There is a Method to Trump's Madness

 This week the politico/media world is abuzz with the suspension of late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel over blame shifting comments on the Charlie Kirk assassination. The suspension by ABC/Disney was exacerbated by FCC Brendan Carr’s mafia like threats to suspend the broadcast licenses of its affiliate stations. This time the pearl clutchers on the Left are legitimately concerned about the very real threat to free speech that Carr represents.

 

But there is more here than meets the eye. The move on Kimmel is part and parcel of Trump’s plan to attack the power centers and funding sources of the Left. Think about it; Trump Administration has moved against high level government bureaucrats with DOGE, NGO’s funded by A.I.D., elite universities, Big Law, alternative energy by removing its tax credits, and now the media. The Trumpistas understand that politics are downstream of culture and so it should not surprise anyone that the media is in their crosshairs.

 

Indeed, a sea change in late-night television is now underway. With Stephen Colbert soon to be gone and Kimmel apparently on the way out, late-night television will no longer be a monopoly of the Left where it functioned as both a cheer leader and a therapist for those who tuned in. Further with the Skydance takeover of Paramount, CBS News will no longer exhibit its Left bias and if Paramount moves to take over Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN will move in the same direction. As Bobby Dylan said, “the times, they are a changing.”  All you have to do is look at Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center.

 

With respect to funding, look at how hard Trump has hit the big funders of Democratic and leftwing causes. As stated above, look at the contributors from Big Law, government employees, academia, nonprofit organizations, the media, Hollywood, and the alternative energy producers. The next obvious step will be for Trump to use the IRS to intimidate tax exempt organizations that flow big bucks into the Democratic Party and progressive groups.  

 

Historically Silicon Valley has been a huge source of funds for the Democrats, but no more. Just watch the leaders of Big Tech suck up to Trump.

 

As a result, step-by-step the Trumpistas are seizing the organs of power that made the Democratic Party a viable, and many times, dominant political force. Trump is rapidly accumulating power, and the Democrats are cuddling up to the Socialist wing of the party that will bring with it electoral disaster. And it is my guess, that is part of Trump’s plan.

My Thoughts on the Harris -Trump Debate

 No Knockout, but a Clear Win for Harris

 

Although Vice President Kamala Harris did not “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” in the words of Muhammad Ali, she clearly won last night’s debate. She came off as a cool and accomplished leader who many would see as presidential. In contrast Trump came off hot as the angry old man that he is. It is OK to show flashes of anger on television, but it is very hard to sustain anger for a full ninety minutes.

 

Harris was consistently forward looking, while Trump was looking back to the past. In a way Harris came off more as a challenger than Trump did. It was quite a trick for the sitting vice president to come off as the change candidate. On substance she was at her best in discussing abortion and weakest when talking about her changed positions. Here the ABC moderators failed in not following up on her radically changing views. They also failed in not focusing on the foreign policy and military challenges facing our country. It was Trump’s failure in not taking this fight to Harris. In a real sense, just like Biden two months ago, Trump lost the debate more than Harris won it.

 

Finally, to put a cherry on top of the cake, Taylor Swift endorsed Harris as soon as the debate ended.

The State of the Presidential Race

 Over the past two months the Democrats have risen from their severely depressed state of being in mourning over Joe Biden to an exalted manic state hailing Vice President Kamala Harris as their new savior. Last week’s very successful convention cemented Harris’ leadership in the party, and she is now a small favorite to win the election in November.  However, I would caution that the current manic phase can quickly turn once again to a depressive state.

 

The most important thing that happened at the convention was what did not happen. As many feared, including myself, the convention did not turn out to be a rerun of 1968. It went off flawlessly and Harris came out of the convention as a forward-looking optimist as opposed to Donald Trump’s backward-looking pessimism. Indeed, somehow the sitting vice president became the candidate of change and Donald Trump became the de facto incumbent. As I wrote in July, this will be the year of the anti-incumbent and if Harris can maintain her image as challenger she will win. ( See: Shulmaven: Incumbents Beware )

 

Further buttressing her position is that the propaganda organs  of the state (ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, CNN, Washington Post, New York Times, Facebook, and TikTok)  gushed over her acceptance speech. (See: Shulmaven: America's Party Line )  So craven have the mass media been is that their unqualified support for Harris has yet to pass the test of a single interview. In fact, Time magazine did a hagiographic cover story on her without an interview, truly unprecedented.

 

Meantime Harris’ economic proposals have drawn criticism from even normally left-of-center quarters. Her proposals for price caps on groceries, rent control and a $25,000 tax credit for new home buyers make little sense. Of course, Trump’s proposals calling for mass deportations, tariffs on all imports and executive branch control over the Federal Reserve are zanier than what Harris has proposed.

 

The critical tests for Harris will come when she actually has to do real interviews and the September 10^th debate with Trump where she is the presumptive favorite. If Harris is to maintain the mantle of change, she will have to successfully answer the following question: On, what policies do you differ with President Biden? My guess is that she will be hard pressed to answer that question which will leave a big opening for Trump.