He seems to have been blindsided by Biden's capitulation and Harris' rapid rise to prominence, as if that's the last thing he saw coming
Which calls into question his political judgment and ability to adjust to a new situation
How could he and his campaign not be ready for the possibility of Harris taking over? It makes no sense. It appears that he (and his campaign) never thought Biden was going to drop out. He even put out a tweet the other day, apparently, where he was musing about Biden trying to get the nomination back at the Convention lol!
It is like he can't adjust to the new political reality. And if that is true, that is not a quality one wants in a President.
But, as you have said, it is still very early in the dog-eat-dog campaign, and he has plenty of time to get his feet back under him.
I agree. But it seems to be taking him a long time.
Plus, Democrats have their Convention coming up soon, which gives them more opportunity to win the news cycles. And perhaps get a post-Convention bump in the polls.
I do not think he fears debating Harris in the least.
I think his advisors are definitely scared to debate her. His advisors are afraid of the "prosecutor v/s felon" narrative and they are afraid that Harris could wipe the floor with him.
As for Trump, I don't know if he is "afraid" but I do think he is intimidated. Trump doesn't like being questioned or attacked by a woman, much less a woman of color. That is probably the main reason he wants a Fox News audience. He needs someone there who can make him feel better and someone he can try to appeal to when he tries to claim Harris is being "nasty" to him.
Harris definitely isn't afraid of him and is eager for the chance to debate him. However, this could work against her if she goes in to the debate too confident. Plus, I think she is going to have high debate expectations from the media, which could help Trump.
Still, if Harris does what I know she can do, she will embarrass Trump and easily win. Trump got real lucky that President Biden had the worst debate performance ever in their first debate because Trump didn't look good either. He will have to be much stronger against Harris.
I still think he will win, and it would not surprise me if he won handily. But it very well could be neck and neck down to the wire. Will the Democrats get away with cheating again? That may be the difference maker.
Come on Dan, there was no cheating. No need to repeat the big lie. Biden beat Trump, simple as that.
As for the election, I think if either of these candidates win handily, it will be Harris and not Trump. Something similar to '08 for Harris. Trump's best chance is another close win in the electoral college. I don't think he will win the popular vote. And like I just said, I think there is a good chance Harris could win this handily if she keeps performing as well as she has the past three weeks.
But, it is August and three months is an eternity in politics. Lot can still happen.