Donald Trump’s staff worries that Kamala Harris will ‘bait’ him at tonight’s debate

Did you guys know that Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have never met? While they’ve been in the same room before, they’ve never been introduced and they’ve never spoken to each other directly. Tonight’s debate will be their first meeting. And it’s going to be a sh-tshow, let’s get that out of the way. It’s going to be awful. I’m saying that as a loud-and-proud Kamala Harris fan and supporter. The fact that this brilliant, accomplished woman has to stand on a debate stage with Donald Trump is shameful for America. I’m sure Kamala is prepared and I’m sure she’ll do well. Hillary Clinton did well in the debates in 2016 and millions of people still voted for that orange psycho. So what’s changed in eight years? Well, more women hate Donald Trump these days. And Trump’s people are very worried that Kamala will successfully “bait” Trump into saying something wildly misogynistic, racist and offensive. In other words, just another Tuesday.

Former President Donald Trump is already underwater by double digits with female voters in the polls. Now Trump will stand on stage next to a woman he has publicly and privately derided in language widely viewed as sexist. His allies hope he doesn’t make things worse when he squares off against Vice President Kamala Harris at the debate.

In past debates against Hillary Clinton, Trump tried to undermine, belittle or humiliate both her and female debate moderators. This time, his advisers have pushed him to focus on Harris’ record and try not to let her get under his skin. And while he has recently claimed his administration “will be great for women and their reproductive rights,” he has stumbled over questions about abortion and child care, and spent the Friday before the presidential debate railing against women who have accused him of sexual misconduct.

Trump’s performance with female voters is “the weak spot in his campaign right now,” said former Trump campaign adviser David Urban. “I think he can attack her policies without attacking her. And that’s the kind of needle he has to thread. You can attack the vice president of the United States for her failed policies without attacking the woman.”

But Urban predicted the debate format — with microphones turned off while each other is speaking — will work to Trump’s advantage.

“She’s not going to have her moment where she can say ‘I’m trying to speak,’ like she did with [former Vice President Mike] Pence. You’re not going to have those awkward moments like that,” Urban said, adding that Trump showed in the first debate with [President Joe] Biden he can be “disciplined.”

Despite the microphones preventing Trump from interrupting Harris, some of Trump’s allies and aides are concerned that the vice president will push the former president into losing his cool.

“She’s going to try to bait him,” said one person close to the former president. “I mean, the lines are almost predictable, right? So the question is does he take it or not.”

[From Politico]

A few weeks ago, I was somewhat convinced that Trump would have a meltdown during the debate. Like, given his behavior this summer, it felt like he wouldn’t be able to help himself and he would end up screaming obscenities at VP Harris. But it feels like Trump’s staffers are basically going to give him all of the drugs and beg him not to mention the late, great Hannibal Lector. We’ll see. You know that if Trump manages to get through this without saying the n-word, the press will say that he “won.”

Incidentally, there’s a reference in this Politico story to Trump’s presser last Friday. I’m including the clips below, where Trump once again lied about E. Jean Carroll and said that he wouldn’t have raped her because she was not the “chosen one.” As I said, this debate is going to be a sh-tshow.

Trump brings up another woman who has accused him of sexual assault, describes the incident in detail, and says “she would not have been the chosen one.”

(Watch the expressions on his lawyers’ faces) pic.twitter.com/K92OPiJw6s

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 6, 2024

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.