Sept 10 (Askume) – Republican nominee Donald Trump pressured Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton during a 2016 presidential debate, calling her a “bad woman” and saying she has the capabilities necessary to take over as “commander-in-chief of the armed forces”. “Grit”.
With eight weeks until the Nov. 5 election, Tuesday’s nationally televised debate is the first face-to-face meeting between Trump and his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris , and could mark a turning point in the campaign.
Trump has repeatedly made racist and sexist attacks on Harris. The former president falsely claimed that Harris, who is Black and of South Asian descent, had recently “turned black . ” He also made derogatory comments about women and Black people , calling them “weak,” “dumb as a rock” and “lazy.”
According to interviews with eight pollsters, debate and political experts, and black activists, carrying out these attacks — and Harris’ response — in front of millions of viewers would be dangerous for both candidates. In June, more than 51 million television viewers tuned in to watch the debate between Trump and Democratic President Joe Biden .
John Gill, a Vanderbilt University professor and expert on presidential politics, said Trump’s outrageous rhetoric could alienate key groups of voters, including women, black voters and liberals. “They will be turned off by this kind of rhetoric,” he said.
But Republican strategist Ford O’Connell said the consistently close race shows Trump’s attacks have not dented his support.
Harris, who would become the first woman, Black woman and South Asian American elected to the presidency, announced it on TuesdayConfront complex political ideas .
If she ignores Trump’s attacks on the debate stage, as she did during the campaign, she could be seen as unwilling to stand up for herself. If she engages with Trump’s rhetoric, she could be dragged into his smear campaign and face fair or unfair accusations of bias based on race and gender.
Carrie Dittmar, research director at the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, said too strong a response could exacerbate the image of angry black women.
“If Kamala talks about this publicly, will she be accused of playing the caste card, the gender card,” Dittmar said.
“I’m on the phone”
Another challenge for Harris is fending off Trump’s attacks while also defining herself to voters who are still trying to understand her after her unexpected surge in the polls seven weeks ago.
A national poll released Sunday by The New York Times and Siena College found that 28% of likely voters said they wanted more information about Harris, while their views on Trump remained largely the same.
Campaign sources said Harris would try to avoid getting drawn into personal controversies and would aim to keep Trump from engaging in aggressive rhetoric that could go viral.
Harris, a former prosecutor, may be able to send more subtle signals about Trump’s attacks without explicitly calling them racist or sexist. She did so during the 2020 vice presidential debate against Mike Pence, when she responded to his interruption by saying, “Mr. Vice President, I’m speaking,” in a moment that went viral.
“This is an effective way for men to accept women’s gendered communication styles,” Dittmar said.
Harris said in a radio interview broadcast Monday that she was ready for Trump’s strategy.
“(Trump) is playing with this old, worn-out strategy,” he said on “The Rickey Smiley Morning Show.” “There’s no limit to how far he can lean.”
Former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who advised Trump ahead of the debate, told reporters on Monday that the former president would focus on Harris’ record and talk to her the same way he would with Biden.
“President Trump respects women and doesn’t feel the need to treat or speak to women the same way he does men,” Gabbard said.
Trump earlier resisted calls from his advisers and fellow Republicans to soften his tone and focus on fixing the issues, telling reporters: “I have to do things my way.”
personal attack
But the former president has struggled to find effective attacks against Harris, who, unlike Clinton, is not weighed down by decades of political baggage and has gained traction among Democrats since taking over Biden’s faltering re-election campaign.
Democratic research firm Blueprint examined a variety of negative messages directed at Harris in late July and found that personal attacks based on her race, gender or family were “incredibly counterproductive to all groups of voters, including independents,” said Evan Roth Smith, an investigator with the company.
Smith said it would be better to focus the criticism on immigration and economic policies, or paint Harris as a California liberal.
The company also noted Harris’ potential denials of racial and sexist attacks. Calling Trump a racist is a lesser response than saying the insults distract from Trump’s “extremist” agenda.
Andra Gillespie, an Emory University professor who studies African-American politics, said some of Trump’s attacks — such as questioning whether Harris is black — are obviously false and Harris doesn’t need to respond directly.
“It was so incredibly outrageous that everybody was saying, ‘This is ridiculous,'” he said. “They didn’t have to say anything.”
But University of Michigan debate expert Aaron Kaul said Trump should not be underestimated. Kaul said Trump has proven himself a skilled debater, defeating more experienced opponents with sharp retorts and unpredictable arguments and using his background as a reality TV star to control the camera.
“He’s probably the best counter-debator I’ve ever seen,” Kaul said. “He deflects the issues. He speaks fluently and he speaks like an undecided voter. He understands voters’ concerns.”
