employment.
Forget the debate that ABC had on Tuesday.
ReplyDeleteThese other conversations, these other tough choices and compromises. And these are the debates to which we should be paying attention to. These are the debates going on in the family car, over the kitchen table, or in the bedroom after the kids are asleep, as hardworking everyday American couples try to compromise on some way to get through life from day to day.
For example, people have to choose between the discount grocery compared to five years ago; more must use coupons, or activate their store’s discount app on their cell phones today. As they walk the aisles, their internal debate ought to be between the chicken and the beef. Or between the pasta and the rice, or between serving green beans or broccoli as the evening’s vegetable side. Instead, more working families than ever are having to choose the cheapest meals, having to forgo their preference for a complete, balanced food plan in favor of the least expensive option, because the food inflation of the past few years has been devastating to the American consumer.
Then there’s the debate over repairing or replacing the big-ticket items in the household. These things have always happened as nothing ever lasted forever, but the urgency today is different from what it used to be.
If the dryer or oven breaks, and costs a couple hundred to fix, versus two or three times that to replace, that was always a difficult debate, but we knew how to have it, how to weigh the pros and cons of getting a few more years out of it versus just getting a new one. But today, with the tyrannical climate hoax–based restrictions that the federal government has placed on household appliances, whole new issues, and incredibly higher costs, must be factored in.
If your furnace or central air unit breaks today, there’s the one price to just repair it, which is higher every year, of course. But now there’s something new: new refrigerant mandates, and the double phase furnace mandate about to kick in, mean that if you replace it today, it will cost a lot, but if you wait a couple years, the replacement will cost twice as much as that because the government has banned the perfectly functional, affordable technologies that have worked well for decades, and mandated high-end versions instead, for both manufacture and sale.
Why would the government ban the manufacture of a furnace that works perfectly well, and mandate one that’s twice as expensive?
Five years ago, most American families didn’t have to factor in the cost of gasoline if they wanted to go on a long trip. For a family to take a vacation to the finger lakes in New York or perhaps to the Blue Ridge mountains costs a lot more In a minivan getting about 20 mpg, the difference in cost, versus what that drive would have cost the family five years ago is double the cost or more. And this debate isn’t just about the fun of the vacation; it’s about whether this family can ever give their kids the kind of fun and educational childhood vacation to historical sites and museums and natural wonders that the parents and grandparents remember from when they were growing up. These aren’t happy debates ... these are tragic ones.
But we don’t just spend money on gasoline when we travel, do we? It’s part of our daily lives ... our commutes to work and school, to visit family and friends, to participate in activities. If you put 12,000 miles per year on your car, the difference in gasoline prices has likely cost you over a thousand dollars per year during the Biden-Harris mismanagement of the economy. That’s at least $4,000 per car, all told, and a lot of families have more than one car.
These are the debates that matter to the American public this week. Not the word games on ABC and how Trump acts or how Harris answers questions or not.
Every American knows that the election of Kamala Harris would mean four more years of all this.
As far as the cost of gas (and everything else...)... I just read that we are producing more oil than ever and exporting it!!! This begs the question, why is it STILL so expensive??? Because THEY WANT to be... the only explanation I can come up with!!! YMMV.
DeleteI again agree on the poor debate performance of Trump. Trumps policies are in the better interest of the country. Harris will continue what is happening and it unlikely this country will survive four more years of this nonsense..
ReplyDeleteThe ‘cat and dog’ portion is actually working to Trump’s advantage, big time! First of all, he DID qualify the remark by saying something like “Don’t know that to be true, but that’s what’s being said there.”
ReplyDeleteIt is being said there by residents. There’s a 30 minute video on YouTube to hear it all.
More importantly, realize that most ofAmerica had NO idea what’s been done to Springfield, OH (pop. 59,000) due to uncontrolled illegal immigrant dumping. In Springfield’s case, 20,000 immigrants have been added to the population by the Biden/Harris Administration! That’s the equivalent of nearly 40,000 immigrants recently arriving into Allentown city limits. Imagine how Allentown would handle that!
The ‘cat and dog’ reference has alerted millions upon millions of Americans to bad immigration policy from our Border Czar. Most will now want to read more about that place.
The damage and destruction is so bad in Springfield, the Ohio governor has ordered several hundred additional State Police and millions of state tax dollars there to try and sort it all out. Fact check that!
You know things didn't go well for a certain candidate when his line for a debate goes from "anytime, anyplace" to "Never again". When I hear about the greedflation crisis: I'm not starving but when it comes to items like eggs, gas and other items maybe the government SHOULD look into collusion that form monopolies which are making record profits while claiming false hardships.
ReplyDeleteGood example would be eggs, where an initial bird flu slowed down production for a bit which would naturally raise prices, but now that the flu is over egg prices have stayed up with record profits. Price for gas fluctuates by how much the colluders estimate the public will tolerate the price gouging before the public starts to think that maybe we were better off before the government removed the price caps. Let us not forget that a lot of the gas was obtained by the oil companies from land that used to be public which was then sold to the oil companies for pennies on the dollar since the expectation was that it would benefit us all.
