Trump's allies fear he'll fail in debate with Harris - Politico
US presidential candidate Donald Trump (photo: Getty Images)
The second debate may be Donald Trump's best chance to regain his footing in the presidential race. But some Republicans fear that he may miss this opportunity, reports Politico.
Prominent officials of the US Republican Party, as well as Trump's own advisers, have been urging him for weeks to focus on criticizing the political activities of US Vice President Kamala Harris.
However, the former US president continues to signal that he is not interested in giving up personal attacks. This, in fact, may lead to a failure of the debate.
“I assume she’ll come in very, very aggressive, and she will try to bait him, getting very angry, and she’ll be personal and try to demean him. I think, I hope, what he'll do is be a guy who's been a real president... and just be calm and steady," said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
For allies of the former president, known for his eccentricities and arrogance, it's a hope that has some literally calling on a higher power.
“I think — I pray — he can be disciplined,” said Tricia McLaughlin, one of several Republican strategists.
According to Politico, Trump does not seem to share his allies' concerns about refraining from personal attacks. Thus, when podcaster Lex Fridman recently urged Trump to talk about "a positive vision for the future versus criticizing the other side," the former president seemed to disagree.
“Yeah, I think you have to criticize though. I think they’re nasty,” Trump said in the published episode.
Earlier, Trump said he was “entitled to personal attacks” on Harris after he was widely criticized for questioning her racial identity.
We also wrote that ABC agreed on the final rules of the Trump-Harris debate.
