Trump’s strategy ‘completely backfires’ as he ‘struggles’ with speech
Times Radio
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Aug 23, 2024
“He almost doesn’t quite know how to deal with Kamala Harris.”
Trump’s strategy “completely backfires” as he “struggles to pull a decent speech together”, says Scotland’s former first minister Lord McConnell.
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Transcript
- Intro
- 0:00
- he's also completely caught by his own
- strategy which was to portray the other
- guy as being older um and less able to
- function on a day-to-day basis than uh
- he was he wanted to be the energetic
- younger candidate despite his age and
- his occasional Meandering um and that
- has completely backfired on him H you
- know he now looks like the guy who is
- almost 20 years older than her um he
- looks like a guy that you know struggles
- to pull a decent speech together so K
- Harriss speech
- Harris described Donald Trump as a
- dangerous and unserious man and promised
- Americans a new way forward as she forly
- accepted the Democratic party's
- presidential nomination at their
- convention in Chicago there was some
- detail on how she'd reform Reproductive
- Rights on the economy and bring about a
- ceasefire in Gaza question some people
- are asking this morning is did she do
- enough as this piece by David Charter um
- online right now if you go to the
- digital edition of the time saying that
- it lacked policy and empathy the um
- 1:01
- Nikki what did you make of K Harris's
- speech well I think it did what it
- needed to do I me it came at the end
- obviously of um a pretty extraordinary
- you know four or five days for uh the
- Democrats I think the thing that really
- struck me was uh what a difference this
- uh convention uh was um compared to how
- it would have been had Joe Biden been
- continuing as their candidate um and you
- got the impression that the Democrats
- were incredibly pumped up uh but um it
- was a whole level of energy um that it's
- extraordinary to to to see did her
- speech do I think what she had to do was
- to introduce herself to more to the
- American people who despite the fact
- that she'd been vice president for
- nearly four years probably people don't
- really know her well because no one ever
- really hears from the the vice president
- unless things go uh very wrong and I
- think it I think it did that I think it
- introduced um uh her background
- obviously her husband spoke um earlier
- in the week uh she's got a lot of
- 2:00
- obviously the big name supporters um and
- I think there's probably there's time
- really for uh the policies and the
- vision thing to uh to follow she's got
- the first televised or perhaps the only
- televised debate between her and Trump
- coming in um earlyish September um and I
- think I think all she needed to do
- really was to was to just to be herself
- to just to show uh why why she's not uh
- Trump and to give that level of energy
- and I thought the other thing just
- finally the word they used of the week
- was Joy which is not a word you often
- hear in political campaigning and yet I
- think probably it's the word that the
- American people do need to hear really
- interesting what are your thoughts
- Jack at the moment I think this is one
- What are your thoughts
- of the smartest political campaigns that
- we've ever seen uh you know she's gone
- from someone who didn't have great uh
- public support uh five six weeks ago uh
- um didn't seem to have particularly
- 3:02
- strong support in her own
- party and whose judgment was not really
- um trusted uh in full and I think she's
- shown in the tone of the campaign the
- energy she's given to it the sort of
- determination and strength from time to
- time that she's shown and in her pick
- for a vice presidential candidate um
- she's shown characteristics that um most
- of us have never seen before even those
- that watch the Democrats very closely um
- I also think I I I think the use of the
- word
- freedom is uh is incredible I'm looking
- at this and I am literally punching the
- air with a light you know we have
- allowed on the in the left of center we
- have
- allowed um the far right and the right
- and in America certainly the Republicans
- um to to capture the the commitment to
- Freedom um and to use that in their
- 4:01
- rhetoric unchallenged and sometimes
- we've been at fault I think on the left
- using the state too much or you know at
- least implying that we want to interfere
- in people's lives but I think the way
- that she has completely
- redefined the the American commitment to
- freedom in the last fortnite is just
- astonishing and it gives all of us hope
- that we can we can rewrite the political
- script around the world that people who
- believe in democracy believe in Freedom
- uh and uh people who believe in the rule
- of law believe in Freedom uh people who
- believe in human rights and um societal
- development believe in Freedom uh and I
- think this I think it's remarkable I
- thought Tim waltz's speech which focused
- largely on this on uh on um on Wednesday
- night it was just it was a remarkable
- redefinition of the political territory
- and they've done it in five weeks and uh
- um Trump is floundering and uh you know
- it's not over yet but I think it's a
- 5:01
- remarkable remarkable campaign over the
- past month but Nikki I guess this is one
- Can Hillary do this
- of the criticisms that comes KLA
- Harris's way is that she does have great
- script writers like Jack's talking about
- there you know the Way She is delivering
- those speeches is really good but as yet
- she hasn't done a sitdown interview with
- a journalist that sort of picked Apart
- Her policy she hasn't done a press
- conference where reporters have been
- able to ask her questions and she's had
