WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s allies see Tuesday’s debate as a crucial moment for the Republican presidential nominee — a chance to shore up support and bounce back from a post-Kamala Harris “honeymoon.”
“Failure lets people go,” the former adviser said, adding that Trump needs to clear the bar set by his performance against Hillary Clinton in the 2016 second presidential debate as he takes her to task on policy issues. and skipped the angry tongue of his stump speech.
Fresher in people’s minds will be the previous debate, which Trump ended on a high note; Not only did President Joe Biden’s stumbling responses lead to his replacement, but Trump’s own performance was lauded by Republicans as disciplined.
The intervening weeks, however, have been a roller coaster. As Biden rushes, Republicans They gathered around Trump later at the party convention in Milwaukee failed assassination attempt on July 13.
But things changed quickly when Biden dropped his re-election bid. Harris’s unexpected ability to rapidly galvanize Democratic support, raise significant amounts of money, and generate new enthusiasm in the party, worried many Republicans.
Trump’s allies hope the debate will provide a turnaround from the confusion of recent weeks and help him enter the fall in a competitive environment.
“Everyone on the Trump team believes we are in a better position to win,” said a source close to Trump. “Harris won’t be able to convince working-class Americans to tell the truth about his policy change, and they won’t roll the dice on him.”
Trump has a long track record of exciting his supporters until he finally commits to staying on or close to the message and continuing to talk politics, only to go completely off script minutes later and say something that backfires. Even the most optimistic allies acknowledge that this remains a risk, but they hope he will stay focused and stick to the heart of the conversation in the final weeks.
Harris poses different challenges for Trump on the debate stage.
Harris, who participated in mock debates, sat through lengthy question-and-answer sessions, and read pages from briefing books prepared by his staff. He is hoping for a chance to needle Trump Two sources familiar with his preparations said.
Both campaigns are vying to identify Harris, and Trump’s advisers have said he will win the debate if he matches his record in the White House with Biden’s. Trump attended an extensive policy debate prep session at his Mar-a-Lago Florida residence on Sunday, and additional sessions are planned for Monday, according to a source familiar with the preparations.
“In this debate, President Trump will hold Kamala Harris to her record: her record on the border, her record on global instability and being a decisive vote for higher prices,” said Jason Miller, Trump’s top adviser. Call reporters on Monday. “And if President Trump ties Kamala Harris to his record, which we’re very confident he will, that will be a success.”
Ultimately, former Wisconsin GOP chairman Brandon Scholz said the national partisan divide will prevail, and it will. down to a small fraction of those who are still undecided in war zones that can dictate an election. The results of the debate, however, can be persuasive for those people, he added.
“If he comes out of this argument and it’s neutral and he doesn’t bring it down, that’s the best-case scenario for him,” Scholz said.
Trump is not out of the woods yet; and a survey published over the weekend showed a tight race, Harris continues to pull away more campaign money More so than Trump. A consultant said that if the election was held today, Trump’s victory would not be guaranteed.
Trump’s supporters say they’ve seen a change in recent days — he’s planning more events and talk less about Harris’ gender and race, and he doesn’t delve into old grievances directed at fellow Republicans — like going after Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. On Friday, Trump scored a significant victory as a judge delayed sentencing in a New York criminal case After the November elections.
“There’s a bit of a reset going on and you’re going to see a Trump campaign that’s more focused and back to the future, where it was this spring,” said energy company CEO Dan Eberhart, a Trump donor. the canary.
The addition of more senior campaign staff members, including 2016 campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, reassured some worried allies who hoped Trump was now on a smoothing trajectory. His arrival prompted some campaign staff to rethink their approach, a source close to the campaign said.
“Just his presence makes people think twice about what they’re doing,” said the source, who said Trump’s “psyche” has improved.
A campaign official said the team was expanding at a crucial point in the race and “the more confident people on board, the better”.
Eberhart credited the race’s new dynamic to Trump’s shift in focus, and said outside pressure has paid dividends before.
“Trump is better when he’s behind — more in the spotlight,” he said. “If you look at why he won in 2016, I think he played like he was legitimately down. This creates more discipline.”
Polls often show Trump getting better grades on the economy — even if his campaign has shied away from the message when it pushed him to the spotlight.
“They really started focusing on the economy. Immigration, of course,” said Ed Broyhill, a member of the North Carolina Republican National Committee and a Trump fundraiser. “I think they got the message.”
Harris’ replacement of Biden on the ballot muddled the strategy for Trump and his team — leaving an era where the message seemed to some to have faded. Trump himself has sometimes been reluctant to move ahead of his old rival, still bringing up Biden at events and protesting the transition on social media.
“What upsets them is that after spending over $100 million on Biden, they have to redo all the identification,” said GOP strategist Ford O’Connell.
A Republican source contacted by the campaign who was not authorized to speak publicly recalled that Harris was tied up in knots for weeks waiting for the “honeymoon” to end. A Trump ally feared Trump’s operation would ease as Biden slipped in the polls.
“Donors are very disappointed, [wondering] how will we win this job”, said the source.
Some of Trump’s allies believe that time may be a trick to right the ship.
“Democrats and the Harris campaign have done an amazing job of messaging and timing. The sun, moon and stars came together. But eventually, the sun, moon and stars drifted apart,” Scholz said.
At first, Trump’s team appeared flat-footed in its response to Harris, unable to match the wave of energy that has buoyed him for weeks. But Scholz said he believes the enthusiasm gap is narrowing now, pointing to several ads attacking Harris, including “Bidenomics,” which he said helped cast doubt on the border and his candidacy.
Trump’s surrogate, former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., said: “If Trump is in the race, he’s going to be a factor in everybody’s decision. You can’t ignore it. [But] Polls show that on issues that matter to most Americans, they rate his record over hers.