Paycheck-to-paycheck voters will 'imagine their mendacity eyes' and vote in opposition to Harris

Presidential debates are sometimes like Rorschach checks for partisans who see what they need to see within the efficiency. As an alternative of imagining the random ink stain to be a “lovely butterfly,” they view it as a substitute as a decisive win for his or her candidate.

For the reason that debate, many within the media and lots of Democrats have considered Kamala Harris’s well-practiced non-answer solutions as a determined victory for her. Whereas they might see it that means, there’s an excellent probability that the majority working-class Individuals don’t.

After the talk, I carried out my very own snap ballot of family and friends members dwelling paycheck-to-paycheck whereas getting battered day by day by the tough realities of life — harsh realities that everybody I spoke with believed have gotten worse underneath the Biden-Harris administration.

Whereas ABC Information, David Muir, Linsey Davis and Kamala Harris have been seemingly in lockstep that Jan. 6, the talk about Roe v. Wade, local weather change, the racial divide and a “2025 transition plan” Trump has nothing to do with have been profitable points, none of these I spoke with — together with working-class Democrats — had any of these on their lists of issues to fret about as they battle to pay rising payments whereas navigating rising crime, crumbling infrastructure and failing bureaucracies.

To that time, Reuters headlined its debate story “Some undecided voters not satisfied by Harris after debate with Trump.”

As they reported: “Kamala Harris was broadly seen as dominating Tuesday’s presidential debate in opposition to Republican former president Donald Trump, however a gaggle of undecided voters remained unconvinced that the Democratic vp was the higher candidate.” The information service interviewed 10 undecided voters. After the talk, six stated they might vote for Trump or lean towards him. 5 stated they discovered Harris imprecise on how she would enhance the financial system. Those that switched to Trump — the bulk — stated that whereas they might not like him personally, they trusted him extra on the financial system and that their private monetary state of affairs was higher when he was president.

Subsequent, we come to the left-leaning CNN. Though its post-debate snap poll confirmed Harris the winner by a large margin, there was some very unhealthy information for the vp folded into the report. Earlier than the talk, Trump was main Harris on the financial system 53 to 37. After the talk, Trump jumped up two factors to 55 whereas Harris fell to 35.

Subsequent, we come to some much less standard so-called polls. First, at a small bakery in blue Montgomery County in swing-state Pennsylvania, we now have the “cookie ballot.” As reported by Fox News, 4,228 cookies have been offered expressing assist for Trump, whereas solely 369 have been offered expressing assist for Harris.

Is that this remotely scientific? In fact not. Does it have some actual which means? Sure. In a blue suburban county, a overwhelming majority of cookie consumers “voted” for Trump with their cookie purchases. To make certain, one of many causes they did so was as a result of it was an nameless vote. In some methods, that offers it extra weight than an “official” ballot.

Again in 2016, I got here throughout an analogous meals “ballot” at a restaurant in blue Boca Raton, Florida. Clients might “vote” by both ordering a “Hillary” burger or a “Trump” burger. Strolling into that institution in early October 2016, I used to be shocked to see the Trump vote dramatically forward. To me, that foolish, nameless vote in a blue stronghold represented a “canary within the coal mine” warning for the Clinton marketing campaign. That warning was confirmed appropriate when Trump shocked the world by profitable the presidency one month later.

As we enter the homestretch of the 2024 election, Harris is attempting to drag off the best magic trick within the historical past of American politics. She is making an attempt to make the Biden-Harris administration disappear. She needs to persuade voters that she and President Biden had nothing to do with the final three-and-a-half years.

Greater than that, Harris seemingly needs to fake that Trump is by some means the incumbent president, and that she is the upstart “change” candidate combating in opposition to the failed insurance policies of the final three-and-a-half years. It’s surreal to say the least.

It’s a slick sleight of hand doomed to fail, as a result of individuals will imagine their “mendacity eyes.” For tens of tens of millions of voters, the primary failure of the Biden-Harris administration is the financial system, shortly adopted by immigration, crime and well being care. These voters will tie the incumbent vp to these failures.

Harris, elitist Democrats, teachers, media personalities and celebrities current in entitled bubbles of luxurious and private security can embrace Jan. 6, Roe v. Wade, and so on. all they need, however this election continues to be going to return right down to the bread-and-butter problems with the financial system, immigration, crime and reasonably priced and dependable healthcare.

And on that rating, it is going to be the Individuals dwelling paycheck-to-paycheck who will push Trump excessive to victory in November.

Douglas MacKinnon is a former White Home and Pentagon official.