WHERE IS THE MOMENTUM?

A sudden shift puts Trump and Vance on the defense

There is so much excitement surrounding the Harris/Walz campaign for the Presidency that Trump and Vance appear to be on the defense and backed into a corner. The momentum is strongly in favor of the Democrats and moving strongly in their favor with the Democratic convention only days away and likely to increase the flow of the tide. Trump and Vance can only wait until it is over before trying to reignite their campaign. Will they be able to do it?

It has only been more than three weeks since Joe Biden said he would not run again for the office and then endorsed Kamala Harris. The enthusiasm erupted immediately and has been building ever since. No Democrat stepped forward to compete with Harris and, conversely, all got on the bandwagon and endorsed her within a couple of days. The attacks from Trump, Vance and their Republican allies have been weak and tepid while other prominent Republicans, former Cabinet members, right-leaning journalists, retired members of Congress, White House staffers during the Trump occupancy of the White House, state legislators and office holders, have been coming forth to endorse the Harris ticket. With Minnesota Governor Tim Walz added to the ticket, it is likely to see more support for Harris coming from middle America as Midwesterners realize the “common sense” progressive is on their side.

Since the Trumpicans find that their gameplan devised against Biden needs an overhaul, they will be working on a new strategy to campaign against Harris and Walz. So, it will be interesting to see what they come up with – and if Donald Trump will abide by it or deviate from it. With Trump on the defense and fearing a loss, he will, if true to form, strike out angrily and irrationally, further alienating those who have donated their lives to him. Will Trump try to steal the show during the Democratic convention in Chicago, August 19-22 by staging alternative, showy events and making more absurd, incoherent pronouncements that will draw attention to himself? The final outcome in November may not be the narrow victory for the Democrats but a field of slaughter for Republicans, from the top all the way down to the state legislatures and office holders – and even on to local partisan offices.

So, let’s speculate about Donald Trump in two phases – and look back at year’s end to see how things turned out. Phase 1 is the campaign, leading up to the election. Phase 2 is the aftermath of the November election. We will assume that the November election turns out as a “bloodbath” for Republicans.