I have to comment on the bitter, old, autocrat/dictator-in-waiting we saw during the U.S. Presidential debate this past week. His inability to look forward, his continual rising to the personal jibes that Kamala Harris was throwing his way reminded me of all the “has-beens”, or about to be “has-beens” that we have witnessed in the recent past; Muammar Gaddafi comes to mind. They cannot seem to understand that their time has past, and that their “glorious reigns”, at least in their minds, are no more.
I know Trump is still running, is still the Republican candidate, still has a substantial following, and still stands a chance of actually winning, but his time is past, and his rather pathetic performance last week reflected that reality.
The problem now becomes, as it always has been, is how to make sure that his backward-looking, un-democratic, and dictatorial goals do not propel him back into the White House. That comes down to the electorate, obviously.
Equally obviously, his base of supporters, the proverbial 35%, are never going to change their minds. They seem totally aware, in most cases, of his many, many flaws, but are willing to ignore them in their blind, and deaf, adherence to his conspiracy theories, his lies, and to him as some sort of messiah. Politically they can be written off by the Democrats, and ignored, because any energy, money and time spent on them will be totally wasted.
I have to believe that Donald Trump’s recent even crazier rhetoric, the absolute nonsense about Haitians eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, his “closeness” to the queen of conspiracy theories, Laura Loomer, and his performance in the debate must have some effect on the “undecided” vote and on the vast majority of sensible, normal Republicans; the defection of Dick Cheney, a staunch conservative if ever there was one, is a positive sign that Trump’s unfitness for office is finally getting through Republican’s mental haze.
The other measure of his decline in public opinion is the amount of money Kamala Harris has raised, and continues to raise after the debate. She came across as the only candidate with a forward-looking plan, a vision for America, and a personality that embodies a good public servant with a winning demeanor.
The other factor that may, belatedly, help is that the media have finally come out of their mental fog and are beginning to address Trump’s frailties and flaws, his dictatorial ambitions, and his outrageous rhetoric and claims. For far too long they seem to have taken the position of “Oh well, that’s just the way Trump is, so its not really worth reporting” – this plays to my often rant of “sensationalism is the primary god of the media”: When his outrages are “Old Hat”, as I said in a blog last week, he doesn’t meet their primary measure of newsworthiness. The other characteristic of the media may be positive as well is that, once they fasten on to a topic, they have a tendency to beat it to death. Let’s hope they are consistent in their reporting of Trump from now on.
A final thought that occurred to me as I was writing this rant, is that, despite what the polls say – their methodologies are nearly as flawed as Trump himself (less than 5% sampling is a statistical joke) – Kamala Harris could easily win by a landslide, We had then better be ready for some form of civil war – the classic response of a deposed dictator, and Trump’s promise.
