Never content to lose gracefully, two-time presidential failure Hillary Clinton has some sage wisdom to offer Kamala Harris to prepare for tonight’s debate.
It’s not the first time she’s pulled this. Clinton ran an op-ed in The New York Times offering Joe Biden advice before his debate in June, and we all know how that turned out. So did she switch it up for Harris?
Nope.
In lieu of an op-ed, this time Clinton sat for an interview with The Times. But the advice is still just as stupid.
Clinton thinks of a presidential debate like a teacher’s pet preparing for a middle school debate club. She’s stunned that her own debates didn’t go better because she “knew the material.”
“She’s a good debater,” Clinton delusionally claimed of Harris, so the only question is whether she will be “prepared enough” to feel “really comfortable going on both offense and defense.” She thinks practicing with an aide “playing Trump” will help her learn to “not be baited.” And she’s sure Trump “can be rattled” if Harris just leans on her “prosecutorial background.” Overall, Harris needs to highlight Trump’s “really terrible record as President.”
When it comes to “the material,” Harris will likely fall flat; she’s infamous for being unprepared for her own staff briefings, let alone a broad-spectrum debate. Yet Clinton’s hyper-focus on prep reminds us just how terrible she is at this.
Televised presidential debates aren’t about winning arguments. They’re entertainment, reality TV — a chance to show energy, personality and a certain je ne sais quoi magnetism that you can’t fake no matter how well you prepare. You have to sound, and actually be, authentic.
This is where Trump excels and it’s why people love him on the debate stage, but Clinton still doesn’t even understand the rules of the game. It’s not so much that people hated her policies. They just hated her.
So if Harris actually wants to stand a chance in this debate, she should do exactly the opposite of what Clinton is telling her to.