Donald Trump may be a real estate guy, but his ethics in the first presidential debate should be the familiar rule of the medical profession: First, do no harm.
Trump was rejected by voters and is getting a second chance — not after turning over a new leaf, not after disappearing on a world tour to improve his image, not after starting a new philanthropic foundation. Trump simply remained himself, while Biden made people nostalgic for the pre-Biden years.
Trump’s goal should be to continue stoking the nostalgia for himself that has been the defining feature of the early stages of the race.
Former President Warren Harding (1865-1923) once said, “I have no problem with my enemies. I can take care of my enemies in a fight. But my friends, my damn friends, they are the ones who make me walk around at night!”
Likewise, what should concern Biden and Trump supporters is what each can do with themselves.
If Biden gets lost, is obviously confused or repeatedly lapses into babbling incoherence, he could lose the ground he gained in the race and perhaps much more.
If Trump, on the other hand, reminds voters what they didn’t like about him in November 2020, he risks throwing away the second chance he is getting from the American public.
Trump doesn’t need a knockout punch against Biden, assuming one is possible anytime soon in a campaign involving the tectonic plates of American politics, which don’t shift easily based on a single event. A maintenance victory, or split decision, would serve his purposes well.
Trump is in the rare position of a challenger who does not need to unseat a president seeking re-election. People are ready to dismiss Biden. The question is whether they are preparing to hire the other guy.
Trump doesn’t need to tell voters that Joe Biden is old or that Hunter (Joe’s son) is a drug addict. He doesn’t need to insult or interrupt you. He needs to control himself because the most important message he can send to the public concerns himself.
Trump’s persona is the biggest reason he’s grabbed Republican politics by the collar and hasn’t let go since 2015. It’s also the reason he’s been a precarious electoral gamble — narrowly winning in 2016, narrowly losing in 2020, and narrowly leading today.
The Covid press conferences that Trump used as a communications platform in 2020 hurt him, and his performance in the first debate in 2020 hurt him as well.
Democrats hope the public hasn’t really absorbed that Trump is on the brink of the presidency again. Presumably, people have already gotten the message. But they may not be focused on the banter and provocation with which Trump routinely entertains and energizes his most devoted followers at his rallies, and the Republican would be well served by leaving all rally material off the debate stage.
Trump will not fade into the background, nor should he. There’s a reason voters think he’s tougher, more forceful and more effective than Biden. Trump must be forceful in defending himself and aggressive in presenting the substantive case against Biden. But braggadocio, anger, cross talk and idle vanity will make the debate over Trump, which is exactly what the Biden team wants.
A CBS/YouGov poll from a few weeks ago asked Biden supporters why they were with him, and 54% said they opposed Trump and just 27% because they liked Biden. The acting president’s approval rating for his work is horrendous, and he is far behind on most issues. He can only win if people who disapprove of his job performance — and think he’s too old for a second term — vote for him anyway for fear of something worse.
Therefore, it is in Biden’s interest that the talk of the race be Trump, and it is Trump’s natural instinct, the show man, do the same. For one night at least, he should act against the stereotype.
©2024 National Review. Published with permission. Original in English.
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