Only two weeks ago, Donald Trump was riding high. An attempted assassination had left him with only a nick on the ear, pundits were predicting that his upcoming speech would drop calls for revenge in exchange for national unity. The Republican National Convention was just about to get underway with a program that was wall-to-wall Trump worship. Trump was planning to skate to a landslide victory.
Meanwhile, what attention Democrats were getting was all about divisions and tension inside the party. Trump felt so confident in the way the polls were going, and so comforted by the pundits that he picked a running mate without even giving a thought to expanding his base or showing any moderation in his extremist positions. Trump seemed to have everything going his way.
And then Kamala Harris simply kicked Trump off the national stage—and he’s having a real problem climbing back up.
Two weeks after he was on top of the world, Trump and the Republicans can’t find a consistent way to attack Harris. They can’t figure out what to do about their JD Vance-shaped boat anchor. They’re starting to realize that Trump may need to run a real campaign, with an actual platform and policies, and he’s completely unprepared.
The Republican nominee currently finds himself in unfamiliar territory—the media wilderness. News networks and other outlets are chasing everything the likely Democratic nominee is doing, reporting on her every word, her fantastic success in generating both enthusiasm and funds, and gushing over her rapidly rising approval ratings.
In short, they’re giving Harris something close to the level of attention they have lavished on Trump for years. Only Harris didn’t generate that attention through bullying or saying something outrageous; She just offered the nation relief.
In trying to push back, Republican leaders have already had to caution candidates and members of Congress about using overt sexism and racism in attacking Harris, because they have been doing exactly that.
When they aren’t dragging out attacks on Harris’ race or gender, Republicans seem to be chasing a conspiracy theory that Biden voluntarily passing the torch to Harris represents a “coup.” Trump has been pushing that same term in both social media and rallies. However, Americans don’t seem to be expressing anything but relief in Harris’ joining the campaign.
Trump tried to attack Harris over her exuberant, inviting laugh. But “Laughing Kamala” turns out to only be a concern to people who are intrinsically afraid of women who seem happy. Trump’s search for a better playground moniker remains underway.
The failure of Republican attacks on the vice president can be measured in how Harris’ approval ratings are rising sharply. Meanwhile, less than two weeks after he delivered a speech to close the Republican convention—the point when most candidates are enjoying a boost in their ratings—Trump has seen his approval rating decline by four points.
On Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Harris had pulled even with Trump in their polling.
By Sunday, Trump was reportedly having a fit over new polling from Fox that showed Harris leading in favorable ratings among critical swing state voters. That includes a commanding 8% lead in Minnesota and an overwhelming 10% edge in Michigan.
Even a weekend visit to a cryptocurrency conference, where Trump completely reversed his previous disdain for Bitcoin to tell attendees that he would make America the “crypto capital of the planet” didn’t work out as planned. Attendees to the event failed to cheer Trump’s every statement and give him the well-trained love of his rally fans. Instead, they found Trump’s obvious lack of knowledge about cryptocurrency insulting and his evident confusion “embarrassing.” At least one person at the event said they fell asleep during Trump’s droning speech.
Trump had a bad week last week, but it may be more than that. The momentum has shifted. The season has turned.
This should have been Trump’s biggest week of the campaign. Instead, he’s fighting for relevance. Because both Harris and Biden completely outplayed him.
Americans are in the mood for something new and Trump … isn’t.
Help leave Republicans bickering on the sidelines as Kamala Harris rockets into the White House. Keep up the momentum by giving $5 to the campaign today.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly cited a Fox News head-to-head poll. The poll tracked favorability ratings.
