At the most consequential event of this year’s election season – the ABC News presidential debate held in Philadelphia on Tuesday night between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump – Kamala Harris needed a knockout.
She came up short, far short.
While Trump had his good and bad moments – we thought he focused too much on immigration and unconfirmed reports about immigrants eating pets – the purpose of the debate was not for Americans to know who Trump is. They already know more about him than they do about most of their relatives and friends. Trump recognized this fact early on and even said, “Everybody knows I’m an open book. Everybody knows what I’m going to do.”
The challenge was for Harris to introduce herself to the world, look presidential, and prove that she could run the country’s affairs for the next four years. But, she failed .
Her body language was disrespectful to Trump throughout, making her appear far less presidential. She consistently dropped the title of “President” when addressing him only as “Donald Trump,” a severe deviation from established protocol when opponents address each other with the highest title they have earned—like Governor, Senator, or Congressman—even if they are no longer in office. Once, to a question about Election 2020, Harris insulted the 45th president: “I have talked with military leaders, some of whom worked with you. And they say you’re a disgrace.”
She faked a smile to express scorn when Trump spoke and looked angry when Trump used a line of attack. For someone who repeatedly tried to assure America that she would unite the country, she kept viciously attacking Trump—about J6, Charlottesville, his court cases, including felonies, and temperament in the White House. [According to the New York Times, she spent more than half her 37 minutes of speaking time attacking Trump]. In her closing statement, Harris said that her vision is “focused on the future, and the other (Trump’s) is focused on the past.” If she is so focused on the future, why have her administration and allies continued to litigate against Trump over the past four years?
Harris was weak on her policy proposals, which were packaged and released only a day before the debate. She struggled to convince Americans tired of Biden’s economic policies of taxing, borrowing, and spending that her “Opportunity Economy,” heavily dependent upon borrowing, would bring much-needed relief.
On immigration, she stuck to the safe position that she would sign a comprehensive immigration bill, knowing well that such legislation would never pass Congressional muster. Harris did not have a solution for the Israel-Gaza war other than to repeat that she favors a two-state solution that the warring parties do not want. On the Ukraine-Russia war, she repeated the same old NeoCon lines that America should support countries defending their territory but never once talked about how she would bring peace.
The two ABC News moderators, David Muir and Linsey Davis, were more accommodating of Harris, not challenging her on her performance as Vice President. On the economy, the moderators did not ask Harris why Americans had to suffer for her borrowing and spending policies. They didn’t ask her about her support for Build Back Better (BBB), the $6 trillion boondoggle that would have wrecked the economy even more had not West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin stopped it. Many of her current economic policy proposals are taken from BBB. The moderators never pressed her on why, as a border czar, she supported executive action orders that let more than 15 million immigrants enter the country illegally.
On Ukraine, Harris said: “If Donald Trump were president, Putin would be sitting in Kyiv right now. And understand what that would mean. Because Putin’s agenda is not just about Ukraine.” These have been classic NeoCon lines peddled by the Military Industrial Complex. And, as expected, the moderators did not challenge Harris. What it also means is that if Harris is elected, the Biden approach to the war in Ukraine will continue despite millions killed and wounded, more than 14 million people dislocated, Ukraine in shambles, and America in deep debt.
Nor did the anchors challenge Harris on any topic that would show her in a bad light. This election year’s most noteworthy point was when the Democratic Party swapped Biden for Harris. Trump alluded to it when he said: “But he (Biden) had 14 million votes. They threw them out. She got zero votes. And when she ran (in 2020), she was the first one to leave because she failed. And now she’s running. I don’t understand it, but I’m okay with it – because I think we’re going to do pretty well.”
