After watching Kamala Harris' hastily-called presser Wednesday afternoon (it can't really be called a press conference since she didn't take questions) in which she basically called Trump Hitler for eight minutes, I wondered what possessed Harris to do that -- especially since she was set to appear at a CNN Town Hall Wednesday night where she'd no doubt find the opportunity to bring up that talking point.
(And, she did find the opportunity to bring up that talking point - video at the bottom of this story.)
I mean, there's no way that any undecided "average Joe" voter would watch the video of Kamala's statement and think anything other than, "Wow, she sounds like a scorned ex," so it wasn't going to move the needle in any way. It's like she had this itch to scratch and her staffers just got sick of hearing her moan about it so they shrugged their shoulders and allowed her to be her own adviser.
Even though it's only been half a day since her presser, apparently the "October Surprise" isn't taking off to a level that would satisfy Harris, so she's got another trick up her sleeve. She's going to give a "closing argument" address on Tuesday, October 29, at the Ellipse, on the topic of January 6.
As of October 22, 17 million people across the country had already voted. Early in-person voting is now occurring at a robust pace and by the weekend will be in full swing, so the number of people who have already voted could easily double -- or more -- by the time she gives her speech. And, there's no polling suggesting that January 6 is the issue that matters to swing voters. So, what is she doing?
Even CNN talking heads are raising the alarm, just before Harris' Town Hall:
Abby Phillip: "If the Ellipse speech ultimately is another kind of reference to January 6 and that's it, I think that would be a huge mistake because that's not the territory that this election is being decided on."
Jake Tapper adds: "And also [voters] want to know what is she going to do for me? Milk is $7 a gallon."
So, who's advising Kamala to harp on this debunked Atlantic hit piece and January 6? I happened to come across Jen Rubin's X feed on Wednesday afternoon, and she's a strong contender. By Wednesday morning, Rubin was nearly apoplectic that the "Kelly and Atlantic Hitler story" wasn't dominating.
And Rubin heartily cheered Harris' cringefest - retweeting clips no less than three times:
Her next bit of invaluable political advice - play the tape of Kelly lying about what Trump said in the White House.
Let's hope that Harris doesn't listen to the CNN pundits who are correct in their assessment that this focus on January 6 won't help her. Let's hope she listens to the weirdly obsessed Liz Cheney and Jen Rubin, and goes right ahead with it.
Just like she did at the CNN Town Hall.
Facepalm.