by Eliyahu Gasson | opinions editor
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris took the stage in Philadelphia Tuesday night for the second presidential debate this year, this time with 50% fewer old men.
The last time Trump took part in a debate he faced Joe Biden, who performed so poorly that he had to drop out of the race entirely and make way for his vice president.
By comparison, Trump seemed far more capable of occuping the Oval Office. Following Tuesday’s debate, that illusion is out the window.
Trump couldn’t answer a question. He continuously deflected direct inquiry with the same insane lies he’s been repeating for the past eight years. He repeated lies about immigrants eating pets in Ohio, Latin American countries sending criminals to the United States and Democratic politicians endorsing the execution of babies.
“In Springfield they’re eating dogs,” Trump said referring to recent immigrants. “They’re eating cats. They’re eating — they’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”
To the credit of ABC’s moderators, they were quick to correct him, though it did result in an embarrassing back-and-forth between Trump and moderator David Muir.
One of the most absurd claims of the night was that Harris wanted to “do transgender operations on illegal aliens in prison,” a claim that is so contextaphobic that Harris just had to hit him with that coconut tree stare.
Harris quickly asserted herself as the adult in the room, taking the initiative of approaching Trump as they walked onto the stage, shaking his hand and wishing him a good debate. She maintained a calm demeanor throughout the debate.
As time went on, the difference between his frustration and her confidence became greater and greater. Harris knew exactly what to say to get him to flake. She attacked his crowd sizes and his criminal record, two insults that cut straight to his ego.
Trump had nothing in return. He ran out of insults half way through the 90-minute debate. He sounded like a chatbot programmed to sound like himself, synthesizing and regurgitating the same insults he has had since he got involved in politics. Harris’s response — smile dismissively at every absurdly false attack Trump spat at her.
“I have talked with military leaders, some of whom worked with you. And they say you’re a disgrace,” Harris said.
Trump has made it clear that he supports strongman authoritarians, citing and praising Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has eroded his country’s democratic system since he first took office 14 years ago.
Trump also made wild claims that he could stop the war in Ukraine before he becomes president which begs the question, why not do it now?
Will the debate have any effect on the outcome of this election? Probably.
A CNN snap poll from Wednesday morning showed that 63 percent of registered voters said that Harris would do a better job as president than Trump.
A YouGov poll conducted the morning after the debate showed 43% of respondents saying Harris won the debate while only 28% thought Trump was the victor.
Regardless of the outcome in November, the base takeaway from Tuesday is that Trump is out of mojo. He has no juice, and his bits are tired. He’s old, he’s tired and worse — he’s too vein to accept that his time is up. Good on him for finding a party willing to eat his farts, but they too, seem to be growing tired of his schtick.
Respected members of the Republican Party have one-by-one endorsed Harris over him.
U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney have all endorsed Harris for president.
Harris was smart to point that fact out on the debate stage.
John Kelly, Trump’s former chief of staff said in a statement to CNN that the former president is: “A person that has no idea what America stands for and has no idea what America is about.” He also said Trump was: “A person that has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution, and rule of law.”
Mark Esper, Trump’s former secretary of defense, called Trump a “threat to democracy.” Trump’s own former vice president refused to endorse his old boss calling it “no surprise.”
The only people Trump still has in his corner are the gullible in his base, the yes-men attention seekers who can’t live without his approval and open white supremacists who see him as an ally.
Only time will tell if Trump will be blocked from the White House for a second time. For the time being, Harris is the one on top.