Both campaigns had moments that should have given them cause for alarm; here are two of them.
|
Listen To This Story
 |
Hours before polls close across the country, nobody has a clear idea of who is going to win this presidential election. Anybody who says otherwise is lying because anything is possible… a decisive victory for Kamala Harris on the backs of angry women, a sweep by Donald Trump fueled by angry men, a protracted battle that stretches on for weeks before the nation settles on a winner, or total chaos.
That being said, whenever the race is decided, a lot of people will claim that they always knew how it would end.
We wouldn’t go that far. However, if either of the candidates wins decisively, here are two main warning signs that should have put them on high alert.
For Trump, it came on July 13. That was the day when he was shot… and it barely registered in the polls.
One might think that an attempt on a candidate’s life would generate a lot of sympathy.
That was not at all the case after the assassination attempt on the former president… even though he objectively reacted extremely well that day.
While the Trump campaign was never known for careful introspection, this was the moment when his handlers should have advised him to be… more likable.
Note: If your candidate can’t garner good will after getting shot, then they have probably reached a ceiling in terms of their support, and that’s a problem that would have needed to be addressed.
For example, there was a way to appeal to voters who were on the fence at that moment by showing Trump’s humanity (which would have been a challenge), highlighting his family and how devastated they were, and lionizing Corey Comperatore, the man who was killed that day.
Instead, he reveled in the idea that God might have spared him to save America, which is something that will appeal to any malignant narcissist.
And, instead of coming off as a more humbled man, the former president spent the final months of the campaign antagonizing anybody who wasn’t already one of his supporters.
As for Harris, she was doing best when her campaign was about joy… and calling Trump weird.
It was a strategy that turned out to be highly effective. It rattled the former president and sparked the kind of enthusiasm that Democrats had been lacking for a long time.
There were ample opportunities to continue to pursue this winning formula (there was no shortage of bizarre behavior from the former president). However, once she had taken a substantial lead, Harris and her handlers decided to play it safe.
And, just like that, her lead began to evaporate because Americans like their politicians to at least appear authentic.
It took way too long for Harris to recover that early momentum.
To her credit, while Trump’s campaign never seemed to make any adjustment, her team managed to right the ship in the closing weeks of the race.
In the end, will that make the difference?
Nobody knows.
In his Navigating the Insanity columns, Klaus Marre provides the kind of hard-hitting, thought-provoking, and often humorous analysis you won’t find anywhere else.
