The first Presidential debate on September 29 was watched by 73 million people. Trump is a gambler, and not just because he owned casinos. He ran one of the biggest gambles of his life in the debate, and whether it pays off now is very uncertain. The President’s ultra-aggressive performance in the first presidential debate—aggressive to the point where moderator Chris Wallace had to ask him three times to simply let challenger Joe Biden answer a question—can’t have been an accident. It was an effort by a candidate behind in the polls to shake up the race by driving home his principal line of attack: that Biden is too weak to be the president of America.
Trump chose not simply to say that his opponent is too weak, or too old, or too afraid of his party’s left wing, but rather to try to demonstrate it before a world-wide audience by attacking and belittling him. The subliminal message: If you can’t stand up to me, how can you stand up to the leader of China, or those perpetrating violence in the streets of Portland?
And perhaps it worked. Nobody who watched was left in any doubt about the core argument of Trump’s campaign, which is in large measure about the assertion that his foe is not up to the demanding job of sitting behind the Resolute Desk.
Biden did, at times , seem taken aback by the relentless ferocity of the onslaught—and if the plan was to get the challenger to overreact by calling the president a “clown,” well, that did happen at one point. This is what those who call Trump undisciplined don’t entirely grasp: He is very disciplined in driving home his main message, and will do so again and again, without remorse or apology, as he did Tuesday night.
It is important to recall how Trump used almost the same technique in defeating 16 Republican candidates in 2016 and Hillary Clinton. He succeeded in burying Bush and Clinton dynasties, against all odds, including vehement opposition of the mainstream media, continuous investigations, impeachment he has won. Therefore, it is possible his strategy to defeat Biden could work.
Trump was able to impress the audience that he was for law and order and strong economy. He also took credit for appointing 200 judges and 3 Supreme Court judges in his first term (third appointment is in process).
There was little likable about the presidential persona that came across in the debate stage. Maybe that does not matter as much as it used to in politics. Trump has demonstrated that people don’t have to like him to support him. A common refrain among Trump voters, in fact, is that he is rough and tough, but that they see that as part of his strength. Yes, they say, he is a bully, but he is our bully.
Trump’s main strategy is to attract new voters from the uneducated working class located in the battleground states. If so, his aggressive performance in the debate should help him achieve his goals. Rush Limbaugh, most popular talk radio host has praised Trump’s debate performance. As mentioned in my previous dispatches, Trump is not appealing to the elites.
If Trump knew how to get elected as President in 2016, his strategy to get reelected could succeed.
(Ven Parameswaran, Chairman, Asian American Republican Committee (founded 1988) lives in Scarsdale, NY. H can be reached at vpwaren@gmail.com)