POLITICAL OPTICS

No Longer Working for Trump

For Donald, image trumps reality. It always has. His bleached hair, spray tan, shoe lifts and chronic lies about his height and weight seek to boost his image but only reveal his insecurity. His gold-plated toilets, crystal chandeliers, and rococo furniture do the same. Then there are his multiple trophy wives. His whole life has been a sham, and now it is crashing down on him. The images we saw at his debate with Kamala Harris showed us a bitter, angry, and frightened old man who is not thinking well. The political optics were not good for him.

From her Sarah Palin handshake to her bemused smile, Kamala owned the show. She controlled the narrative and proved her political chops beyond any shadow of a doubt. Her intelligence, her maturity, her warmth, and her incredible ability to manipulate the former president like a puppet on a string all came shining through. We saw signs of nervousness at first, and she stumbled a couple of times, but she clearly showed the world that she is not only ready to preside but able to take on the world’s biggest bullies: Netanyahu, Putin, Xi, Orban, and their ilk.

While Vice President Harris spelled out how she plans to bolster struggling workers and continue the Biden practice of governing for the benefit of all, the disgraced former president spoke only of himself while babbling right-wing conspiracies and extreme exaggerations. His visage was off-putting while Kamala’s smile was genuine. She clearly cares about others and is supremely confident in her values and abilities. Trump’s sneer was telling, as was his fear and uncertainty. For the entire show, he glowered menacingly, apparently thinking he was projecting power and authority, but only reminding the audience of his infamous booking photo. By the end of the debate, he was baring his teeth like a cornered rat. Not a favorable optic.

We are told by the pundits that debates rarely change the results of an election. They say this despite the monumental change in the presidential race triggered by Joe Biden’s disastrous performance in the first debate. I expect the second debate will also change the trajectory of the race, and eagerly await the results of this week’s post-debate polls. We still have two months until election day, and we are no longer surprised by wild cards and unexpected events. This year will certainly be a topic of history books regardless of the outcome. But for now, the optics strongly favor Democrats across the board.

I wrote in June of trends I had been watching in Texas and Florida that hinted at the long-shot possibility that both of those states could go blue in November. That projection is no longer a long shot but clearly within the realm of possibility, and now being noticed by NBC and other news outlets. Winning either state, because of their high number of electoral college votes, would guarantee the Democrats a win regardless of how the rust belt states go. And I boldly suggested a month ago that Kamala might capture as much as 55 percent of the popular vote nationally, while Trump could drop below 40 percent. That is no longer an overly optimistic projection.

While political optics are not as important as policy positions and personal appeal of the chosen candidates, they do matter. And they matter especially so this year, when the survival of our democratic government is so obviously at risk. Trump has repeatedly shown his clueless inability to read the electorate with his clumsy fake optics. Whether he is standing in front of a burned-out church holding a bible upside down or smiling and giving a thumbs up at the graves of fallen soldiers, he has shown over and over that he just doesn’t get it. His world has always run on smoke and mirrors, but the rest of the world has become more enlightened, and we no longer ignore the man behind the curtain. We are beginning to understand the value of integrity. We choose to be governed, not ruled. And we see beyond political optics.

(Photo cropped from a debate screen shot)