As far the candidates on the immigration crisis: It's real and needs a solution. But if anything shows that one candidate cares more for himself than a solution to the problem it was when he commanded his minions to reject a Repub led joint bill to enhance border protection (which the border patrol officers endorsed.) because it would take a main stumping point of his campaign. If that fact, and the attack on the capital by themselves don't make you see that he is a self serving narcissist and steer you away from this candidate, just face it: you're in a cult.
The Rally crowds are certainly a cult, but there is also the partisans, who claim that a very flawed candidate is better than the Democrats.
DeleteAnd then there is a very large group willing to look at the POLICIES each candidate will put forth.
DeleteThe reality is that the country was better off under Trump's policies.
Harris is part of the current administration and their failed policies. And her role has been large - she's second in command under an obviously impaired president. She's not a bystander to the policies that are currently harming the country, she's helped put them in place.
Her month-long conversion from a lifetime of radical positions and her actions of the last four years is hardly believable.
I may not like Trump's demeanor, but I'll vote for his policies every day of the week.
9:17am No, higher food prices isn't because of “price-gouging”, and government-decreed price controls are not the solution as Mrs Harris says she will impose.
DeleteI worked for a supermarket chain some years ago. The stores operate on a very small net profit margin, usually between one and two percent. That means if you buy a bag of potato chips for $5, after the cost paid by the store to the distributor… the cost of product transport from warehouse to shelf… the portion of each product that pays for the overhead costs like employees, the store itself, maintenance and utilities… the various taxes paid by the store… the cost of debit and credit transactions… the store made a whopping ten cents on the sale, best case scenario at a 2% profit. At a 1% profit? A whole nickel.
What do you think would happen were Harris to take control at the White House, and tell grocery stores that the bag of chips that costs them between $4.90 and $4.95, can only be sold for $3? Is that grocery story going to stock its shelves as a massive loss?
The problem is a government that keeps spending money it doesn’t have, printing dollars out of thin air—this destroys the purchasing power of the dollar, and things cost more and more because the dollar is worth less and less.
Who isn't affected by higher grocery prices? The illegals who have been flooding into the country and given more than $10,000 in food stamp dollars on their “magic money cards,” or the Haitian migrants who can apparently just shop for food around their neighbor’s backyard, an alley, the local pound, or the park down the street.
The solution to the "Immigration Crisis" is actually quite simple. No, we don't need "reform". We need to enforce the immigration laws we already have. Something Biden and Harris simply are ignoring.
Get your facts straight. It's not the retailers as much as the suppliers. Trumps bs about more tariffs on imported goods means higher prices.How do you think he pays for for tax cuts. Do you think China is paying the tariffs and Mexico is paying for the wall? Ha,Ha, Ha your funny
DeleteGood lord Mike, Republicans like myself admit our candidate it flawed. Give us some freakin credit for honesty! Do you ever get such candor from Dems? Our candidate is flawed but he is far less flawed than Biden or Harris. Feel free to not vote for Trump, but thinking like your will facilitate for more years of what we are going through now. Be honest, will that be better than another four years of Trump who gave us a secure border, a economy sound, and a world at peace.
DeleteExcellent observation, 7:56! Most of all the rest is a little significance to average American families, except maybe, the danger to us of a Russian military response against those who are funding attacks inside their country.
ReplyDeleteHarris would like viewers to think she had little to do with what you describe, 7:56. But, will they?
I see a pattern in the comments, what appears to be Trump supporters I see that is based on his past record and his policies. The Trump critics never mention the very real concerns of the Trump voters of what the past 4 years have done to their lives. Instead they focus on Trump bad, Trump stupid, Trump dangerous.
ReplyDeleteTrump has got to ask to check Taylor Swift’s birth certificate…sure his crack team of investigators will discover something. As for abortion stance, basic rights should not be dependent upon your zip code. State control of issue not proper; basic right of privacy guaranteed by Bill of Rights.
ReplyDeleteActually there is no right to privacy in the constitution.
DeleteJust reviewing the entry on Trump University (on Wikipedia - which covered a period before he formally entered politics!) was enough exposure to the character of this litigious man with his snake oil promotions and false pronouncements.
ReplyDeleteHe only lives for his own vain self-interest. He could genuinely care less about those around him (including some members of his own family) regardless about how he expresses himself.
It was only my intense dislike for Hillary that allowed me to hold my nose and vote for him in 2016! What a disappointment!
𝑫𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒔? Not in this case!
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but much of what is posted on Wikipedia is every bit as bad as what is posted on Snopes... somewhat unreliable information that can be edited by anybody at any time. Both sites need to be taken with 100 pound lumps of salt...
DeleteThat’s not really bad news, you’ve just pointed out that Wiki’s info can be altered by anybody - so then it’s subject to get filtered through BOTH political lenses.
DeleteThe final result then - after not being able to alter (read: challenge) those documented court proceedings (read: reality) in that matter, I stand by my personal assessment of the man.
