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ROOKE: Small Storm Could Become Hurricane That Decimates Kamala’s Election Chances

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Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images

Mary Rooke Commentary and Analysis Writer
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Vice President Kamala Harris’s chances of winning in November rest heavily on Tuesday’s debate on ABC against former President Donald Trump.

The stakes couldn’t be higher for Harris, who has been essentially hiding from the public since the Democrats anointed her as their party’s nominee. This debate is her chance to argue against another Trump presidency; if she fails, Trump will be 2-0 in successfully ending a political career with a single debate.

Trump was the clear winner in his matchup against President Joe Biden. The outcome of that debate set Harris’s candidacy in motion. Within hours of Trump successfully exposing Biden for being the mentally deficient aging man that Conservatives had been saying he was for the past four years, former members of the Biden-Harris administration and political pundits began talking about Harris being a good surrogate for Biden.

It didn’t take long for the conversation to turn from using Harris as a surrogate to her being the party’s best option for leading the Democrats to victory over Trump. The media’s hype for their new “It Woman” created a wave of support. (Biden, CNN Revive Desperate Tactic To Help Kamala Win Election)

So much so that soon after Biden tweeted about his decision to depart the race and endorsed his vice president for the role, Harris received a massive polling bump nationally despite previously having historically low approval rates, even in her own party. As a former prosecutor, she was billed as the party’s only chance at arguing the anti-Trump case to voters. (ROOKE: The Deadliest Crack In Kamala’s Campaign Just Burst Wide Open)

However, things are already changing. With less than 60 days until Nov. 5, her honeymoon is clearly ending. Polling consistently shows that Trump has enough momentum to win the Electoral College and, in some polls, the popular vote.

Harris’s only shot at justifying her existence in the race will be the Sept. 10 presidential debate on ABC, and lucky for her, the bar is set really low. Several panelists leading up to the Tuesday debate have argued that Harris has an uphill battle because Trump is a skilled debater. After almost a decade of telling us Trump is a buffoon, all of a sudden, regime media is claiming that he is a formidable opponent. They’ve effectively given her a low bar of expectations to make this an easy win for her.

Still, suppose Harris doesn’t live up to the meek anticipations set by the media class. In that case, it will damage her campaign, similar to Trump ending Biden’s political career during the June presidential debate. (ROOKE: Kamala Failed To Hide Her Biggest Election Weakness From Voters)

The media doesn’t seem to grasp that most Americans still don’t know who Harris is or what she stands for. Winning will require that she make the case against Trump and explain herself to the American people. She has an advantage in that her performance expectations are low, and the media has a history of sharing debate questions with Democrats. This will likely be no different.

Still, Trump’s team managed to keep the microphones off between questions, which is a positive for him, not Harris. Turning off the mics for the non-speaking candidate ensures Trump stays in his lane and prevents her theatrical ” Excuse me, I’m speaking” moment.

She will also have to contend with the reality that while her views on abortion are popular with far-left single women, average families from Middle America do not rank abortion high on their list of issues plaguing the country. No amount of her saying: “I’m speaking!” or ” We’re not going back!” will make a difference to a country in crisis. Families care that in the Biden-Harris economy, they can’t feed their kids, afford their house payments, and pay for utilities. They see their 20,000 new Haitian neighbors as prime examples of the chaos Democrats cause Americans. (ROOKE: Kamala’s Campaign Crossed The Line, And Now She’s Paying The Price)

If she doesn’t have a clear answer for these issues, it won’t matter how much debate prep she has, the media’s low expectations for Harris, or anything else the Democrats use for excuses. Nothing can combat her being exposed as an incompetent leader.

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