Trump can win the debate, before Kamala makes her opening argument.
Tuesday night’s high-stakes debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will be one of the defining events of this year — maybe this decade.
Two months before Election Day, the race is about as close as can be, and the candidates will have no greater opportunity to make their contrasts stark than after they shake hands in Philadelphia.
Longtime Republican strategist Karl Rove says Trump has the more difficult task because he’s the one running on substantive issues — as opposed to Harris’ vacuous “joy”-filled campaign.
That’s why it’s particularly important the former president stays on message.
What he says and how he says it will matter throughout the evening. But his two-minute closing statement, which will follow Harris’ and put a period on the event, is especially important: It’s his best chance to clearly articulate a vision for the country and prosecute the case against Harris’.
If he wants to win the night and the election, he’ll have to do just that and avoid the rambling rants and personal attacks that have held back his campaign.
Here’s what that might look like:
Do you remember when going to the grocery store and stopping at the gas station didn’t fill you with dread?
Do you remember when the news out of the Middle East was about our enemies being brought to heel and peace deals being forged?
Do you remember when our southern border wasn’t an international embarrassment?
It’s no coincidence the last time you remember any of this, I was your president.