By Stephen J. Farnsworth
Public opinion polls suggest that U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is doing slightly better than Joe Biden was against Donald Trump, but Republican attacks against her are only now ramping up.
Even as a candidate for vice president, Harris was the target of an intense barrage of conservative attacks that claimed, among other things, that she slept her way to political prominence, a common slur against women in power. The anti-Harris rhetoric is part of what a report by the Wilson Center, a nonpartisan think tank, described as a broad pattern of gendered and sexualized attacks on prominent women in public discourse.
More recently, those comments were joined by conservative attacks branding Harris as the “border czar,” part of an effort to tie her to immigration, a hot-button topic for conservatives.
The intense attacks so far are only a fraction of what will come. Trump is skilled at both character assassination and political self-defense. Together, they translate into an exceptional ability to defeat his political rivals once they enter the presidential campaign arena.
But Harris also has sharp rhetorical skills that could make this a fierce election fight.
Trump’s alternative facts
As I discuss in my book “Presidential Communication and Character,” Trump is highly skilled at both channeling white working-class anger into political support for himself and at convincing his supporters to disregard the former president’s own well-chronicled professional and personal failings.
Trump’s character generates enduring contempt among liberals, but those voters will back the Democratic nominee.
In 2016, Trump defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. He also defeated several well-known Republican presidential hopefuls in the primary race, including Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas and former Governors Jeb Bush of Florida, John Kasich of Ohio and Scott Walker of Wisconsin.
Earlier in 2024, Trump easily dispatched another round of highly experienced Republicans, most notably Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
Like those other opponents, President Biden has long endured Trump’s personal attacks. But in 2020, Trump’s original nickname of “Sleepy Joe” failed to become as effective as his insults aimed at other politicians, and Biden’s election marked Trump’s only electoral defeat.
As the 2024 election approached, Trump and conservative voices once again demonstrated their immense influence in shaping political narratives. They have convinced many voters this year to absolve Trump for his mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic, ignore that he designed a Supreme Court majority to overturn Roe v. Wade and agree with him that the 2020 election was stolen.
In an even more powerful demonstration of Trump’s skills at political marketing, polls show that many voters follow Trump’s lead and condemn Biden for U.S. economic conditions that in fact are quite good.
Unemployment is low. Job growth is booming. Infrastructure projects are underway. Inflation is much lower now than it was earlier in Biden’s term, and individual retirement accounts are flush thanks to large stock market gains.
Given Trump’s public relations mastery – and the great susceptibility of many voters to his false narratives – one can marvel about how the Biden campaign had been able to endure the never-ending rhetorical assault and keep the contest as close as surveys show it had remained until recently.
During a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on July 20, 2024, Trump attacked both Biden and Harris, repeatedly calling Biden “stupid” and insulting his IQ. But Harris, Trump said, was “crazy.”
“I call her laughing Kamala,” Trump told the crowd. “You can tell a lot by a laugh. She’s crazy. She’s nuts.”
A former prosecutor against a convicted felon
With Biden dropping out of the campaign, political developments suggest Trump may be in for a taste of his own medicine.
Harris’ previous career as a U.S. senator who challenged Trump administration officials and the former president’s judicial nominees demonstrates that she is among the most effective Democratic officeholders when it comes to holding Republicans accountable.
Her career as an attorney general and a prosecutor also allows her to use law-and-order themes to fight back against America’s first convicted felon former president.
Biden’s departure may provide another major opportunity for Harris to reset the character assassination narrative, as the focus on age can now boomerang against Republicans. Trump now holds the record as the oldest major-party nominee for president, and a key issue that he used against Biden is likely to be turned back toward the former president.
For voters, it promises to be a scorched-earth campaign season.
Stephen J. Farnsworth is Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington.
The Conversation arose out of deep-seated concerns for the fading quality of our public discourse and recognition of the vital role that academic experts could play in the public arena. Information has always been essential to democracy. It’s a societal good, like clean water. But many now find it difficult to put their trust in the media and experts who have spent years researching a topic. Instead, they listen to those who have the loudest voices. Those uninformed views are amplified by social media networks that reward those who spark outrage instead of insight or thoughtful discussion. The Conversation seeks to be part of the solution to this problem, to raise up the voices of true experts and to make their knowledge available to everyone. The Conversation publishes nightly at 9 p.m. on FlaglerLive.
NJ says
More “BULLSHIT” from a Marxist/Socialist “expert”!! Biden/Harris have “given” Americans Inflation, No Security at Border, and a FAILED Foreign Policy ( including Russia INVADING Ukraine, a Nuclear Armed Iran which is Supporting Attacks Against Israel&Allied Shipping, and Communist China Preparing to Invade Taiwan while Destroying Coral Reefs to build Island Military Bases in the South China Sea which the United Nations has Declared an Illegal Action)! America First Supports Peace Thru Strength=World Peace! NO more Endless Stupid Wars that do NOT protect America’s National Security!
DaleL says
The stock market gains are real. Even if one takes the DOW Jones average at its highest pre-pandemic level in February 2020 to that of today, adjusted for inflation, it is up 15%. That is a good solid economic increase.
