This Emperor Has No Clothes
BY GEORGE BALL
Before the debate we already knew some things about Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.
We knew that Trump disdains those who have shed their blood for this country – the latest incident being his misuse of Arlington National Cemetery to make political commercials. Preceded, of course, by Trump denigrating a Gold Star family, mocking John McCain for “getting captured,” and describing those veterans who sacrificed their lives as “suckers and losers.” Which should be viewed through the prism of Trump’s lies about his phony bone spurs to avoid the draft. The “bone spurs” in a foot he can’t recall diagnosed by a doctor he can’t remember that mysteriously disappeared on their own even though real bone spurs never do.
We knew that many Americans are deeply and justifiably upset about inflation and the border, blame Biden and, by extension, distrust Harris’ willingness to address it.
We also knew Trump’s view of women – having been caught on an Access Hollywood tape bragging how they let him grope their genitalia. As well as a jury’s verdict that he sexually assaulted Jean Carroll in a department store dressing room. Separate and apart from his transactional flip flopping on abortion.
What, then, did the debate show us that was new?
Well – regardless of how you feel about Harris’ policy proposals – we saw that she is formidable and has real presence, undergirded by authenticity.
We were reminded that however much Trump is personally disliked (even by many who support him), he dislikes America even more. Instead of accepting the peaceful transfer of power or taking any responsibility for the disgrace of January 6th, Trump lost it. Over what? Crowd size. Revealing himself as an angry old man who demands adulation he has not earned.
And we learned that besides being an old man, Trump is also an incoherent one. Because last night was a very important night for both candidates. If Trump could have restrained his temper, focused, and made structured arguments, he would have. But Trump can’t, and his simple inability to do so was there for all to see.
So understood, all the post-debate handwringing by other Republicans about Trump’s “lost opportunities” to attack Harris really misses the point. She still needs to (and hopefully soon will) better establish her moderate bona fides. Trump didn’t fail to exploit those gaps in her record because he is a gentleman. He let those “opportunities” slip because Trump lacks the mental acuity to use them.
Indeed, on the internet much of the Republican handwringing occurred before the debate. Why? Because those close to Trump in this election cycle fully understood that whatever his mental acuity was in 2016, and even 2020, it is far less now. Meaning – among other things – that to Trump’s complete lack of military experience and profound disinterest in military affairs we can now add the fact that he is well past his use by date to be our Commander-in-Chief.
When Joe Biden hit the acuity wall, he stepped down – pushed by the Democratic Party and many ordinary Democratic voters. Having seen what we have all now seen, what is the Republican Party’s excuse? And – let me just say it. To those who still plan to vote for Trump, what is yours?
Remember how giddy Republicans were in June when Felony Donnie out-debated President Biden?
How are they feeling now?
This past Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris so thoroughly manhandled The Donald that his face color matched his hair at the end of the year 90-minute confrontation.
Ironic, isn’t it, that one of the biggest misogynists ever to serve in government was taken down by a woman?
Prior to the debate, Trump was dismissive, condescending, and over-confident, saying he hadn’t done much preparation. After all, he figured after forcing Biden out of the race, Harris would be easy pickings. Well…not so much.
Harris, a former district attorney and Attorney General, prosecuted the case against a second term for Cheeto Hitler so overwhelmingly that, had this been a boxing match, it would have been stopped before the halfway point.
I’m not going to go into all of the subjects discussed, but I will focus on some of the more bizarre exchanges. For example, the claim by Von Shitzinpants that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were stealing people’s cats and dogs…and eating them! ABC moderator David Muir immediately fact-checked that lie into oblivion, stating that the manager of that city had said there were no reported incidents of that kind. Trump’s response was “Well, that’s whai I heard”—which is the hallmark of the MAGAverse, making wild claims with no evidence whatsoever. Does he truly believe what he says?
After the debate ended–which large numbers of Republicans joining Democrats in declaring Harris the winner of the debate–the convicted felon maintained it was his best performance ever, and claimed that Harris wanted another debate because she lost this one. Uh…no, Donnie. Kamala wants a opportunity to expose him for the joke he is a second time. And after Tim Walz exposes Just Dumb Vance for the junior con man he is, the GOP will want to stay as far away from a debate podium as possible.
And the final twist of the knife came shortly after the debate when Taylor Swift posted, in no uncertain terms, her endorsement of the Harris/Walz ticket, which immediately led to Twitter twit Elon Musk to issue a vague threat to impregnate her, apparently ignoring that Swift’s boyfriend is a world-class athlete who could probably launch him into orbit with one of his SpaceX capsules.
And, back to Trump, for someone who thinks he won the night, he spent a lot of time blaming his performance on the moderators, ABC News’ David Muir and Linse Davis, for having the temerity to fact-check his BS and call him out on it. Felony Donnie now claims that, if somehow elected, he will have the FCC revoke the network’s broadcast license–which a president has no authority to do and would immediately get shut down, even by his hand-picked perjurers on the Supreme Court.
He also wants to jail late-night talk show hosts such as Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Seth Myers, Bill Maher and others, as part of his campaign of retribution. Donald should be working on how to avoid spending the rest of his life in a federal prison, because once he loses the election, that’s the fate that awaits him.
And finally, have you noticed that the Sussex County Republican Party has gone radio silent since the debate? They must have full bellies from all the crow they’re being forced to chow down on. Especially their fearless leader, Comrade Joe Labarbera, who staked what little of his reputation he has left on a unilateral declaration of his organization’s support for Felony Donnie. Maybe if ever gets another chance, he’ll check himself before he puts his foot in deeper doo-doo.
The embarrassment Labarbera and his sycophants will feel after the election will be epic.