This is Joe Biden's last chance. If he bombs during next week's presidential debate, which many believe will happen, then we'll see how valid the rumors are that he will be replaced. There are three things President Donald Trump should strive to accomplish during the debate and one piece of advice he should definitely ignore. I've listed those below, but first, here are the top stories for today's Discern Report Newsletter:
Three Things Donald Trump Must Do During the Debate, and One Thing He Shouldn'tIf rumors are true, Joe Biden will be scrutinized thoroughly during the first presidential debate he has with Donald Trump next week. If he doesn't seem up to par, which he probably won't, then the powers-that-be in the UniParty Swamp could replace him with someone else. President Trump has a unique opportunity. In contrast to previous debates when he was labeled by corporate media as being "behind" in the polls, he enters this one with a full head of steam and a positive trend in polling, particularly in battleground states. He's getting a lot of advice from a lot of overpaid advisors and unpaid conservative journalists. Some of it has been good, but there is one notable bad piece of advice that he's probably hearing from far too many people. Let's look at the three things he needs to do during this debate, then we'll examine the one piece of advice he definitely shouldn't take.
If he does those things, he'll win easily. But let's face it, he could probably win the debate if he got up on stage and just cracked jokes. Even a well prepared and properly drugged up Joe Biden is likely going to be a debacle. There's one piece of advice conservative journalists and Trump's consultants are telling him. He should disregard the notion altogether. They're telling him he needs to act more "presidential." On the surface this may seem like sound advice because in a battle against a weaker opponent it makes sense to try to take the high road. Moreover, there are those who may like Trump's policies but that do not like his volatile nature. Dig just below the surface of this "sound" advice and we'll see that it would be a disaster. First and foremost, Trump is a fighter. Asking him to be more "presidential" is asking him not to punch. It would be like telling Stephen Curry to pass first even if he has an open shot because that's what point guards are supposed to do. Second, it's a false assumption that he could gain more Independent voters who are on the fence by being something other than what he is. If they're going to vote for him, it's because they learn to accept who he is in order to gain what he can achieve. Very few will say, "Hey, he used to be mean but now he's nice so I'll vote for him." If anything, voters on the fence who don't like his abrasive style might think he's trying to con them by pretending to be nice all of a sudden. Last and certainly not least, he ALREADY IS presidential. It's not the type of "presidential" that consultants are trained to create but it generates the respect that both world leaders and domestic allies have grown to appreciate. They don't have to like him. They just have to respect him, and what they can respect most about him is that he's not traditionally presidential. He's different, and I would argue much better, by being who he is. We'll see how it all pans out during and after the debate. |