The ‘garbage’ campaign: Why mistakes and distractions could tilt the outcome

If there’s one image that captures the craziness of this campaign, it’s got to be Donald Trump driving around in a garbage truck.

He put on the orange vest and talked to reporters after a Joe Biden blunder put Kamala Harris on the defensive.

And this was after a Trump rally filled with profane insults, including a comic who mocked Puerto Rico as an island of floating garbage.

And that, in turn, followed the spectacle of the former president cooking up some fries at McDonald’s, where he actually likes to eat.

THE FATAL FLAW IN KAMALA HARRIS’ SPEECH, MARRED BY BIDEN’S ‘GARBAGE’ COMMENT

But all this is unfolding against the backdrop of the ugliest and perhaps most divisive race in American history, with each side accusing the other of being a danger to democracy. 

And the tightness of the polls–assuming they’re not off again–has created an almost apocalyptic sense of drama, with many voters worried about post-election violence if Trump loses.

Trump, after all, has survived two impeachments, the Jan. 6 riot, four criminal indictments, one conviction and two assassination attempts. He has spent the last four years insisting, despite numerous failed lawsuits, that the last election was stolen from him.

Can there be more than 500 voters in the six or seven swing states who don’t have a rock-solid opinion of him, positive or negative?

As for Harris, she was a relatively unpopular vice president thrust into a 100-day sprint when Democrats pressured Biden into stepping aside. She soared through the convention but hid from the media – that’s now changed – yet kept sticking to talking points and didn’t make much news. 

What’s more, Harris would be the first female president–and, of course, woman of color–to win the presidency in a country where some men, especially Black men, are reluctant to take that step. 

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I have never witnessed such a chasm in coverage as in 2024, not even when Barack Obama first ran for the White House. The Kamala coverage ranges from glowing to gushing, with minimal scrutiny even when she makes false claims. The Donald coverage is overwhelmingly negative, right down to the Hitler comparisons–which the press has pushed for years, even before John Kelly went on the record with his accusations.

It’s not hard to sense the frustration in the press that the improving economy isn’t helping Harris, especially with the news that inflation has dropped to 2.1 percent. 

The New York Times says voters feel "relatively glum" about the economy, with the "lingering pessimism…The job market has been chugging along, although more slowly, overall growth has been healthy and even inflation is more or less back to normal." 

A Wall Street Journal columnist said yesterday the next president will inherit a "remarkable economy," but that 62 percent of those in its poll rated it "not so good" or "poor."

There is generally a lag in public perception, as when George H.W. Bush found when he talked up economic improvements in 1992 but lost to Bill Clinton.

In this supercharged environment, every mistake counts.

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Trump, speaking about criminals who cross the border illegally, said "I told women I will be their protector. They [his advisers] said, ‘Sir, please don’t say that.’ Well, I’m going to do it whether the women like it or not." 

That has an unfortunate ring to it, and Harris said yesterday it is "very offensive to women," including on controlling "their own bodies."

All of which brings us back to the last few days. When every hour counts, every distraction is costly. If you’re explaining, you’re losing. If you’re playing defense, you can’t put points on the board.

Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally was marred by racist and misogynist talk, the coverage of which totally overshadowed his speech. What drew the most attention was comedian Tony Hinchcliffe and his ridicule of Puerto Rico. Podcaster Joe Rogan said he heard the joke the day before and told the comic there would be a big backlash. But the Trump camp hadn’t vetted the speakers.

When Harris naturally denounced the "garbage" language, Trump hopped on the sanitation truck emblazoned with his name.

Biden has been hurting his VP’s candidacy with a series of screwups. First he said of Trump, "Lock him up." Then the president blurted out that "the only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters." He stumbled before adding that this was about the "demonization of Latinos."

Castigating the other side’s voters is about the worst thing you can do, as Hillary Clinton learned eight years ago. That choked off the favorable coverage of her speech on the Ellipse–itself designed to mirror Trump’s Jan. 6 speech–and was the focus of reporters’ questions the next morning.

Harris distanced herself, saying Biden had clarified his remarks and she would never criticize voters who don’t support her. An NBC reporter asked her about it again yesterday.

Trump’s brief stint at McDonald’s was meant to highlight his contention that Harris never worked at one during college, as she has insisted. It was a brilliant tactic and one her side should have conjured up first. 

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National Review writer Noah Rothman says the candidates are just "trolling" each other, presenting voters with "a choice between two gratingly flip campaigns that are consumed with frivolities."

I would differ on the main point. The whole point of a campaign is for voters to size up how the candidates perform under pressure, since no one knows what crises may arise. How they react to attacks, stunts and interviews gives us a sense of their rapid-response abilities that go beyond policy positions–especially in such a razor-thin election.