The surge in inflation was a combination of factors. Both the Trump administration and the Biden administration gave away free money in pandemic stimulus. Combined with the global supply issues, there was more money chasing fewer goods. Go figure, it caused a spike in inflation.
Perhaps you missed the news that it was Trump and the Republicans who killed the border bill last February. The bill would have given the president the funding and legal means to curb illegal immigration. It was a Republican bill, but it would have taken away a campaign issue. Trump wanted it killed. It is Trump that wants border chaos for his own political benefit. “Republicans kill border bill in a sign of Trump’s strength and McConnell’s waning influence”
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/republicans-kill-border-bill-sign-trumps-strength-mcconnells-waning-in-rcna137477
January 6th, 2021, Donald Trump’s supporters paraded the Confederate flag of treason through the Capitol. That is not “BULLSHIT”!
c says
“I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it”.
George Bernard Shaw
Justsayin says
The national debt increases $1 trillion every hunded days. The Federal goverment only spends more on socail programs then it does to service our debt. The price of gold is at record prices this month at almost $2,500.00. My grandfater always told to watch th price gold. The people in the know will indicate the times ahead with it’s price.Saudi arabia did not renew the 50 year contract with the petro dollar, thus weaking the dollar even more.You may also want to learn more about BRICS currency This country is in very,very deep trouble.
But here we are worrying about her race and gender. Or if Trump is the devi himself. I guess we will have something to tak about in the soup line.
Judith G. Michaud says
Wow, you better start researching facts before you write your next response! Please start with May 2018 when tRump ended all our pandemic control teams (we had 3 in China) and fired 799 scientists from the CDC. He said we would never have another outbreak like we did 100 years ago! Then, when we did, he lied and said it was nothing! I don’t have to tell you what happened next. Our economy plummeted, thousands died, and we couldn’t even buy toilet paper! As for the border that has been a problem for years! Did you know that President Obama deported more illegals than any other president and he did it humanely! Joe Biden has done an extraordinary job cleaning up the tRump mess. It will take years for our economy to recover, but we are slowly on our way ! Joe also had a border plan that even the real Republicans agreed upon but they were out voted by the crazy MAGA because tRump told them to wait until he was president so he could take credit. You’re putting the blame on the wrong man and the wrong party. Oh, and please read Project 2025 before you vote. It is pretty scary stuff!
Ray W. says
At a recent Mom’s for Liberty forum, former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy declared that the 2024 election “would be ‘our generation’s 1776.'”
At Monday’s Trump campaign rally in Ohio where candidate Vance was the headliner, an Ohio state senator, George Lang, warmed up rally attendees by predicting:
“I believe wholeheartedly that Donald Trump and Butler County’s J.D. Vance are the last chance to save our country, politically.” … “I’m afraid that if we lose this one, it’s gonna take a civil war to save this country.”
Does every FlaglerLive reader recognize the rich fantasy world projected by people like Ramaswamy and Lang and NJ.
In this fantasy world, the World Court did not rule against China in 2016 about erecting bases in the Philippine Sea, because Trump appeasing China for four years by doing nothing to back the Philippines works against NJ’s fantasy (As an aside, the Biden administration did only a little more than Trump did when it signed a pact with the Philipine government for mutual protection and military assistance, but it was in the end more than Trump did).
In this rich fantasy world, the Russian Federation did not send troops and tanks and guns into the Ukraine in 2014 while it was rebuilding its own decrepit military, depleted by decades of neglect after the fall of the Soviet Union. That Trump did nothing as Russia prepared to overthrow the pro-Western Ukrainian government works against NJ’s narrative.
In this rich fantasy world, NJ ignores that the Trump administration began injecting $2.9 trillion in unfunded stimulus money into a pandemic-induced economic free-fall prior to Biden taking office. Yes, Biden signed into law another $3.0 trillion in unfunded stimulus money. Trump’ free spending way is just as responsible for today’s dropping inflation rate as Biden’s free spending way. Hence, the accurate term is Trudenflation.
In this rich fantasy world, NJ thinks that Trump threatening to withdraw from NATO and that if a country fails to spend enough on military armaments, Trump will let Putin do whatever he wants to that country equates to peace through strength. What a gullible commenter NJ presents to be.
As for Iran, while it is not yet a nuclear armed nation, it is steadily working towards that status. I cannot argue that Trump unilaterally withdrawing from an admittedly patchwork treaty between Iran and a U.S.-led coalition that included many of our allies directly led to Iran’s ramping up its nuclear enrichment programs, but Trump did nothing to stop it. There can be but little question that the Nixon administration propped up the Shah’s hated SAVAK. If anything led to the Iranian Revolution and the seizure of American embassy personnel and staff, including CIA personnel, it was Nixon allowing Americans security personnel to train hundreds of SAVAK butchers, sending them back to Iran with newly learned interrogation techniques. We are still paying for that foreign policy disaster today.