Now please excuse me as I 𝙙𝙤𝙣 my comfortable (Trump) sneakers while I contemplate the scriptures in my (Trump) bible; I’m too old for trading cards - and I’ve given up wearing perfume!
And what , you think Harris, Pelosi and Schumer care about you? Gimme a break. They only want to buy your vote (with your own tax dollars).
DeleteNo, you’re right; they probably don’t - but the potential prospects of being behind bars - and adding to the wearisome ongoing drama surrounding him - I could conceivably vote for some other 3rd party candidate - not saying I would though.
Delete“…all Trump needed to do was mention the basics, and forget about cats and dogs.”
ReplyDelete“Considering that there is a large army of pro-lifers…”
“ Taylor Swift's endorsement that evening only added to Harris's quiver.”
I find it ironic that Trump is taken to task over his comments on the first two subjects mentioned, when they’re true. There’s video of police in Ohio arresting a woman suspected of eating a cat. It also turns out that babies are being killed up to the moment of birth and even being allowed to die after birth in this country after failed abortions.
What was missing was someone there to fact check the “fact checkers”, who were Harris supporters disguised as debate moderators.
As to Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Harris, I don’t know what (if any) new votes that will bring Harris. I do know that 90% of Swift’s songs are about picking the wrong person, so at least she’s being consistent.
your first two points are not reply worthy. as for taylor, she is much more influential than you know, the NFL appreciates that.
DeleteI don't know if you mean they're not "reply worthy" because you agree with my first two points, or if you think they're not "reply worthy" because you disagree with them.
DeleteIf the former, great. If the latter, I suggest you broaden your news sources.
It was just a couple of weeks ago when the democrat governor of Colorado was saying that the immigrant gang takeover of and apartment building in Aurora Colorado was a "figment of the imagination" of a city council person there. The mainstream media was happy to parrot that line.
Then a resident video of the armed gang went viral and the media couldn't ignore it. The press suddenly acknowledged the reality they could no longer hide but quickly moved on from that story, as it wasn't in the interest of getting democrats elected.
The same thing happened when we were lied to about Joe Biden being in great shape until we saw THAT debate.
As we saw at the Harris debate, the majority of the press is very biased, and wasn't going to risk that happening again.
Perhaps to your broader point, I too would have preferred that Trump had focused less on the pets and more about why Harris apparently feels it's in any way acceptable for the federal government to dump 20,000 immigrants on a town of 60,000.
So I guess my hope is that we are disagreeing on the examples Trump brought up, not that the problems exist or don't exist. My fear is that too many who don't know what's going on will walk away from watching the debate thinking the latter.
As to Swift, yes she brought many of her fans to the NFL. I don't know of anyone who was already a fan of the sport giving a rat's behind about who she votes for. In fact, I think that she may have just ended her honeymoon with NFL fans.
I think your points are absurd: The purpose of the debate was to win the approval of those watching and those media pundits commenting about it. Trump did neither.
DeleteIf you can find a cat eaten in Ohio, nobody cares at this point
I believe that Swift will bring Harris at least a couple hundred thousand votes from young fans who either hadn't registered or would not have otherwise voted.
I am a little weary of hearing about the respected people that Trump fired. He came into the white House without a staff that he could depend on to implement his policies. He mistakenly thought that military people are the ultimate patriots, but the reality is the Washington military are true blue bureaucrats often representing the industrial complex that provides the military.
ReplyDeleteThey convinced him, which they considered their purpose, to make military spending the number 1 priority. This allowed the wall to be put off and when he asked them same security minded bureaucrats for defense funding they told him to take a hike.
Many of these so called well respected experts whole purpose is to push the elected people in the direction their real donors and masters wish. He needed to fire more of them, including people like Bolton and Pompeo.
We are headed for economic run and possibly WW3 due to the advise of most of these well respected Washington insiders.
Privacy, as well as a right "to pursue happiness" is enshrined in the Constitution via The Bill of Rights. Of course, nothing is absolute but taking away a right enjoyed for 50 years is quite reich wing radical jurispuridence gone awry.
ReplyDeleteCrying now about "the Best People" he fired sour grapes as he had the time to pick Cabinet Heads dedicated to undermine the functions of their Departments. They came in as Trump supporters; just got disillusioned at how unfit he was to be POTUS.
Well, I'll take an "unfit" for POTUS... or should I say I'll trade one "unfit" POTUS for another "unfit" POTUS... all I know is things ran better, were better and I want them to be better AGAIN. I could give a rat's ass if he is unliked by the opposing party. They're the ones that returned us to going downhill with no brakes.
DeleteI travel to the Midwest for Christmas... have for over 30 years... we stop in Nappanee, Indiana as a half way point. We leave around 4AM for the last leg... AFTER Trump was elected and BEFORE he was inaugurated, it was impossible to get out of the hotel driveway... just on his election, the economy went nuts there... it lessened after Biden was installed, but still lots of traffic at 4AM which was NOT seen before President Trump was elected. That was enough to convince me... he can be as big an ass (according to his detractors... NOT TO ME...) as he wants, as long as the results are good. Rant over...