Trump/Harris Debate Wrap-up

Did everyone forget someone tried to murder Donald Trump in July?

What a weird election cycle this has been. And it’s only September.

We’ve been treated to not one, but two mumbling, stumbling Democrat presidential contenders, an assassination attempt, stories of illegal immigrants taking over apartment complexes and eating pets…the list gets longer every day.

So it comes as no surprise that the first (and likely only) debate between Donald Trump and the second Democrat candidate this year was highly anticipated and a little - to use a word the Democrats seem to have added to their bibles this year - weird.

Going into Tuesday’s debate I assumed Kamala would be crowned the winner by the mainstream media as long as she didn’t melt, vomit or pass out. She managed to avoid all three and my prediction has since been validated.

I also predicted Trump would use his time to expound on the stories and situations surrounding his campaign (J6, court trials, COVID strategies, etc.) and provide the progressive viewership information they wouldn’t normally see from the stenographers in the mainstream media. Also validated.

Ultimately, I don’t think viewers learned anything new about either candidate

…although some progressive viewers may have been surprised to learn things like the only person killed on January 6th was an innocent young woman shot by Capitol police.

Trump was very Trump-y. He spoke too long sometimes. He was inartful in his delivery, per usual. He did take the bait a couple of times from Harris, including once when she was able to get him to talk about the size of his rallies. Some conservative talking heads cringe when he gets like that, but I like it. I don’t think anyone who isn’t in the punditry game really cares one way or the other.

But he was also focused, and he knew what he wanted to say. He got a couple of great zingers in, including the opportunity to scold Kamala with a good, “I’m talking now.”

Kamala did well enough, meaning she did not melt, vomit or pass out. She clearly had the questions ahead of time and the moderators stepped in to save her at multiple, frequent points. Trump was debating three people, not just one. He did pretty well, considering.

Here are a few key takeaways:

• Kamala just had to stay upright and she did.

• Trump just had to keep his temper in check and he did.

• ABC most definitely fed Kamala the questions in advance. She was short and sweet when directly queried but fumbled and bumbled when asked to speak spontaneously, which they did not allow most of the time - from Trump, yes. From Kamala, no. In fact the one time she tried to defend herself they quickly moved on and rejected her request to speak, as if they sensed no good could have come from it.

• Not one question about the assassination attempt or even about 9/11, which was the following day.

• Kamala lied blatantly and without pushback. She didn’t even try. She just denied everything she’d said up until last month. She didn’t need to worry. She knew she had help with the moderators.

• Nothing new to see here. You already know who both these people are, and no one showed anything particularly different on Tuesday.

• There were a couple of good zingers from Trump, but nothing worth spending 2.5 hours of your life to see.

• We don’t need another one of these. There is no point except for the soundbites. At this point, Trump appearing with one of the most unpopular Democrat candidates of all time can only help her pathetic attendance numbers. It’s free advertising for her. He needn’t bother.

Do we even need to do these things anymore?

What good do they do besides make soundbites for campaign ads? Do they have any effect on Americans and if so, is it a helpful effect?

I really don’t know the answer but I’m interested in hearing what you think about it. Drop your ideas in the comments or email the show (you might even get read on air!) at JLTY@protonmail.com.

You can hear my full comment on this week’s JLTY, available wherever you find your audio podcasts. Don’t forget to follow me on X @RealKiraDavis and Instagram @Justlistentoyourself