I spoke with a prominent New York Republican a few days ago. You know the type — not an extremist, but someone who would vote for a ham sandwich on the GOP line. He conceded that Harris won the debate, but contended that Trump had the votes.
True, Harris gets a bad rap for failing to elaborate her vision for the next four years, but, as Trump glowered wanly at the camera, she eviscerated him with a thousand brilliant cuts and palpable hits. She called the former president a disgrace, someone who could be manipulated by “flattery and favors.”
Peggy Noonan wrote that Harris was just “more interesting,” than Trump and “interested in what was going on around her.” She presented “herself as a plausible president.”
It is clear that Trump would not do much better in a second debate, which he promptly refused at Harris’s invitation. He comes across like a Borscht Belt comedian whose jokes you already know.
Although the Taylor Swift endorsement of Harris, which went out to her 284 million followers on Instagram, might influence more voters than Harris’s deconstruction of Trump, it must be seen in the light that close to 70 million Americans watched the debate, the most since 2008.
Celebrity endorsements can be decisive with wavering voters. America loves celebrities, especially Swift, our........