Date: 2024-08-16 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00019603
Politics 2020
The first debate
That 'debate' was bad for America — but it was even worse for Trump
Peter Burgess
MSNBC Urban centers are Democratic. Rural areas are Republican. The battleground? Suburbs, where two years ago, white college-educated suburban women turned on Republicans with a fury, giving Democrats 38 of their 41 House pickups. And why did those women turn on Donald Trump, after voting for him in 2016? Yes, the environment and health care loom large. But in the end, it's the fact that Trump is a bully, and his party is totally okay with it. This about sums it up: 'The number one issue we find when we ask [women] what you want in a president is integrity,' says [Sarah] Chamberlain. She says for this reason many suburban women voters are rigid in their movement away from Trump. 'I think suburban women are pretty much locked in right now,' says Chamberlain. Who is Sarah Chamberlain? She is the president and CEO of Main Street Partnership, an organization that supports Republicans in Congress. They are tired of the bullying, of the harassment, of his rank sexism and racism, of his never-ending stream of lies. So what does Donald Trump do in the debate? He lied, displaying his racism like calling Sen. Elizabeth Warren 'Pocahontas' and refusing to refute white supremacism, he bullied and interrupted and ranted and raved. It's easy to get caught up with the distressing substance of this debate. But the debate isn't a standalone contest. It serves a broader purpose—to help inform the voting decisions of the American electorate. So ask yourself, whose mind was changed by this? Obviously no liberal or conservative voter did. The other side was parading around on Twitter puffing up their chest bragging about their guy being 'the alpha,' as if that has any salience in voting beyond the conservative deplorable base. We liberals saw Trump confirm every horrible thing we thought about him. But what about those swing suburban college-educated white woman? Were any of them swayed by what they saw tonight? Of course not! And for Trump, that is devastating. He is losing, down by nearly double-digits nationally, and by solid deficits in the key battleground states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. He needs to change the equation. He needs to win back support that he lost. And he didn't even try. Time is running out. Every day we're closer to Election Day. People are already voting. And Trump? He just surrendered one of his last big chances to turn things around. Democracy cried tonight, but at least we're one day closer to victory.