Commentary

I again find myself cautioning my conservative friends not to consider former President Trump finished.  In my August 15, 2024 edition, “Writing off Trump? Not So Fast,” I wrote about several pundits who saw Trump floundering.

You may recall that even Gerard Baker, the long-time Wall Street Journal columnist, opined, “Trump is Looking Like a Loser Again.”

In Thursday’s Journal, columnist Daniel Henninger, wrote, “Is the 2024 Election Over?” in which he sought to tell his readers why it wasn’t looking good for Trump, and decided to join those offering him advice.

Henninger recalls 2016 when Trump’s gruff, blunt style had appeal then because he caught the moment when many voters were souring on traditional polities and the major parties.

While same is true with the frustration over the Biden-Harris administration and more of the same expected from Harris-Wasz, Henninger see’s Trump as a “caricature” of himself, who “isn’t someone who could withstand becoming a caricature.”  He seemingly believes Trump is depending too much on an audience who knows everything he’s talking about, and that swing voters are left not understanding his policies; on energy, for instance.

“It isn’t over,” concludes Henninger, but says, “This election could still be Mr. Trump’s to lose.  If nothing changes after Tuesday night, he will.”

A month ago, I wrote “political pundits, even some friendly’s, have gotten their pants (panties) in a wad recently over former President Trump’s campaign, seeing him on a path to losing again.”

Again, I say, not so fast.

The Polls

As expected, polls have given Vice President Harris a boost following her performance in the Tuesday debate, but I thought I’d share with you what may be termed an outlier.

Fox News Channel viewers will recognize the focus group tracking of Maslansky + Partners and its pollster and president, Lee Carter, because she brings together focus groups made up of Republicans (5), Democrats (7), and Independents (5) to do live real-time tracking of every statement made by the candidates, using hand-held dials that show the movement of red, yellow and blue lines across the screen.

She rarely appears on other TV networks, who along with national publications, due their own polling or pair with a polling firm.

Appearing on “The Faulker Focus” Thursday morning, Carter indicated that she was shocked to see independent voters tracking with Republicans so closely, noting that the yellow line of the independents often overlapped the red of Republicans when Trump, for instance, spoke of rising crime at the hands of illegals.

Later in the day, on the Fox Business Channel show, “Kudlow,” where Carter discussed Trump’s lead on the economy, she said, ”Harris may have won the debate, but she didn’t change any votes among the group; especially noteworthy because of the independents in the group.

Democrat pollster Mark Penn, commenting on the bias ABC moderators, said, “When the referees fail, no one wins.”

Finally, ponder this … pop star Taylor Swift has endorsed Vice President Harris for president, because “I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader.”  Swift obviously is not concerned about the thousands of migrant children lost in our country – many of them involved in sex traffic – because Harris, as border czar, followed the open border policy of Joe Biden.

                  May God continue to bless the United States of America.