It would have been the perfect time for the anchors to ask Harris what her role was in propping up Biden for three years as sane – repeatedly lying to Americans even through the Democratic Primaries that Biden handily won – and then, suddenly, participating in a palace coup to dislodge him from office on the grounds that the party needs a new face, something that has never happened in American history. Instead, Davis turned to the Israel-Hamas war. Failing to question Harris’s role in covering up Biden’s frailties was a glaring omission and a clear example of the media’s well-practiced bias by omission strategy. The moderators were intent on protecting Harris.
President Biden seems to be slipping mentally, which even the New York Times now bluntly admits, reporting that “Biden’s lapses are said to be increasingly common and worrisome.” There is a dangerous power vacuum at the top, with the White House effectively being run by aides, not the president himself. In a recent TIPP Poll, 41% of voters said Biden should “step down” or “be removed” from office, while 62% expressed concern that he poses a national security threat through January 2025. The ABC moderators are not among them.
It was left to Trump to remind everyone during his closing statement: “So, she just started by saying she’s going to do this, she’s going to do that, she’s going to do all these wonderful things. Why hasn’t she done it? She’s been there for 3 1/2 years. They’ve had 3 1/2 years to fix the border. They’ve had 3 1/2 years to create jobs and all the things we talked about. Why hasn’t she done it?”
At one point, Harris said, “Well, first of all, it’s important to remind the former president that you’re not running against Joe Biden; you’re running against me.” The debate proved that a Harris administration would be a second Biden term on steroids, with all the spending and taxing that she is proposing. Harris did not acknowledge a single Biden administration error, nor did she suggest a plan that would deviate from Biden policies, which have kept America on the wrong track (the latest RealClearPolitics average shows that more than 60% of Americans think so) for more than three years.
On January 6th, Trump said:
I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.
Dr. Omission cleverly left out the two keywords by design, yet another classic example of media bias by omission, which Trump had to correct. In summary, despite facing a 3-against-1 debate, Trump prevailed.
Job promotion requires candidates to prove that they have done well enough in their current jobs, have a realistic plan for the future, and are not just peddling euphemisms like hope and joy. Based on these critical evaluating factors, Harris failed to convince voters she was ready to become America’s 47th president.
TIPP Takes
Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, And More
1. U.S. Nuclear-Powered Submarine Is Now In Middle East Waters: Pentagon – Al Arabiya
The nuclear-powered submarine USS Georgia is now in the U.S. Central Command area of operation, adding to an array of military assets rushed to the region in recent weeks.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had ordered the deployment of the guided missile submarine to the Middle East in August as the region braced for possible attacks by Iran and its allies in response to the killing of senior members of Hamas and Hezbollah.
2. Biden Hints At Ending Ukraine Long-Range Weapons Restrictions – BBC
President Joe Biden has hinted at Washington lifting restrictions on Ukraine using U.S. long-range missiles against Russia.
If granted, it would fulfill repeated requests by Ukraine to loosen the limits on U.S.-supplied weapons, which officials have said has left them fighting against Russia’s full-scale invasion with their hands tied. Russia is yet to comment but President Vladimir Putin has previously said such action could lead to “very serious problems”.
3. Blinken Says Russia Received Missiles From Iran, Warns Of Threat To European Security – Reuters
Russia has received ballistic missiles from Iran and will likely use them in Ukraine within weeks, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, warning that cooperation between Moscow and Tehran threatens wider European security.
Blinken said Iran has trained dozens of Russian military personnel to use its Fath-360 close-range ballistic missile system, which has a maximum range of 75 miles.
4. Russia Is Close To Signing New Bilateral Treaty With Iran: Shoigu – Reuters
“We look forward to the imminent conclusion of a new basic interstate treaty. We are completing the internal procedures necessary for the preparation of documents for signing by the presidents,” Russia’s top security official Sergei Shoigu said.
Russia has long said that it intends to sign a major partnership treaty with the Islamic Republic, but Shoigu’s statement was the strongest sign yet that such a deal is imminent.
