By Dale Glading
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Four years ago, Donald Trump had two things going for him. First, he was from outside the Beltway. Second and perhaps more importantly, he wasn’t Hillary Clinton, one of the least likeable candidates in modern political history.
In 2016, voters were ready and willing to elect someone with zero political experience because they were tired of the status quo. They wanted someone to “drain the swamp” and make government more accessible and more responsive to the average American. Donald J. Trump – blunt and brash, untamed and unvarnished – fit that mold to a tee.
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Now, however, these same voters are looking for something more. Polls show that they favor Trump’s policies, with 56% of respondents saying that they are better off today than they were four years ago. They also give President Trump high marks for how he has handled the economy despite the recession caused by the pandemic.
But, after four years in office, many people have grown tired of Trump’s tweets and tirades. They approve of the job he has done, but they don’t approve of him… or his behavior. For them, his churlish conduct at the first debate may have been the last straw.
Unfortunately for Donald Trump, Joe Biden is not Hillary Clinton. Biden may be a career politician, which is something many voters despise, but he is less caustic than Clinton and less combative than Trump. And voters, who are weary of the pandemic and wary about the future, may be looking for some stability and a little peace and quiet amidst the social upheaval and constant turmoil of 2020.
For that reason, a familiar – and seemingly less threatening – face like Biden’s may have some appeal.
And yet, as we suspected all along and as is becoming more apparent with each passing day, Joe Biden is simply not up to the job. Whereas Donald Trump is an energetic 74-year old, Joe Biden is showing every sign of his advanced age, both mentally and physically. That, no pun attended, is a trump card for the president.
So, without further ado, here are my suggestions to President Trump for how he can rally and win on November 3rd…
- Offer to release your full financial records in exchange for Joe Biden’s full medical records, including a recent test of his cognitive abilities.
- Demonstrate a new and improved Donald Trump when you take the stage at the next debate. Let’s face it: you will never win a Miss Congeniality contest and we don’t want you to. But we do want – and expect – you to act more presidential and statesmanlike. After all, you’ve had four years of practice.
- Let Joe Biden talk. I repeat, let Joe Biden talk. Don’t interrupt him a single time. I am willing to bet that, given enough rope and empty airtime to fill, Biden will verbally hang himself.
- EVERY time a question is asked at the debate or in the press, start by asking Joe if he intends to pack the court. Then ask him if he fully supports – or will publicly disavow – the Green New Deal. Tie his answer to its impact on J-O-B-S. Finally, ask him over and over if he backs law enforcement or BLM, police officers or Antifa. Make him choose.
- Spend your own money. I receive dozens of text messages and emails every day asking me to financially support you and virtually every Republican officeholder who is in a tough race. And yet, you have repeatedly said that you would spend as much of your own money as needed to win. Trust me, Mr. President, it is needed… NOW!
- Make this election about your policies and your performance contrasted with Biden’s. Do not make it about personalities. You win on the first; but lose on the second.
- Frame the debate in broad, bold, and diametrically opposing terms. Personal Freedom vs. Government Control. Self-Determination vs. Socialism. Law and Order vs. Anarchy, Bedlam, and Mob Rule.
It’s “crunch time”, Mr. President. Time for the two-minute drill if you’re going to pull this one out in the final seconds. And so, I pray that you will heed my advice or that of sensible people around you who will tell you not what you want to hear, but what you need to hear.
Adopt these seven strategies and I believe you have a 50-50 chance of winning, Mr. President. Dismiss them and double down on how the campaign has been operating so far and I fear President Joe Biden (and his eventual successor, Kamala Harris) will have control of both houses of Congress to push through their radical progressive agenda.
I am praying for you, sir.
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Dale Glading is an ordained minister and former N.J. Republican candidate for Congress.