- to come up with answers off the calf on
- the hoof and I guess that is a different
- kind of challenge which may well come
- and and many people who are Democrats
- saying it will come but in some ways
- it's kind of easier when a script is
- Well written as they evidently are at
- the
- moment well yeah of course that's that's
- right um and uh you know when you've got
- somebody else writing a words or she
- will have given presumably a framework
- of of the the tone that she wants to to
- strike and the personality she wants to
- convey and everything else but even so I
- mean I was talking to somebody who was
- there I mean that is a was a massive
- 6:01
- Convention Center far bigger than
- anything we could ever imagine for party
- conferences here um and she's got to
- speak to to those thousands of people in
- the room but also you know to to prime
- time TV audiences and I think there was
- a question mark about you know she has
- just hasn't done a speech that big could
- she do that she she's done that she's
- more than more than done that and I
- think you know you're right Chloe which
- is obviously now comes you know more
- detailed media scrutiny and and uh
- interviews I think the debate in
- September will be a critical moment I
- mean that was the moment that undid Joe
- Biden for example um so there is lots
- more to to to come um but she has so far
- met every hurdle that people have said
- you know can she do this can she can she
- do that um and I think Jack's absolutely
- right about you know the the the use of
- the word freedom but also I think the
- sort of um patriotic tone that is very
- important I think for US presidential
- candidates to to strike and she starts
- off just by saying you know I love my
- country and there was lots and lots
- 7:01
- about America and what a great country
- it is and it is a very clever campaign
- and it'll be fascinating to see how
- Trump really does respond if he responds
- if he leaves it to to Vance his vice
- presidential candidate whether he leaves
- it to to others whether he just ignores
- um uh KLA Harris uh entirely and just
- goes back to talking about the issues
- that he has been uh pushing for uh for a
- long time um so but look it's going to
- be a very tight contest there's no doubt
- about it yes camel Harris has put the
- Democrats back in contention but there
- is still a long way to go before we get
- to that first Tuesday November Jack we
- spoke a little bit earlier on to Brett
- bruan who used to work for Obama at the
- White House and he was saying that KLA
- Harris's tactic um towards Trump has
- been really successful so far because
- she's made him look pathetic and she
- doesn't engage with him on his terms and
- he felt that that was what was really
- successful and I guess that's what is
- the challenge for Trump at the moment he
- 8:00
- almost doesn't quite know how to deal
- with KLA Harris he doesn't know which
- approach to go for and he's trying lots
- of different ones he doesn't seem to
- have landed it whereas KLA Harris seems
- to have so far got it right with her
- approach to
- Trump well he's also completely caught
- by his own strategy which was to portray
- the other guy as being older um and less
- able to function on a day-to-day basis
- than uh he was he wanted to be the
- energetic younger candidate despite his
- age and his occasional Meandering um and
- that has completely backfired on him you
- know he now looks like the guy who is
- almost 20 years older than her um he
- looks like a guy that you know struggles
- to pull a decent speech together um and
- uh and I think the debate I agree the
- debate is going to be fascinating and I
- really I really like the way that she
- has
- um she maybe hasn't set out lots of
- detailed policy positions but most
- American elections are not about lots of
- detailed policy positions there are one
- 9:00
- or two big picture issues that really
- divide people and you need to win that
- argument for your side but the other
- thing is is to set out the perception
- that people or convince people um that
- you can be their leader that's what
- they're most looking for um are you
- going to stand up for them are you going
- to be their leader can they trust you to
- make the day-to-day decisions better
- than the other person and I I think
- she's been very smart you know she
- Hillary made a bit of mistake maybe back
- in 2016 talking about uh the glass
- ceiling all the time she hasn't referred
- to that she's not trying to get elected
- to to do something that nobody's ever
- done before she's trying to get elected
- because she's going to be a better
- president and she's got a better vision
- for the country um I was at the Obama
- convention in 2008 in Denver Colorado um
- where the big theme was yes we can and
- at that point it was all about cracking
- that first ever uh black president with
- a young articulate smart um candidate uh
- 10:01
- this on this occasion it's much more
- about you know do you want a president
- who's serious who's on your side um and
- who's going to put together a team
- that's going to run the country well um
- but also Believes In Hope and
- opportunity and and and raising people's
- uh living standards and uh I I just
- think she's getting the tone right so
- far it's a long way to go it's very very
- close um you know Americans are are are
- conservative uh with a small C by
- Instinct but if she if she can persuade
- all those in the middle ground that
- she's not a threat to them and she will
- protect them and look after them um and
- uh and and let him portray himself as
- this old guy who's uh speeches are
- wandering all over the place and who's
- defensive and and a little bit over
- sensitive then um I think she's got
- every chance of uh of making even more
- progress
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