5. Hungary Welcomes Russia Crude Supply Deal After Ukraine Halts Lukoil Transit – AFP
Hungary’s government said it welcomed a deal reached by energy company MOL that will ensure the supply of Russian oil via a pipeline running through Ukraine after Kyiv earlier restricted transit.
MOL announced Monday that it had reached a “sustainable solution” securing oil transportation to the two countries after finalizing agreements with suppliers and pipeline operators.
6. China’s Troops Advance Dozens Of Miles Across Indian Border: Report – Newsweek
Images have surfaced on social media suggesting Chinese troops were active deep inside a contested territory administered by India but claimed by Beijing.
The evidence indicates People’s Liberation Army troops had penetrated at least 37 miles into Arunachal Pradesh, a northeastern Indian state that China calls “South Tibet.” The region is one of the most hotly contested areas in the India-China border feud, which traces its roots back to the British colonial era.
7. Chinese Buildings Ban Electric Vehicles, Citing Safety Concerns – RFA
Fears of spontaneous combustion are driving bans on electric vehicles in parking lots in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang.
“Hotels and other buildings in Hangzhou, Ningbo, Xiaoshan and other places in Zhejiang have banned electric vehicles from entering underground garages for safety reasons, sparking heated discussions,” citizen journalist X account “Mr Li is not your teacher” wrote in a post.
China generally has high product safety standards on paper, but repeated failure to enforce such controls on the ground has sparked widespread mistrust of homegrown products.
8. China Dominates Global Supply Of Solar Panels And Wind Turbines – Nikkei Asia
China’s grip on the global supply chain for renewable energy tightened last year, a trend that has fueled trade tensions with the U.S. and Europe.
Nikkei research shows that Chinese companies in the top five suppliers of 71 key products and services increased their market share in 21 categories compared with 2022. Their total share exceeded 30% in 13 cases.
9. Iran’s President Heads To Iraq For First Official Foreign Trip – Reuters
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian headed for close ally Iraq, on his first official foreign trip, Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency reported.
“We are planning to sign several agreements. We will meet senior Iraqi officials in Baghdad,” Pezeshkian, a relative moderate, said ahead of his trip. Tehran has been steadily increasing its sway in Iraq since a U.S.-led invasion toppled its enemy Saddam Hussein in 2003.
10. UK Sells Peaches From Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Region – BBC
British luxury retailer Harrods has begun selling peaches from Japan’s Fukushima region, part of an effort to restore trust in produce grown there following the nuclear disaster of 2011.
The fruit’s sale at Harrods for £80 ($104) per box of three marks the first time peaches from Fukushima have been available in a European store. Since 2011, farms in the region—the second-largest producer of peaches in Japan—have struggled to sell their produce because of contamination fears.
11. EU Court Rules Google Must Pay €2.4bn Fine – BBC
Europe’s top court has ruled that Google must pay a €2.4bn (£2bn) fine for abusing the market dominance of its shopping comparison service.
The tech giant had appealed against the fine, which the European Commission originally levied in 2017. At the time, it was the largest penalty the Commission had ever imposed—though it has since been supplanted by a €4.3bn fine, also against Google.
12. Study: Asthma May Increase Odds Of Miscarriage, Infertility In Women – HealthDay News
However, the study found that 77% of women became mothers regardless of their asthma status.
Study lead author Dr. Anne Vejen Hansen said it is still unknown how asthma might interfere with fertility and pregnancy. “It might be related to systemic inflammation throughout the body, including women’s reproductive organs,” she theorized.
Because these findings were presented at a medical meeting, they should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
13. Pandemic Isolation Linked To Rapid Brain Aging In Teenage Girls – HealthDay News
New research showed that teenage girls’ brains aged far faster than expected during that stressful time, even faster than the brains of their male peers.
Senior study author Patricia Kuhl said the greater impact on female brains could have been due to differences in the importance of social interaction for girls versus boys. Teenage girls rely more heavily on emotional relationships with other girls, while boys tend to gather solely for physical activity.
Republished with permission from TIPP Insights
