The Painful Debate

(September 11, 2024) The Harris/Trump debate was painful to watch, but I did. If you didn’t, count yourself lucky.

I’d have to call it a draw. But, considering it was 3:1 Harris & the moderators against Trump, I’d say Trump did pretty well.

It was blatantly obvious from the outset that the moderators were actively helping Harris and attacking Trump. They were fact-checking Trump in real time while letting Harris’ plethora of lies pass unremarked, among other things.

Naturally, social media was all over this, doing fact-checks on Kamala’s lies and bringing the receipts for Trump’s statements. Immigrants eating pets? Personal statements and a 911 call—True. Charlottesville? Screenshots of Snopes’ debunking of those who said Trump endorsed white supremacy, that Kamala parroted as an attack—posted. Democrats endorsing “postnatal” abortions where babies born alive after a botched abortion are just allowed to die—headlines and videos shown.

There are debate fact-check articles out there, so I’m not going to bore you with that. Kamala’s whoppers were a large part of what made this debate so painful. Her blatant misrepresentations and misstatements were almost as tough to hear as the many times the ”moderators” were debating Trump.

We knew that Kamala was going to accuse Trump of lying, because she started telling us to expect his lies days before the debate. She also let us know that she’d be lying because like all good Lefties, she projected like mad. In that, she didn’t disappoint.

Kamala left the campaign trail several days ago to prep for this debate. Unlike Trump, who continued to campaign before packed crowds, Kamala’s handlers had days to stuff her head with carefully scripted talking points and answers, and it showed. She smiled, nodded and barked her lines with all the skill of a trained seal looking for that next fish.

If you actually believe that Kamala’s campaign didn’t get the questions ahead of time, I’ve got some lovely beachfront property in West Miami to sell you.

What really struck me about Kamala’s performance is how carefully her statements and responses were crafted to provoke Trump. She was actively trying to gig Trump’s narcissism to get him to lose his cool. As a tactic against Trump, it was great. It’s what I would have done in Team Kamala’s shoes. Have a volatile opponent? Get your candidate ready to poke that bear, again and again.

If there was a clear winner Tuesday night, it was the team that prepped mediocre candidate Kamala so well. Considering what they had to work with? Color me impressed!

To Trump’s credit, Kamala’s provocations were only minimally successful. Did he occasionally come across as angry? Yes…but I would argue that it was with good reason. The lies were so large, and the three on one format so ludicrously unfair, how many people could have taken it and been unaffected by it? Not many, I’d wager.

Trump was expecting it—he’d have been a fool not to, and he’s anything but a fool—and he managed himself well. Did he pick up any votes? I doubt it. Really, how could he, given the biased format? Did Kamala? Perhaps a few. Her base (and I include the mainstream media) started gushing over her performance during her closing remarks, and that will continue through Election Day. It’ll be a continuation of the media blitz that’s transformed her from unpopular, incompetent VP to Bestest Thing Ever since she replaced old Joe at the top of the ticket.

So, the debate is done. Neither candidate scored a clear win, but Kamala will be touted as the winner. She didn’t spew any obvious word salad, so I guess she gets a fish or two. Trump kept it together fairly well despite attacks from all sides, and the media smear campaign against him and his supporters will continue as before. Kamala will go back to dodging reporters and working her Hidin’ Biden strategy, and the Dems will continue to get set up for another Big Steal.

Will we see another Presidential debate? I doubt it. Team Kamala knows how weak their gal is, and they’re too smart to press their luck. They’ll tease more debates, but ultimately they won’t risk it. As Joe proved, one bad night can wreck months and months of media psyop, and they dare not expose Kamala to that possibility. They used all their best material Tuesday night, and Trump won’t agree to another hideously biased network again. If I were part of Trump’s inner circle, I’d push for Tucker Carlson to be one of the moderators of the next debate, just to make the Democrats squeal. There’s also no reason Tucker couldn’t host the next debate in his regular studio—but there’s zero chance Team Kamala would ever agree to that!

Pleasant fantasies of Tucker giving Kamala his “are you really that stupid?” look aside, I’m just glad the whole painful debate is done.

Dr. Bill Chitwood is a retired Child, Adolescent and Family Psychiatrist who does political consulting and media relations. He is the author of Beyond Maga, available on Amazon under his pen name, Doc Contrarian. He can be found on Substack and social media as @DocContrarian.

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