I find this passage out of John Ghazvinian’s (UPenn professor of Middle East studies) America and Iran prescient:
“At the beginning of 1975, the shah abolished all existing political parties and replaced them with the Rastakhiz (Resurgence) Party. Unlike previous parties created by the shah, membership in Rastakhiz was not optional. Every teacher, government employee, manager, company director, and journalist was required to join. Voting in elections was made mandatory, and all collective organs — from women’s groups to agricultural cooperatives to student unions — were expected to function as a part of the Rastakhiz machinery. Passive obedience and apathy were no longer acceptable. Iranians would now have to demonstrate active loyalty to the shah through party membership.
“To explain the philosophy behind Rastakhiz, the shah held a televised press conference on March 4, during which he made a statement that stunned almost everyone who heard it. ‘I have come to the conclusion,’ he said, ‘that we should separate the ranks of Iranians clearly, properly and identifiably. … Those who believe in the constitution, the monarchy and the [White] revolution will be on one side and those who do not believe in these on the other.’ The latter group, he said:
‘could be given passports tomorrow with the greatest of pleasure and without charging them any exit fees, so they can go, if they so wish, to any country they choose. This is because they cannot be regarded as Iranians. They have no home country and their activity is illegal. … Everyone must clarify his position in this country like a man.'”
Those who fantasize that a revolution will restore America to some past unified glories are living a delusion, however rich the fantasy may be.
NJ, by claiming that Democrats are Marxists and Communists is channeling the Shah of Iran.
Laurel says
NJ: How’s the weather on planet Fox?
Callmeishmael says
I’ll bet you bowl with JimboXYZ.
Deirdre says
I’d LOVE to see a Harris Trump debate, she might point out that you can’t abort a baby after it’s born, for example. She would wipe the floor with him, Biden could only defend his golf game.
Thank God he dropped out! I just hope she doesn’t pucker up to Netanyahu when he demands more weapons and money to start World War III, and to finish off the Palestinians.
I’m enraged that he’s been welcomed as our honored guest, he’s a twisted psychopathic monster, a war criminal, and his invitation leaves no doubt this ethnic cleansing is part of the American agenda as well. Despicable.
AIPAC and the munitions industry certainly get their moneys worth, I just hope Harris hasn’t been bought and sold.
She’s in a sticky position as she has to support Biden’s policies as vice president, but it’s hard to believe anyone would go as far as Biden has with no red line ever. It would be refreshing to have someone with a brain in the big chair.
Imagine if she picked Whitmer? I already saw one politician (republican) accusing her of getting this opportunity because she’s black. So hateful and ridiculous, it’s time we had a woman in the White House.
I personally don’t care about her color or ethnicity, it’s not about the optics, but I feel sure she will bring back many people of color and women. If she wants the young vote she’ll have to end this nightmare in Gaza. Fingers crossed for the next month, we have hope now.
I would never have voted for genocide Joe or Trump, and women’s rights are becoming a thing of the past with right wing extremists. I think she’s just what we need at this time in Washington. Let the insults fly, no surprise.
Ellen says
He won’t debate her he is a chicken and will come up with some lam excuse. He runs away from having to pretend to be intelligent, it isn’t in his evil personality. He just attacks, threatens, and promotes violence. No wonder someone tried to attempt to assassinate him, he promotes anger and violence daily.
Joe D says
Trump wants to change the second debate moderators to FOX, instead of ABC, because he doesn’t believe the main news channels will treat him FAIRLY !!!
As if CNN allowing the 30 DOCUMENTED TRUMP lies during his debate going BASICALLY unchallenged by the CNN moderators, could have been any
More of a DEBATE FREE RIDE!
Laurel says
Trump=🐔🐤🐥
Jackson says
Traitor Trump is toast… Game over! All your bases belong to us! You have died of dysentery!
Trump cannot, with every fiber of his being, get over Kamala being BiPoc, and top that with Kamala being female, and we are talking complete meltdown… He just cannot process that in any human way. And Trump is not alone in this, the entire GOP is right there with him… They are all melting down right now. This is by far, their worst nightmare come true.
All of the masks they hide behind melt in the very presence of Kamala, exposing all the ugly that they are. This is nothing new for Kamala, this is business as usual for all BiPoc women… She is more than prepared for it, and they are not.
This is going to be a massive massive win for democrats. Republicants are going to have a hard time organizing a klan potluck after this beat down.
Yes! Please! I would love a second cup of MAGA tears!!! A toast to 8 years of President Harris!!!
Chicken, geezer, tv, loser, jail.
Lisa says
And when she sits in the chair behind the desk in the Oval office that is when the nightmare begins! I can’t wait to see a Trump/Harris debate. I actually want to see her answer a question to it’s fullest without laughing not to mention she can’t get thru a conversation without repeating the same sentence three different ways. I’m sorry but I could never follow anything she says she confuses the hell out of me. She is a disaster. I will be voting for the one who will help me afford gas in my car and food in my pantry and stop telling my kids NO cause we can’t afford it. That is only a few reasons why I will vote for the best person to lead this Country and it won’t be her.
Laurel says
Lisa: I can tell what you listen to simply by your statement about laughter. Use your own mind instead. Go ahead, vote for the rapist.
Lisa says
I’m going to vote for who is going to protect this Country and put money back into my pocket.
