VIEWPOINT | Off the rails again
Column by Erick Erickson
2024 began as a referendum between two deeply disliked men, one of whom is an incumbent with a bad economy, and his predecessor who had a great economy until a global pandemic undid it. 2024 is ending with everyone remembering they hate Donald Trump and not knowing who Kamala Harris is. Trump can still win it, but he seems intent on reminding people they do not like him.
Earlier this month at the National Association of Black Journalists, Trump confronted hostile questions and pushed back. The reporters, increasing enemies to anyone not on the left, do not matter. Trump, however, decided to double down on Harris not being a black American. After the event, at a rally, he put on a screen that Harris claimed to be the first Indian American in the Senate. So?
Harris’s mother is an Indian immigrant. Harris’ father descends from a family of slave owners in Jamaica. But all of that is a distraction. Trump loves to get distracted by distractions. Those distractions play well to his base, but not to anyone else. Every second spent arguing over just how black Kamala Harris is a wasted opportunity not focused on Harris’s record, her rush away from her former positions, the border situation she oversaw, the Afghan withdrawal, her coverup of Joe Biden’s mental decline, etc. There are less than 100 days until the election and Trump may just lack the discipline to focus.
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