This is probably the biggest week of the election. Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will face off in the first (and probably the only) presidential debate of 2024. It's also one of Harris's few unscripted appearances, raising the stakes.
What do I think will happen? I've been saying the debate doesn't matter -- that Harris's supporters will simply see the debate they want to see, and will focus on male/female dynamics. Trump supporters, too, will overlook any of his mistakes.
But Harris has a lot at stake. If she comes across in a presidential manner, she could shore up what looks (at the moment) to be slightly sagging support. If she fails, she will likely boost Trump's momentum. There won't be second chances.
Based on past debates, I think she will do fine. She has considerable presence onstage, and will come across as officious and dignified. She has no doubt been practicing her talking points and will deliver them. So I don't foresee collapse.
However, I have not been particularly impressed by anything she's done so far this election cycle, and her few unscripted moments -- such as the one CNN interview with Tim Walz -- have been rather uninspiring, to say the least.
But we'll see.
We will also look at the Middle East -- as Israel reaches the seven-month mark in its war against Hamas. A week of protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fizzled -- but the major challenges remain.
Special guests:
Curtis Houck - managing editor of NewsBusters, Media Review Center
Brig. Gen. Amir Avivi (Res.) - founder and director of IDSF
Tune in: SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
Call in: 866-957-2874
My son’s Little League All-Star team won a tournament yesterday. He went 2-for-2 with a single (here) and a double, both solid hits.
On Sunday morning, former President Donald Trump posted an attack on pop star Taylor Swift, signaling that his campaign had begun to unravel.
It was not a surprise that Trump might resent Swift for her endorsement of his rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, but there was absolutely nothing to be gained by saying so publicly.
In doing so, Trump was drawing attention to an endorsement that had made little impact, and possibly alienating some of his supporters.
He was also signaling that he had lost control of himself, and the campaign. This was the Trump of 2020, the undisciplined incumbent who, under attack from all sides, would lash out at rivals and the press, even when he was winning.
We had not seen this version of Trump in years. The "lawfare" against him seemed to have focused his mind even as it also consolidated his Republican support. The 2024 campaign was professional, disciplined, and efficient.
True, the campaign was slow to react to the replacement of President Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket ...
I'm tired of being told Trump is winning easily who have no basis for saying so and who will claim that the election was stolen from him if and when they are wrong. I have told you before that I think he is winning -- I no longer think so, by the way, for the first time -- and I have told you my basis for believing so.
My basis for not believing so is Trump's own behavior. After showing up for the debate unprepared for the opportunity to speak directly to his own voters, he compounded the damage by attacking Taylor Swift in a pointless post on Truth Social. Coupled with reports that he was traveling with Laura Loomer -- an Internet provocatuese with her own agenda but nothing in particular to offer -- I have concluded that the Trump campaign has inexcusably lost its focus.
The election is still winnable, but he is not winning it, and he needs to change.
After making that argument, I found a lot of people agreed. But I also received a lot of pushback from some conservative influencers on social media. ...
We'll cover the second assassination attempt against Trump, plus the aftermath of the debate, the latest polling numbers, and Trump's missteps (yes, I do think he's made some, and it's really getting much too late for that kind of thing).
We'll also have the latest installment of The Trumpian Virtues (available on Audible here: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Trumpian-Virtues-Audiobook/B0CZ4NBQVB)
Plus, some music and art, because life can't be all about this political nonsense.
With special guests:
- Mark Mitchell -- pollster, Rasmussen Reports, on the state of the race
- Peter Himmelman -- musician, author of "Suspended by No String": https://www.amazon.com/Suspended-String-Songwriters-Reflections-Aliveness/dp/B0D2W8NLFZ
Tune in: SiriusXM 125, 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
Call in: 866-957-2874