Sherry says
@lisa. . . Therefore, you are prepared to vote for a person who has not only been found GUILTY of “Sexual Assault”, and “Defamation” of his rape victim, but also of “Fraud” (lying) and “Falsifying Business Records”. . . a CONVICTED FELON? All over “putting money back in your pocket”?
Please tell us all precisely “how” trump is going to “protect this Country”. . . from what exactly?
Think, lisa,. . . . read your words again. Think about how you are portraying yourself. Are you OK? Shouldn’t you be seeing a counselor?
BillC says
Also, Trump filed for bankruptcy 6 times. Just one example- Trump Hotels and Casinos Resorts filed for bankruptcy in 2004, after accruing about $1.8 billion in debt. Who goes broke running a casino even though the odds are stacked against bettors?
Only the Real Donald Loser.
Laurel says
BillC: Trump failed Trump Vodka! How do you fail vodka?
Money shows are not supporting Trump. They are claiming he will increase inflation with his ignoring the deficit and putting hard tariffs on imports. Just thinking that out explains why that would be bad, you know we would be the ones paying. Thank goodness President Biden started supporting chip manufacturing here in the US!
JOE D says
If you think voting for the BIG ORANGE Buffoon will magically drop gas prices, and stop Agriculture/Food producer GREED, you’re delusional!
If you think ANYTHING he does is going to improve daily life for the AVERAGE American family, you’re welcome to vote as you see fit.
A voting right, by the way, the Republicans have tried to restrict, by creating RIDICULOUS voter restrictions !
So exercise your right to vote…and then we should compare notes in the Spring of 2027, after 2 years of TRUMP’S second REIGN …this time as KING!
Sherry says
@lisa. . . Therefore, as a woman, you’ll be voting for a Convicted Criminal Felon. . . who has also been found GUILTY of “Sexual Abuse” after your lord and master trump “Raped” her! Just what kind of woman are you?
Tony Mac says
So you will be voting for the convicted criminal to get back to the Oval Office. Got it!
Tired of it says
Do you really think that a serial cheater, convicted felon, with 16 failed businesses , who cheated a children’s charity is the best person to lead the country? Have you actually read/listened to any of his increasingly deranged rants? From lying about his education, his draft dodging, his disrespect for veterans and the handicapped, his failure to act during the pandemic everything about trump points to the fact hat he is an abject failure who can only spread hate and divisiveness. And if you don’t think his failure to balance the budget, during his four years, his unnecessary tax cut for the rich, which added trillions to the national debt, the 140 million tax dollars he spent on golfing din’t contribute to inflation…you are as delusional as he is.
Skibum says
Lisa, while you are teaching your kids what “NO” means, please try being honest with them as well as a good parental role model and explain to them why mommy has decided to support and vote for a man who has been found liable for sexually assaulting a woman in a department store dressing room! Be sure to let them know they have power over their own bodies, what is a good touch and what is a bad touch, and how they should never feel ashamed or provoked by any man trying to force himself on them, but YOU still would support and vote for such a man anyway simply because you are unable to follow anything or understand what his female opponent in the election has to say. Oh, and by the way, don’t forget to let your kids know too that YOU place a lot more value on affording gas for your car than you put on voting for a man found liable for rape. Your kids, no matter their ages, deserve to know where your priorities lie.
R.S. says
Trump’s name calling is so primitive a rhetoric, I don’t see why people aren’t leaving his camp in droves. I would expect behavior such as his from a kid under 14, not an adult politician. Never a word about the issues that matter; it’s all about him. Sick and tired of anyone’s following that individual.
Samuel L. Bronkowitz says
https://prospect.org/justice/how-kamala-harris-fought-to-keep-nonviolent-prisoners-locked-up/
https://www.npr.org/2013/04/30/180062890/on-california-prisons-its-the-governor-vs-the-courts
https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/04/californias-prison-crisis-is-now-a-constitutional-crisis/274852/
https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article233375207.html
https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/daniel-larsen-murder-conviction-overturned-innocence-project/2058098
She blocked the release of an innocent man from prison. That’s all you really need to know about Kamala Harris. There’s lots of other stuff, linked above, but really it’s about valuing winning no matter what. She’s a prosecutor. She has to win, no matter what. It doesn’t matter if they’re innocent, she has to win. It doesn’t matter if people are dying, she has to win.
DaleL says
Please name the “innocent” man that Harris blocked the release of. Was it Kevin Cooper? He certainly isn’t innocent. Post conviction DNA testing found his DNA at the crime scene. In the case of the crime lab scandal, the San Francisco Police Department was responsible for running the lab, not Harris’s district attorney office.
Harris implemented a Brady policy after the drug lab scandal came to her attention. Her office dismissed an estimated 1,000 cases as a result.
In the story concerning Daniel Larson, Kamala Harris is not even mentioned. “The court found that Larsen had shown he was “actually innocent,” that the police officers at Larsen’s trial were not credible, and that his trial attorney was constitutionally ineffective for failing to call witnesses on his behalf.”
Eventually it comes down to this, who is more fit to be president? Is it Kamala Harris or Donald Trump?
Robert Joseph Fortier says
Donald Trump.
Next question…?
