Kamala Harris has been in "debate camp" in Pittsburgh, prepping for Tuesday's debate with former President Donald Trump.
As we've previously reported, Harris was tossing a snit about the ABC debate, and trying to blame Trump for the rules Joe Biden wanted. She claimed that having the mics muted would disadvantage her. Translation: she wanted to speak over and interrupt Trump, and she isn't going to get to do that, if they hold to those rules (at least not on mic). Another possibility: She was hoping Trump would speak over her and she could say he's being mean to her. It was also leaked that the strategy session was going sideways, so it didn't sound like it was going over very well for her.
Yes, Kamala Harris Is, in Fact, Screwed by the Debate Rules
Now there are more leaks--and there's some truly funny stuff here.
According to NBC, Harris is still trying to get the rules changed. It also looks like they're scared of how well Trump did in the first debate, and they may be overpreparing her:
Part of the intense focus on preparation also derives from the belief among some of Harris’ aides that Trump had a better-than-average performance in his June debate with President Joe Biden.
Yet one of the sources familiar with Harris’ debate preparations expressed concern that Harris might be overpreparing and could risk having a wonky, policy-heavy performance like then-President Barack Obama’s infamous one in 2012.
“My anxiety, it’s just high, because my fear is that they’ll overcook her,” the source said of Harris.
They're even strategizing how she's going to shake hands with Trump, but haven't decided yet. How funny is that?
That isn't even the funniest part.
But Harris also is preparing for a variety of potential unscripted — and perhaps history-making — moments, including the possibility that Trump makes derogatory comments about her, according to the sources familiar with her preparations, some of whom are directly involved.
“It’s not beyond the pale that he will mumble ‘this b----,’” one of the sources said. “That’s not unreasonable to assume. You have to be prepared for anything.”
Asked for comment for this story, [Trump campaign] spokesman Steven Cheung said, “Why are they even thinking about that word associated with her?”
That's pretty hilarious. So, she's planning to have an unscripted response which she thinks (or NBC might hope) will be "history-making." No bias there.
Um, Kamala? If you spending days planning for a viral comeback, it's not unscripted. Part of the problem is people think she's fake and not authentic. She's going to overscript herself, freak out, and prove their thoughts about her are true.
They seem to be counting on him making a derogatory remark toward her or hoping to needle him into an angry response on something like Project 2025, which they keep insisting he has something to do with when he doesn't. She's also going to try to play she was a prosecutor (and likely try to call him a convicted felon).
But the "let's needle him" technique didn't work when Biden tried it. Trump just made him look silly. And he can turn that around on her very simply by pointing out her failure to enforce the border, helping the cartels, promoting bail funds that freed rioters and violent criminals during the Floyd riots, not prosecuting people fully, etc. She may find that's a bad route to take, when she has so much fodder there to attack.
Harris is also going to try to say that she's from the middle class and contrast that with Trump. But again, so what? She's also helped crush the middle class with inflation. That's all he has to say: It's the economy, and she just doesn't get it.
It shows how empty she is, if she's not concentrating on conveying her policies, but working more on "comebacks" and anticipating what he might do. It's wrongheaded, so quite frankly, keep it up for Tuesday.