Opinion: Trump's MAGA base might want to brace themselves – Harris could win
Rex Huppke, USA TODAY
Sun, October 20, 2024
Despite all the faux clairvoyance of pollsters and political pundits and the endless babble from social media Nostradamuses, there isn’t a soul in this country who can look at next month’s presidential election and accurately guess which way the mop will flop.
But what I hear from the chattering class on both sides of the political aisle is predominantly: Liberals, you better brace yourselves for the possibility that Donald Trump might win.
That’s technically fair. There’s a solid chance Trump will win, and even if there weren’t, folks on the left are still too traumatized from his surprise 2016 presidential victory to ever again feel confident he’ll lose.
Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump looks on as he participates in a town hall presented by Spanish-language network Univision, in Doral, Florida, on Oct. 16, 2024.
MAGA folks may want to start considering the fact that Trump could lose
But what about the other side? What about all the MAGA fans whose world revolves around Trump, the ones who attend the rallies and proudly wear the red hats, wave Trump flags and believe he’s infallible?
They should begin to reckon with something few are saying out loud: Kamala Harris might win this election.
That’s right, I just wrote the words most liberals dare not utter.
It’s not a prediction, but it’s at least as much a possibility as saying Trump might win.
Liberals are prepping for a Trump win. Shouldn't MAGA fans be ready for a Harris victory?
Flags supporting Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump blow in the wind as they are on sale by a roadside vendor in Fallbrook, California, U.S., August 27, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Blake
Nobody on Fox News or in the right-wing blab-o-sphere is preparing Trump supporters for the possibility of defeat. I suppose that’s hard, given that most still believe the ludicrous fiction that he won the 2020 election.
But still, if the MAGA crowd wants to avoid another Jan. 6, 2021, – and all the incarceration that would go with it – and not spend the next however many years whining about a stolen election, they might consider wrapping their minds around the idea of a President Kamala Harris.
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Before President Joe Biden stepped aside, around the time of the Republican National Convention, Trump’s campaign took on an air of inevitability, with polls moving in his direction following Biden’s disastrous debate performance.
But no sensible person can say that aura of dominance has held. Polls are largely worthless, but Harris is up in them by about the same average amount Trump was leading Biden back when folks were talking about a crushing Trump victory.
Trump's campaign just wrapped up another terrible, embarrassing week
It’s hard to look at how the two candidates are performing right now and not objectively see the vice president having an advantage.
Here are some Trump lowlights from the past week:
On Monday night in Pennsylvania, Trump was supposed to hold a Q&A with voters but wound up standing on stage and bizarrely swaying to an assortment of songs played over the loudspeaker for about 40 minutes. It was a profoundly weird WTF moment and again raised the question of his mental acuity.
U.S. Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump dances during a campaign rally at Findlay Toyota Center on October 13, 2024 in Prescott Valley, Arizona.
On Tuesday, Trump demeaned autoworkers during an interview at the Economic Club of Chicago, saying children could do their jobs.
That night, he taped a Fox News town hall in which he again described Democrats as the “enemy from within,” saying “they’re so sick, and they’re so evil.”
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At that same town hall, which aired the next day, Trump mocked the family of a young Georgia woman whose death has been linked to the state’s draconian abortion ban.
Jan. 6 was a 'day of love'? C'mon, man.
On Wednesday, he held a town hall with Latino voters on Univision. The biggest takeaway was a moment when Trump told one man that the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was “a day of love,” leaving the man with a look of disbelief and dismay that made the exchange go viral.
On Thursday night, he spoke at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner in New York City, a Catholic fundraiser. As The New York Times reported: “He made raunchy jokes about adultery and menstruation and swore while standing feet from a cardinal. He praised Rush Limbaugh and talked about ‘the China Virus,’ and the ‘Democrat party’ and he emphasized Barack Obama’s middle name (Hussein).”
New York Archbishop Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump and Melania Trump attend the 79th annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner in New York City, U.S. October 17, 2024.
On Friday, Trump went to the friendly confines of a Fox News studio and said that as president, he would close the Department of Education and withhold federal funds from any school districts that have a curriculum he doesn’t agree with.
Trump too 'exhausted' to keep up with interviews?
By the end of the week, in the wake of Trump canceling a number of planned interviews while also refusing another debate with Harris, news outlets were reporting that he was exhausted, giving her a perfect opportunity to highlight his advanced age: 78.
"I've been hearing reports that his team at least is saying he's suffering from exhaustion,” Harris said Friday. “And that’s apparently the excuse for why he’s not doing interviews and of course he’s not doing the CNN town hall. He refuses to do another debate. ... Being president of the United States is probably one of the hardest jobs in the world and so we really do need to ask if he's exhausted being on the campaign trail, is he fit to do the job?”
Vice President Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris poses for a photo with a supporter after speaking at University Wisconsin-La Crosse during a campaign event in La Crosse, Wis., on Oct. 17, 2024.
Trump’s increasingly xenophobic and rambling rhetoric stands in stark contrast to the focused and positive campaign Harris has been running. She’s drawing large, enthusiastic crowds while showcasing a wide array of prominent Republicans who are backing her.
She successfully handled a wildly combative interview Wednesday with Fox News host Bret Baier, highlighting her desire to reach people outside the Democratic base.
This election could go either way. Both sides should be ready.
So does this mean Harris will win? Absolutely not. It means she could win, and many would rather be in her position in this race than in Trump’s.
So, to all the residents of MAGA world, liberals like me have been hearing “Trump might win the presidency” over and over again, a warning to prepare us for that eventuality. It’s high time you all consider the opposite, and gird your loins for this reasonable possibility: Harris might win the presidency.
That’s not me being overconfident. It’s me stating a fact.
Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on X, formerly Twitter, @RexHuppke and Facebook facebook.com/RexIsAJerk
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Opinion: Why is nobody telling MAGA fans Trump might lose?
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