Laurel says
Samuel: When you say “she has to win,” simply because her past position was as a prosecutor, that is illogical. Are you totally ignoring Trump’s behavior? Do you think Trump cares if people are dying? Look at Ukraine. Think about injecting bleach, or calling a pandemic a hoax. I think you got the candidates mixed up. Republicans: Up is down and down is up. Trump could not peacefully pass on the Presidency, Constitutionally, and with grace, ignoring the fact there is no evidence to his claims, and he is still crying. Geez, he’s tiresome.
There is no getting through to that rich fantasy world…cult.
Nephew Of Uncle Sam says
Comical, that’s all you have.
Samuel L. Bronkowitz says
Aha, I see blue MAGA has arrived. Authoritarianism is perfectly fine as long as you aren’t the ones getting arrested and it’s our guy in office.
Pogo says
@Stephen J. Farnsworth
Do tell. Any insights to share whether night will follow day?
dave says
I think its going to be one Trumpo right wing dirt slinging name calling show with lying facts galore and when he loses in Nov, it all starts up again, with its was rigged, voting fraud etc. etc.. etc.. Harris will face a barrage of criticism and skepticism from the far right because of her race and gender, but voters all know the facts are the facts however they are slanted.. Trumpo could have a stroke when a woman and an educated woman of color and Asian American beats him in Nov.
Skibum says
Harris is a big girl. I’m quite sure she is more than capable of handling the big baby, DJT. It will be the prosecutor vs. the convicted felon, the strong woman standing up for women’s rights against the one responsible for orchestrating the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe vs. Wade and who has said publicly that there must be some kind of punishment for women who have an abortion. It will be the younger, vibrant and foreword thinking candidate vs. the old guy with orangish, wrinkled skin and bad hair. Already, the GOP has reportedly regretted picking JD Vance as DJT’s running mate as they face the first woman of color presidential candidate, and I think they are shaking in their shoes with worry. And rightly so!
Laurel says
I still think that the Democrats failed the President with their lack of support. VP Kamala Harris would be next in line anyway should something happen to President Biden.
But…now that’s done…I cannot freakin’ wait for Harris to wipe the floor with Trump and his bullshit! Yes: prosecutor v. felon. Trump, and his minions, can go crazy with all the prepubescent 10 year old, bad behavior name calling, satisfying themselves with blatant lies. My God, it’s like bad baby gangs! No adult sophistication, no adult supervision, no adult intelligence, no accountability, no facts, and truth at such a low level it’s hardly detectable. Oh, and no real policies other than hate and culture wars they invented to rouse the unconfidant, just narcissistic, endless rambling. Me, me, me, me, I, I, I, I! It amazes me that sort of simple minded behavior is appealing to anyone, not to mention Trump being a prosecuted criminal. Gee, just what America wants!
Yes, come September, Trump will probably chicken out. Instead, we gotta listen to his sexism, his racism, his bigotry, his gender hatred, while claiming to be Christian, and everything negative he can come up with to try to tear down half of Americans. Oh yeah, and guess who’s old now? OMG! Precious! Let’s watch him do his two fisted dance now.
Oh, by the way climate deniers, the current inflation rate is 3%. At least try to be honest.
George says
Wow, such hate and division. Anyone who takes pleasure in all this needs treatment. We’re just supposed to shut up and look the other way while a senile old man destroys this country.
The dude says
The good news is… now we don’t have to.
Whereas before, it was guaranteed…
don miller says
When is biden’s going away party after the dems sold democracy to the highest donor and booted him? Maybe harris can talk about her border fail and how her nato rally didn’t deter putin. Then she can move on and tell us how she will get inflation down to pre-covid levels and cut my taxes.
Laurel says
Don Miller: Who are the highest bidders, Theil, Leo, Vance, Musk, the Saudi Prince? Please do name them.
BillC says
Can’t wait for the Trump/Harris debates. Suggest a new campaign song to be played at Trump rallies- “I’m a Loser” by the Beatles.
Laurel says
How about “Nowhere Man?”
Refurbish says
Honest questions to the left.
Do you truly believe that Biden, after all that you have “surprisingly” learned since the debate, is running the country and making the decisions? If not, who is really making the decisions and if he is not making the decision and he is just a puppet, isn’t that this “end of democracy” that you keep talking about. Before answering, please dig deep and think about what you have learned, how his inner circle worked to hide his condition, how the media is also so “surprised” and is now throwing him under the bus, and answer honestly. Please answer without bringing up Trump.
Joe D says
Biden has (throughout his 50 year career) been a formidable negotiator. Able ( until MAGA radicals arrived) to bring people together from BOTH sides of the aisle ( look at the recent border legislation worked on for over 1 year by BOTH side of the HOUSE). It increased the power of the President to temporarily (depending on immigrant volume) close the borders to any new asylum seekers. It also sped up the deportation hearings of those who stood no chance of being granted asylum. You no longer could request asylum “just because” you felt staying in your home country was “dangerous”.. there had to be SPECIFIC documentable threats against you or your family members PERSONALLY.
Before it was brought up for a vote, Trump (sorry, you can’t list FACTS of situations and not mention TRUMP) told his “puppet” House Speaker, Mike Johnson to “kill the bill.” Not because he thought the bill was BAD, but because he wanted it to be passed AFTER he won reelection (he didn’t want the bill to be a “WIN” on BIDEN’S Watch.
