Staff Reports
The countdown to the highly anticipated Tuesday night debate has Vice President Kamala Harris tucked away in a Pittsburgh hotel, scrambling to recalibrate her strategy after her attempts to alter the debate rules were thwarted. In her typical fashion, Harris had planned to bombard Donald Trump with relentless interruptions, but now she’ll need to abide by the original rules endorsed by the candidate who’s conveniently absent during this circus—Joe Biden. It seems that even in a debate, the vice president is learning the hard way that not all plans go off without a hitch.
As she prepares for what could be a comedic showdown, Harris is reportedly undergoing rigorous debate preparation, complete with a Trump impersonator who takes method acting to an absurd level. This act involves a faux Trump staking out a Pittsburgh hotel room in a suit and a comically oversized tie. Clearly, Harris is intent on triggering Trump’s more impulsive and erratic traits, seeking to project an image of calm authority amidst the chaos that she attempts to create onstage.
BREAKING: Fox News reports The Harris Campaign has had to resort to bringing in a Donald Trump impersonator for Kamala Harris to use for debate prep at her hotel in Pittsburgh
This must not be going well at all
She must really be struggling if they had to take it that far pic.twitter.com/uEciuQw0Li
— Drew Hernandez (@DrewHLive) September 8, 2024
Guidance from notable figures is abundant. Hillary Clinton, the epitome of debate mishaps, has offered her wisdom to Harris. Clinton’s suggestion for Harris is to bait Trump rather than reacting to his provocations. It’s almost comical that Harris would take pointers from someone who crumbled under pressure in 2016. This is akin to asking a fisherman for advice on how to cook a meal — it might just lead to a disaster.
With her focus on drawing contrasts between herself and Trump, Harris is attempting to reframe the narrative. Gone are the days of labeling Trump as a racist or misogynist, tactics that have proven as effective as trying to nail jelly to a wall. Her campaign has shifted to portraying him as merely an out-of-touch millionaire looking out for his elite friends—a populist angle that apparently resonates in focus groups. However, such a tactic raises eyebrows, considering she sits comfortably in the Biden administration that has overseen soaring inflation, and a teetering economy. One has to wonder how she plans to connect with disillusioned voters since she has been part of the very machine driving their discontent.
Among the many laughable details surfacing about Harris’s preparations, the stakes of the debate couldn’t be higher. Both candidates will be under the media microscope, though it’s predictable that any semblance of poise from Harris will be spun into a “historic victory.” The challenge remains for her to avoid spectacular blunders while also convincing the skeptical electorate she has the answers to fix the economy—a Herculean task given her current position as a chief architect of the status quo.
As the debate looms closer, Americans can only watch in anticipation to see if Harris can defy expectations or if she will once again find herself tripping over her own arguments as she attempts to tackle the former president. In the end, regardless of the theatrics on the stage, it will be the voters’ perspective that truly counts, not the validation from a fawning media. Harris’s inability to connect the dots from her tenure to the frustrations of the American public may just turn this debate into the biggest comedy show of the election cycle.
