The American Presidential campaign has just become nastier. And that was only to be expected, for since July 21, when President Joe Biden dropped out of the Democratic ticket and endorsed his Vice President Kamala Harris, the character of the ballgame suddenly changed for the former President Donald Trump.
No longer having the luxury of ranting over a 81-year-old, Trump has to contend with a feisty 59-year-old. Not only is Kamala Harris some 20 years junior to her Republican opponent, she has had a distinguished career being the Attorney General of America’s largest state, California. And she is quite aware of what comes with the job, especially if she was African American with Indian heritage.
A latest Reuters-Ipsos poll has given Harris a four point lead over Trump nationally; the Vice President is seen bringing on new enthusiasm among voters; she leads Trump by 13 points among women and Hispanic voters; and even if Trump leads among white voters and men, his standing among voters without college degrees has dropped seven points from July. And for a former President who was in rage at the time of the recent Democratic National Convention in Chicago, given what speakers had to say about him and the future of America, Trump could not contain himself any longer. He reposted a lewd and crass comment of a Truth Social media user who wrote below a picture of Harris and Hillary Clinton: “ Funny how B***J**s impacted both their careers differently”.
Explicit language
This was an unmistakable reference to former Mayor of San Fransisco Willie Brown that Harris had once dated; and the Monica Lewinsky scandal of President Bill Clinton. Trump may argue that he had nothing to do with the horrifically explicit language and one of his advisors maintaining he did not know if the former President “even saw the comment that was there or simply the picture”.
Feigning innocence may not exactly work for most of America is quite aware of Trump’s past remarks against women, at one point in an interview saying that “You can do anything”, even grabbing the genitals of a woman as long as you are a “star”. But in the current context of a tight race when campaigns are looking for a handful of votes here or there, these sick “re-posts” are expected to do more harm from women supporters. And this is precisely what serious Republican strategists are worried about.
In the midst of the latest sexist fracas, the last word is to be said on the debate between Trump and Harris on September 10 that is to be hosted by ABC News. And this time over the issue of “muted” mics with the Harris campaign keen on having them open. Obviously Democratic managers want the national audience to hear the rants of Trump which could at any moment get into obnoxious mode — his crossing the red line on gender and race.
Worried Republicans have been watching in dismay the slipping numbers at the polls and have been pressuring Trump to stay on issues like crime, inflation and immigration instead of being sidetracked on identity and crowd sizes. The latest interview on CNN of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz may not have set the Potomac on fire, but third rate social media posts and insinuations have left many in disbelief.
As James Carville, a veteran Democratic strategist put it, “Can they get it back? Maybe, sure, good chance. But right now they’re spitting blood. They’ve been hit in the mouth.”
The writer is a senior journalist who has reported from Washington DC on North America and United Nations