Biden surrounds himself with experts in any particular field, and considered their consultation (STILL DOES), BEFORE making a final policy decision. His predecessor (sorry, best I can do) frequently didn’t consult anyone who was considered an “expert” in the field, in fact frequently made the OPPOSITE decision of those he DID consult with’s recommendations !
Biden has been working with some of these world leaders for decades. He knows their strengths and their weaknesses. He has met with them, and negotiated with them. He was not subjected to behind the back jokes by other world leaders as SOME US president was during global summits ( see I didn’t mention any names).
I STILL believe, despite his poor showing in the first debate, and the Democratic panicked members had not shoved him out of the door….he could have served the American people will for another 4 years, based on nothing but his concern for the AVERAGE AMERICAN, and not the benefit of the top 3% income bracket.
Laurel says
Refurbish: How do you know his “inner circle” has been covering for him? Are you a part of his “inner circle? You got the inside info, or are you stuck on right wing media?
I’m not the “left” but I cannot stand the crazy shit that has been going on with the right the last few years. Insane “culture wars.” Those cultures are Americans.
What I do know is that all that President Biden has accomplished has not been promoted as it should have. There are continuous crap *facts* about the economy, ignoring the current 3% inflation rate, the unemployment rate of 4.4% with 14.8 million jobs created during the first three years. promoting chip manufacturing here in the U.S. to reduce our dependence on China, renewable power sources, the number of people who signed up for an ACA plan for 2024 surged to 21.3 million, salary increases outpacing inflation, and the market is soaring. There is more, but you can look it up yourself, and leave whats-his-name out of it.
Al says
After reading the constant political comments here, not just this story but just about any story, it has become clear that there is a significant part of the population who vote against someone rather than for someone. I myself am not aligned to either party, and personally am not too happy with either candidate running however I have to vote for whomever I think will do what is best for the majority of our country – I will never accept every promise, opinion, or insult just because it comes from a certain political party . Perhaps it is time for new “parties” to emerge…..gone are the whigs, federlists etc… maybe the democrat and republican parties have run their course.
Dennis C Rathsam says
Are you folks insane? What did Kamala accomplish in 4 years as VP? { except hiding Bidens mental state from the American people!} Her job as the border CZAR showed the world she is not qualified to be VP, let alone president. How many ellector votes did she get when she ran for president the last time? O!!!!! geez, I got that many too! 4 more years of Biden/Harris policy failures, America cannot indure. TRUMPS A PROOVEN winner! He ,s done the job, he kept us safe. What’s Kamala,s plan for America? { more Biden bullshit} more death, more destruction, more DEI? And for all you ignorant fools out there, TRUMP has stated time & time again, in rally,s & on T.V, He has nothing to do with Project 2025! Its not his policy! The democrats have nothing to run on, except trashing TRUMP! So they lie…..make up stories…. and cover up all thier mistakes, with more lies. Yet TRUMP carries on….Thousands of people flock to his rallys, wait 1/2 the day to hear him speak. The democrates cut TRUMP,S Secret Service detail, look what happened! It took a bullet to TRUMP,S ear before RFK got protection, after all he lost his father & uncle to assasins. Tell me how is that fair? This is another Biden Harris failure! Let the investigations start!
JOE D says
OMG another FOX NEWS Zombie! Don’t bother with the documented FACTS…just believe every word from the Mouth of the MAGA Wizard! Just REMEMBER what Dorothy in the Wizard of OZ found behind the curtain of the Wizard’s throne room.. a TINY, SCARED man who created a POWERFUL FRONT, so no one could find out how truly WEAK and POWERLESS he really was … BEHIND the MASK, smoke and mirrors!
Laurel says
“TRUMPS A PROOVEN [sic] winner!” The investigations have begun, and that ended up with two impeachments, and 34 felonies. So, yeah, let’s continue. How about Jared Kushner, Trump’s “Senior Presidential Advisor” (as if he was qualified) who helped cover up the murder of American Khashoggi by the Saudi Prince, got $2,000,000,000.00 from the Saudi Prince, and hightailed it to Miami. How about investigating Ivanka Trump, Trump’s daughter, who was appointed “Senior Presidential Advisor” (as if she was qualified) who received 18 Chinese trademarks after her dad was elected. You know, China that you dislike so much? So, I agree. Let the investigations, not start, but resume.
So before you call the rest of us “ignorant,” maybe you should do a little research on your hero.
Tired of it says
Well, if he has nothing to do with Project 2025 why is his name mentioned in it over 200 times? Did you actually hear his lies about it? As for “PROOVEN” winner…Lets review all of tRump successes
tRump promised to build a wall. He only did 458 miles out of 2,000. Most of it was repair or replacement, not new.
He promised to make Mexico pay. They didn’t.
He promised to cut the deficit. He added $8T to it.
He promised to unveil a new health care plan. It didn’t exist.
He promised a middle class tax cut. He cut taxes for the rich. The middle class is paying for it.
