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 with Vice President Harris. But staffing changes in August seemed to work: Trump tightened his message and stuck to policy.
Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), Trump's running mate, also became an important asset to the campaign, sharpening his skills as he sparred with the media on Sunday morning news shows (which his rival, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, has avoided).
Then came the debate. According to my sources, Trump had appeared in fine form during practice sessions with former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI). But onstage, he was immediately combative, defensive, and ultimately ineffective.
True, he had the moderators against him. But it was not the moderators' fault that he failed to seize on an early Harris mistake, when she dodged a question about whether Americans were better off today than they were 4 years ago.
Give credit to the Harris campaign for preparing a set of talking points designed to get under his skin, including insulting him over his rallies (which she claimed, falsely, are boring). He could have ignored her; instead, he took the bait.
It was not a disaster; he did not insult Kamala Harris personally, or make too many major gaffes. But he failed to use the opportunity to communicate his own message. And Democrats left feeling a boost of confidence in Harris.
The full picture of what happened has begun to emerge. Trump traveled to the debate with Laura Loomer, a provocateur who associates with marginal figures and ideas on the right and somehow insinuated herself into Trump's inner circle.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), a rhetorical bomb-thrower who also likes to provoke opponents (including Republicans), also somehow made it into Mar-a-Lago as Trump was preparing for the crucial debate, and later posted on X about it.
https://x.com/mattgaetz/status/1833596637194948708?s=46&t=l2JVNfY-lbp_LzUHpXhZEA
These voices often flatter Trump and amplify his most incendiary instincts. At a time when he needed to project a calm, presidential demeanor, he was surrounded by at least some people who would have supported the opposite.
Later, after the media declared that Harris had won, it is possible that these were the sources of comfort to which he turned -- the voices that savor battles against the odds. Hence Trump's unhelpful frame of mind on Sunday morning.
The Taylor Swift debacle was quickly forgotten amid news of the attempted assassination. While the shocking event -- the second in just over two months -- was deeply disturbing, it may also have saved the Trump campaign.
The assassination attempt placed Trump once again at the center of public empathy. It also brought out the worst in his media and Democratic opponents, who blamed the intended victim, saying his rhetoric -- not theirs -- was at fault.
That was a reminder of the stakes in November: the same voices that would stoke violence while censoring their political rivals would be fully in charge in a Harris administration. The Democrats were scarier than an unstable Trump.
On Monday, as he returned to campaigning, Trump exuded calm, and issued messages of unity. It was Trump back at his best -- urging supporters to fight, but to fight for all Americans. He appeared to have been shaken out of his funk.
The question is whether Trump will use the opportunity that fate -- or God -- has given him. He needs to get rid of the grifters and groupies and focus on a positive message. It is not enough to point to Harris's weaknesses; he must lead.
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.
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
This week's portion covers a long list of laws and ethical principles, many of them elucidated earlier in the Torah, but necessary for Moses to repeat on the eve of the people's final entry into the Land of Israel.
One of the more interesting commandments -- which hits a little different this year -- concerns a female captive in war, whom you desire. There is a whole process that a soldier must go through if he wants to marry her, designed to protect her dignity.
It's hard to read this at a time when there are female Jewish captives seized by Hamas, who are probably being enslaved and raped or "married" according to whatever the Islamic law about that is. It makes one innately recoil from the text of Deuteronomy here; how could such a practice have been conceived?
But then the thrust of the Jewish law is to protect the captive, not to satisfy the captor, and I suppose there is more that we can learn from that.
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