My friend Aurora, a faithful reader of Peggy Noonan, sent me the writer’s August 1st Wall Street Journal column. Well written as it may be, I felt there were too many things that made me question if Noonan is a Harris campaign surrogate. At the very least, Noonan accepted many of the Kamala press releases at face value.
Noonan posed the question — “Does Trump know that he’s fighting for his life?” Interesting choice of words, when not even twenty days prior, he had bullets “whizzing” by him, to use Trump’s words, and of course one bullet that connected.
Even without a violent attack, it’s safe to say he realizes that the next 90 days are going to be a fight. However, top Trump campaign manager Chris LaCivita told Politico:
“It’s not over on Election Day. It’s over on Inauguration Day.”
There’s no way a Trump election victory would go unchallenged. To believe otherwise is delusional. So, make that the next 160 plus days.
Noonan’s opinion column was rife with exaggerations favoring Kamala Harris, and I wondered why. Maybe she wouldn’t have played pep squad leader for Harris if the Republican candidate was someone more Establishment-friendly.
After all, Noonan did entertain the ludicrous suggestion that Nikki Haley continue on with her campaign, even after getting repeatedly trounced. Anyone with horse sense knew that Haley was never going to be the candidate. But, Haley seemed a glutton for punishment anyway, even after being shellacked in her home state.
Then there’s the fact that the 45th President called Noonan a RINO. Maybe these things play a hand in Noonan’s recent piece, which I will examine now.
What the Megan Thee Stallion performance says about Kamala Harris
First, Noonan suggests Kamala Harris had a good rally in Atlanta. Vice President Harris and President Trump each held Atlanta rallies, at the same exact venue: The Georgia State University Convocation Center. Harris on July 30th and Trump on August 3rd. Four days apart.
However, Noonan leaves out a couple of key facts.
Harris glued her event on to a Megan Thee Stallion performance, which I think is indicative of how little the Harris campaign thinks of voters. Kamala Harris is known for being the opposite of a compelling speaker and Newsweek reported that attendees were leaving mid-speech. Could you blame them? They wanted a free show and that’s exactly what they came for. Word salad was not on the menu.
Harris having to piggyback on a rapper also smacks of insecurity. Or, who knows, maybe it’s a kind of self-awareness. Harris knows that most reasonable people don’t particularly care what she has to say.
“This is how stupid they think we are.”
If you’re curious, look at the official Kamala Harris YouTube channel, which posted the entire rally – pull it up, unless they eventually shut down the comments. One commenter said:
“Kamala, you just turned off everyone who is classy and intelligent.” Another said: “This is how stupid they think we are.” Some of the comments I won’t repeat.
I’ll admit I got a good chuckle scrolling the comments.
The Trump campaign shifted gears effortlessly
Columnist Peggy Noonan also suggests the Trump campaign seems to have been surprised by Harris. Huh? Has Noonan not been keeping up? Well before Biden inevitably threw in the towel, the Trump campaign was trolling them that they knew Biden wouldn’t be on the ballot.
They even sent an email that it wouldn’t be proper to schedule J.D. Vance in a Vice Presidential debate because Kamala Harris hadn’t made her VP pick yet. This was when Biden was still swearing that his campaign would make it to November.
The Trump campaign shifted gears effortlessly from facing Biden, or what was left of him after the debate, to facing Harris. Ruffled? When?
Noonan also suggested Harris has had two excellent weeks. Given that she came completely out of the shadows, I suppose a legacy media honeymoon was inevitable. Before becoming the presumptive Democratic Party nominee, people asked me why we never seemed to hear from Harris. It’s not by accident, I can assure you.
Kamala Harris’ “major pluses,” according to Noonan
Noonan lists what she says are “major pluses” for Ms. Harris.
Okay.
“She is new.”
That’s charitable. She’s the slightly more together half of the Biden-Harris regime. Tucked away because of how embarrassing she is, Harris has been reborn as a messiah of the Democratic Party. I suppose next to Biden almost everything seems new.
“On policy she is bold to the point of shameless.”
Noonan does Harris a favor here, and this is where we see her very clever writing. Somehow under Noonan’s treatment, Kamala’s flip-flopping and deception are actually a plus. I guess I missed the memo that when you abandon what you previously pretended to care about and believe in, that’s called boldness. Are we supposed to celebrate?
Noonan says “She is a born performer.”
What? It was just two years ago, we got Kamala Harris’s space speech. There was also the NASA video production with paid child actors. If Kamala Harris has been playing some cringey, patronizing character, then Noonan’s “plus” that she’s actually “a born performer” has some weight.
“She’s beautiful,”
Noonan says. We’re really grasping at straws here, aren’t we? Roger Stone – love him or loathe him – said “politics is showbiz for ugly people.” Kamala Harris is not ugly. However, we can agree that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Finally, Noonan says “she has a wave of pent-up support behind her.”
It seems like Noonan is actually describing desperation. With three months left, the Harris campaign seems frantic. Their message seems a weak echo of Hillary Clinton’s “I’m with her” plea. But, here we are.
“Don’t you want to elect a woman?”
They lead and end with that. Deep down, some of them know that Kamala Harris is just a novelty. After all, nobody wanted her when she was running for President in 2019. Perhaps that’s why she’s invented a completely new identity.
As Biden would say, “here’s the deal.” So here’s the deal: she knows they didn’t like her before, so now she has to invent a new façade.
Noonan asked — “Does Trump know he’s in for the fight of his life?”
I think the answer is clear, but a better question is — does America?
Brilliant, thoughtful, well conceived and well written review, Paul! Tom and I give it, and you, two thumbs up!
Enjoy the gift of the day!
Aurora