He said he wouldn’t play golf as President. He made 250 visits(way more than Obama) to his own golf clubs. It cost taxpayers $150 million.
He said he’d increase economic growth by 4%. He didn’t. President Biden did.
He promised an infrastructure plan. He had none. President Biden signed a massive one.
He promised to hire “the best people.” He fired 3/4 of them, and then said they were the worst ever.
He promised to bring down the price of prescription drugs. He didn’t: President Biden did.
He promised a Hillary lock up . It didn’t happen. Promised we’d win the trade war with China. We didn’t , It cost about a quarter million jobs and hurt Americans not help them.
He promised his corporate tax cuts would help and benefit Workers and corporations would use that money to invest in American workers. They didn’t, they used that money to buy back stocks .
He promised to bring back and revive the coal industry. Never happened more coal jobs lost during his presidency.
He promised to drain the swamp. He didn’t: He WAS the swamp. Jan 6th–Fake Electors.
Edith Campins says
Perhaps, you can tell me what exactly happened to trump’s healthcare plan. You know, the one he promised over and over again but never materialized. Also explain why a Grand Jury , made up of regular Americans, saw fit to indict him on the basis of the evidence presented to them as did the jury, of regular Americans, that convicted him on 34 counts. While you are a it tell me what exactly he did to fix the border crisis during his 4 years in office. Because if he had fixed it we wouldn’t be having the problem now, would we? As for the atendance at his rallies…so reminiscent of Fidel Castro’s rallies… and look where that got Cuba. Lastly, please tell me exactly what his plans are, other than Project 2025 for moving this country forward. All I hear him say is lies, vulgarities and insults. Hs incoherent rants are always about how “bad” he thinks everyone else is, never any actual plans for the future.
John A says
The Democratic party keeps talking about democracy yet doesn’t let the people choose the candidate to represent them in the Democratic party hence they keep their primary closed and they tell the people who you will vote for that’s fascism 101 I can’t believe how people who have hatred in their heart I just too blind to see what’s going on and who’s the true party of racism and hate all they do is lie to us constantly we all know that President Biden has dementia and should not be running this country this is why the world is in chaos because they know the United States is weak and it will continue to be weak if Kamala Harris gets to be president
Joe D says
Boy… talk about “closed primaries” by the Democrats being unfair. You CLEARLY have not paid attention to the Election MANIPULATION the Republicans have done by adding candidates to the Flagler County Ballot, who have NO INTENTION of campaigning for their positions and NO INTENTION of SERVING if the are accidentally elected. However, by adding those last 2 Republican candidates, it means the technicality of an open primary ( where ALL voters can vote regardless of REPUBLICAN/DEMOCRATIC / or INDEPENDENT political affiliation) is now CLOSED, and open to only REGISTERED REPUBLICANS!! A GAMING “legal” loophole by certain candidates to keep themselves from being voted out of office. It took me several DAYs to figure out why a candidate would manipulate the election system like that!
All the needed primary electors from Biden-Harris ( now free to legally chose any other Democratic potential candidate) have all allied themselves to the Biden ticket (“unofficially” until the Democratic National Convention confirms her).
Joe D says
Sorry …long day.. (maybe I have Dementia 🤫)…the former Biden-Harris electors have all VOLUNTARILY now aligned themselves with the HARRIS ticket…sorry!
Ray W. says
Hello Dennis C. Rathsam.
I can see from your comment that you believe that Vice-President Harris is a “border czar.” Was she ever a border czar? You are the proponent. You carry the burden of proof.
This will be a test of your capacity to learn.
Alejandro Mayorkas was submitted as a candidate for Secretary of Homeland Security, the agency that by statute wields the power to enforce the border laws; he is the person in charge of the border. The Senate debated the issue and voted to appoint him to the post.
Xavier Becerra was submitted as a candidate for Secretary of Health and Human Services, the agency that by statute wields the delegated powers to oversee the care of those who are in the country as immigrants, documented or not. The Senate debated the issue and voted to appoint him to the post.
Vice-President Harris was named by President Biden in March 2021 to hold the informal role of coordinating diplomatic relationships with foreign countries to address the “root causes” of migration into the United States, the same role informally held by Biden during the Obama years. This position holds no powers.
If the above-cited positions are true, then Vice-President Harris never held political power to control any of the border, i.e., she was never a “border czar.” I argue that the Senate never voted to appoint her to any border position and that those people who were appointed to the posts to wield the powers delegated by Congress to the appropriate agencies never gave her any of their powers. Yes, she held the power to meet with foreign governments to discuss how to address border issues and she reported back to the president. Therefore, it is a legitimate point to cast blame, if any, for that.
The term “border czar” does not exist in any statute, it was rapidly fabricated after it was announced that she was an informal diplomat by lying political operatives. The fabrication was then repeated by a number of lying politicians. Now, it is reasonable to argue that you are the agent of passing on a lie.
Again, this is a test of your capacity to learn. There are many legitimate reasons to criticize Vice-President Harris. This is not one of them. If you are not personally responsible enough to accept that you passed on the lie, please do not refer to yourself as a conservative. All my life, people whom I knew as conservatives claimed that theirs was the party of personal responsibility. That they weren’t personally responsible for the truth of their claims then was a mystery to me. You, in the same way, are a mystery to me. You just cannot seem to exercise any form of restraint on your thoughts.
