Politics - News Analysis

Trump Campaign Panicking: Their Smear-Job Mudslinging Strategy Is Not Working

One of the things we know about Donald Trump is that he has one way of doing his “thing.” He fights as dirty and low as it gets.

He calls people names, he lies, he talks about his adversary’s awfulness, evilness, stupidness, whatever, and his own absolute unquestioned perfection.

Yesterday, when asked what he might have done differently about COVID, he said “nothing.” When you’re perfect, and your opponent is perfectly awful, the playbook plays out one way.

One of the things we know about Joe Biden is that he’s Joe Biden. What you see is what you get.

He isn’t going to give Barack Obama-like glowing speeches that inspire generations. He isn’t going to charm crowds like Bill Clinton. He is going to say things that hurt one’s ears, and he’s going to make mistakes. But he’s also a good guy, who isn’t going to embarrass anyone in a big way, or make a major mistake, nor is he someone who will make an ass of himself out in the world – and he knows what he’s doing.

So it appears that only Trump and the Trump campaign could be shocked – and they are – that their “one way” mudslinging approach, just isn’t working against Joe as it did against Hillary. Shock face! Hit us, “Beast.”

In 2020, they want to do it all over again. But this time, Team Trump faces a presumptive Democratic nominee who appears, at least thus far, significantly less vulnerable to those attacks that worked so well on Hillary Clinton. In poll after poll—both public and internal campaign variety—former Vice President Joe Biden has maintained leads over President Trump, including in several key battleground states.

Yeah, well, good. But there is another takeaway from this, and that is that perhaps Hillary could run herself against Trump again now and people are just so sick of hearing 120 tweets a day and all the bullshit, they’d vote for her, too, now. Plus maybe people rightly fear the man who ignored a disease that could kill them, that they’d vote for Stormy Daniels over Trump.

It’s also prompted some Trump lieutenants, and even the president himself, to start practically longing for the good ol’ days of having Clinton as their foe. As recently as last month, Trump privately joked how great it would be if Biden ultimately didn’t secure the nomination this summer and Clinton would have to step in, so that he could beat her harder than he did last time around, according to two sources close to the president.

I have never for a second understood the Hillary hatred, other than 30 years of conservative group psychosis. That being said, how about if I privately “joke” back to these assholes that if there is a point where Biden needs someone to step in, the “step-in” would be one Michelle Obama, who would lap his ass and be asking to be sworn in September 1st. Michelle Obama is the most admired person in America who isn’t constitutionally barred from running.

There are some that say Biden will eventually have to get down in the mud with Trump:

“Democrats need to understand that this is a real fight,” the former adviser went on. “And stop pretending that we can normalize this by offering some other type of positive politics that’s going to get us through it. It’s not. You have to hit this guy, you have to hit him harder.”

Not when you’re up 11 points nationally and in all the purple states you don’t, but if it tightens up, then, by all means, talk about lying all day every day about everything, banging Stormy, paying her off, whatever mud is needed is within easy reach.

But for now, it appears that some in this country are starting to awaken, thankfully. The latest Quinnipiac Poll had Biden at 50% and Trump at 39%. That is UP 2 points from last month. When you’re up double digits on the other guy? Keep doing whatever you’re doing, and thank god for that, since Joe is Joe, and Trump is definitely Trump.

Neither of them is changing.

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Peace, y’all

Jason

[email protected] and on Twitter @MiciakZoom

meet the author

Jason Miciak is a political writer, features writer, author, and attorney. He is originally from Canada but grew up in the Pacific Northwest. He now enjoys life as a single dad raising a ridiculously-loved young girl on the beaches of the Gulf Coast. He is very much the dreamy mystic, a day without learning is a day not lived. He is passionate about his flower pots and studies philosophical science, religion, and non-mathematical principles of theoretical physics. Dogs, pizza, and love are proof that God exists. "Above all else, love one another."

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