IT was only two months ago that sitting United States President Joe Biden had his re-election bid effectively ended after the 81-year-old stumbled and stammered through his debate with former President Donald Trump.
Gone were the eloquence and charm that Biden was known for throughout his political career, and in its place was a man who was a shadow of himself.
Trump, who won the last round of the debate, managed to produce a display that seemed presidential, running rings around Biden in what was shaping up as a presidential rematch that no one wanted.
The election then took another turn when Trump, who was on the campaign trail, survived an assassination attempt. The sniper bullet missed him by a hair, only managing to graze his ears.
To many, this was the defining point of the election, as the photo of a bloodied Trump towering over the crowd with his fist clenched, yelling “fight” as Secret Service agents hurried him to safety, was seen as the final nail in the coffin for the Democrats.
“The election is now Trump’s to lose” was the sentiment shared not only by American political observers but also by those globally.
But now, how the tables have turned.
Democrats hit the panic button and called for Biden to step down from the Democratic presidential ticket.
The calls grew louder to the extent that major donors threatened to pull their support. It was a losing campaign, and deep down, even Biden knew it.
Amid mounting pressure and the ominous White House return for Trump, the President called it quits, and his Vice President, Kamala Harris, stepped up as the party’s presumptive nominee.
A former prosecutor, Harris was among those who campaigned for the presidency in 2020 but had her run cut short due to a lack of financial support.
She made a name for herself two years prior in 2018 by being on the committee for the Supreme Court confirmation hearing of Brett Kavanaugh. Her searing questions and cross-examination skills were a nightmare experience for the then-judge, exposing his temperament and putting his credibility into question.
This week, political observers and Democratic supporters expected the same treatment for Trump in their first debate matchup, and she delivered.
Trump, being confident after his last debate win, which effectively ended the re-election bid of a sitting President, hoped to do the same with the Vice President, making it two for two.
But the stumbling and stammering candidate was not Harris this time, it was Trump. While he kept his charm and sang the greatest hits, it didn’t work as he would have expected.
For 90 minutes, Trump did not have answers to the questions that were asked of him, and when it came time for his opponent, Harris, to answer the same, she played him like a flute.
The Democratic presidential nominee baited Trump into being on the defence over several issues, throwing the Republican nominee off message and straight into the lion’s den.
She knew which buttons to press, and press she did. Unlike Biden, Harris was quick on the attack and did not give her opponent any chance of escape.
One bit of commentary after the debate described it as Harris painting a picture of a tunnel on a brick wall for Trump to crash into.
Harris goaded Trump on crowd sizes, knowing it was a touchy topic for her opponent. She also demeaned the former President for his affinity towards dictators and autocrats, saying that these people liked Trump as he was easy to manipulate.
The debate took a sharp turn thirty minutes in when Trump alleged that Haitian immigrants were eating cats and dogs, picking up a talking point from a right-wing conspiracy theorist. The claims were unfounded, and there were no reports of such.
Talking himself into trouble seemed to be a coping mechanism from the Republican candidate who, at this point, seemed to have lost the lead in the presidential race.
“If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him,” was a quote from Sun Tzu’s book, The Art of War. Harris exemplified this at Trump’s expense.
Simply put, the events of two months ago have been long forgotten. The election is no longer Trump’s to lose.
The presidential race is getting more exciting, and with less than two months to go until Election Day on November 5, this race is surely one to watch.
The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the Sarawak Tribune.