Laurel says
Ray W.: Unfortunately, your statement to Dennis “You just cannot seem to exercise any form of restraint on your thoughts” is all too common today. Media tells them what to think, and they are buying it hook, line and sinker. The “intellectual rigor” you so desire, is being slowly reduced by those who will benefit from it.
My question to you, if you will, is how do we turn that around? I fear for the younger generations. I feel they are targeted.
Ray W. says
At the risk of proving Pogo right, that I am indeed sanguine, my thoughts are that there really is a future based on the young picking up our discarded torch. I hope they will be more involved, more curious, more intellectually rigorous than their elders.
I hope they find their own way, rejecting the bile and vitriol of one of our political parties. Don’t get me wrong, the other party isn’t far behind in its own bile and vitriol, but only one party has political leaders who ask when can they begin beheading Democrats, who promise to slit throats, if elected, who state at campaign rallies that some people need killing, who tell voters to strap on Glocks before leaving home to vote, who tell the inconvenienced to exit their vehicles and throw protestors off bridges, who promise both to crush vermin and to have blood in the streets if not elected, and on and on.
r
Yes, there may again come a time when people refused to discuss politics at the dinner table. Perhaps, once again, the cranky uncle will be relegated to the living room each Thanksgiving until he agrees to stop calling Democrats Marxist/Communist. Children should not be raised in an atmosphere of political lies. The truth is that the closest we ever came to communism was when President Nixon issued an executive order freezing prices and wages in an effort to reign in runaway inflation (stagflation). The closest we ever came to socialism was when President Obama placed administration economists on GM’s board of directors in exchange for loaning GM billions of dollars under the TARP Act. Of course, Eisenhower calling out the National Guard when the steel workers struck is remarkable, but not quite the same thing.
And, as I am fond of reminding FlaglerLive readers, when the Social Security Act was passed and signed into law by FDR, the Chicago Tribune ran an editorial calling the legislation communist.
When communism means everything under the sun that someone opposes, it no longer has any meaning. Yes, when I was in college, the verb “to run” had 105 different dictionary meanings, but none of them meant “to stop.”
JOE D says
Why do any research about the Facts…When just absorbing what Fox News, News Max and Truth Social feeds you every day without any TRUTH to support their “facts”…..it’s so much simpler than trying to research the TRUTH on your own!
Laurel says
We are so erily close to “Big Brother is watching you” on the smart TV in our living rooms. Currently, it is the programs mentioned, social media and politicians, both local and national, that are spewing “Newspeak.” So close are we that one cultist leader can bring us to that novel year.
Skibum says
And wouldn’t you know it, just as soon as Kamala Harris’ name was at the top of the Democrat’s ticket for the upcoming presidential election, right on time just like clockwork comes the parade of old white men spouting the racist Faux infotainment repeated lie that she was nothing more than “a DEI hire”. Trying once again to sell the fairytale that when a white man, however despicable and unqualified for a position is hired, he earned it, but whenever a woman – and in particular a woman of COLOR gets hired, it is only a “DEI hire” because they somehow need or are being forced to give her a job to meet quotas. These mushbrains believe that no matter what a woman has had to go through to get a job, she will always be unqualified in their hairbrained opinions, never once accepting the reality that a woman has to work twice as hard just to get half as far as men in the business world. I am not a woman, but I bet it must really SUCK for any female trying to get ahead and deal every single day with such BS, overwhelming misogyny, slurs and racial epithets from curmudgeons, bigots, hillbilly eligie talking heads, and the like. But I also found it amusing that in the current trumpian takeover of what used to be the Republican Party, where the foaming-at-the-mouth disgusting repudiation of “DEI” is uppermost in these airheaded “minds”, the GOP House members just had their own DEI meeting that the Speaker of the House called because of the newly found importance of giving his trumpian dystopian cohorts direction that they need to be more cognizant when speaking in public, they need to show some respect, they need to stop the name calling, the racist and misogynistic remarks about political candidates they don’t like or agree with, and try to stick to policy matters rather than personal attacks! WOW, ow WOW WOW WOW, you can’t make this stuff up! They have just had the “come to Jesus” DEI speech thrown at them, citing exactly the reason why DEI is there in the first place, yet I bet not a one of them even realizes they have unintentionally embraced the intent of DEI and why it is not the satanic, ultra leftwing and unnecessary evil they have been making it out to be. But for them to acknowledge that simple fact, these trumpian republicons first need to empty their heads of marbles and maybe start reading some banned books. I would suggest starting with the 1619 Project Cirriculum.
Laurel says
Skibum: You are so correct! It is incredibly difficult for a woman to get ahead, still. I watched incompetent men glide past me.
I had one white male manager try like hell to promote me to the company owner, to no avail. After I quit that job, the owner gave me two weeks pay (really!) and told me he would probably work for me some day! Another passed me by for promotions, the when I retired, he told me “I wish I had ten more like you.”
I could tell you stories for hours, but I don’t want to regurgitate the past. I don’t want to get in to the harassment stuff.