Presidential Contrast, Early Voting & Swifties Aren’t Safe – Top 3 Takeaways – August 9th, 2024
- Contrast. There’s a lot of it in this year’s presidential election. In fact, if you’re about the issues and policy positions, there’s more of it than there’s ever been before. As my voting record analysis has shown Kamala Harris is 84% to the left of Donald Trump creating the greatest divide on the issues between the two presidential candidates in American history. But while Donald Trump did seek to inform on that contrast during his press conference from Mar-a-Lago on Thursday, his simple willingness to show up to do what he called a “general news conference” was the overarching contrast he was seeking to draw between the two of them. Quoting Trump on Truth... Kamala refuses to do interviews because her team realizes she is unable to answer questions, much like Biden was not able to answer questions, but for different reasons. He is just plain ‘shot,’ and she is just plain ‘Incompetent.’ And while the former and perhaps future president of the United States was recently shot, he clearly isn’t ‘shot’ as he gladly fielded questions from all comers on Thursday. As JD Vance is quick to remind us it's now been 19 days since Kamala Harris became the Democrat’s presumptive presidential nominee without a press conference or an interview that’s she granted. And the one time she was caught in public off script during that time it was to get in a photo op in with the returning Americans (and Green Card holder) recently released in the pricy prisoner exchange with Russia when she said: This is just an extraordinary testament to the importance of having a president who understands the power of diplomacy and understands the strength that rests in understanding the significance of diplomacy. Btw, if you go back and watch President Biden next to her in that video it’s like watching Trump’s reactions to Biden during the debate. His expressions to attempt to understand what she just said were priceless. In any event, in a press conference that might still be taking place because Trump was anything but shy about saying his piece and taking reporters' questions the gauntlet was thrown down to Kamala Harris’ effort to attempt to run the equivalent of a presidential basement campaign in terms of press access, by agreeing to do not 1, not 2, but 3 presidential debates and all in September. The first September 4th with Fox News. The second September 10th with ABC and the third September 25th with NBC. This debate proposal gives Kamala nowhere to hide during the onset of the election season – which starts September 16th – the date that voting begins in the uber important state of Pennsylvania. So, what happened... Late in the day yesterday, Kamala Harris briefly fielded questions from reporters, and when I say briefly, literally only for about one minute, between events. This included a question about Trump’s three proposed debates. Her response (while doing the Kamala Cackle)... Well, I'm glad that he finally agreed to a debate on Sept. 10. I'm looking forward to it and I hope he shows up. No mention of the other two debates. It seems she wants her one preferred venue – which btw, is ABC News – while seemingly attempting to dodge the other two. Trump was willing to take on Biden on CNN and ABC. Kamala is indicating that she’s only willing to do a debate if it's with ABC. It’ll be interesting to see what happens from here.
- Early Voting. Early voting is already underway for Florida’s August primaries in a smattering of counties across the state – including the largest in Miami Dade. And what we’ve seen so far is that there are already a lot of people who’ve taken the opportunity, mostly through vote by mail ballots, to vote. As of Thursday, over 820,000 of Florida’s 13.4 million registered voters, or over 6% of those eligible, had already turned in their votes. As for most voters across the state, as of tomorrow you will be able to vote early in person. In Palm Beach County early voting is set to take place from 7 am to 7 pm in 26 early voting locations running from Saturday, the 10th, through Sunday the 18th. In Martin County early voting is available from the 10th through the 17th from 8 am until 5 pm daily at two different early voting locations and Indian River County will operate three early voting locations from 8 am until 4 pm between the 10th and the 17th. Republicans have out voted Democrats by about 13,500 voters statewide. It’s likely that the GOP advantage will grow as early in person voting opens up across the state. While Republicans currently are leading in votes by mail, they’ve outvoted Democrats nearly two to one in the locations where early voting is underway. Voting is always much lighter in August than it is in November, but even Florida’s NPA’s have elections to vote for as many races locally and across the state will be decided August 20th. Four years ago, 28% of Florida’s eligible voters voted in the August Primaries compared to 77% who voted in the general election. Turnout, and specifically who turns out, will be the first indication about the level of voter enthusiasm across our state (and potentially beyond) in advance of November’s elections. Democrats have been busy statewide this week touting 18,000 new volunteers that have showed up to help the party campaign since Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race. Campaign volunteers are one thing, and actual votes are quite another. If Democrats are suddenly invigorated across this state, we’ll see it begin to translate at the ballot box. With the votes that have already been cast we haven’t seen that happen yet.
- Not even the Swifties are safe. Every day that Joe Biden is president and Kamala Harris is vice president the world is a less safe place. It’s on display in so many ways. Yesterday, the way that manifested itself, was via an ISIS inspired Islamic terror plot broken up in Vienna. While the plot was thankfully stopped in its tracks, so too were the two Taylor Swift concerts scheduled for Vienna. Did Taylor Swift and her Swifities have to worry about becoming victims of ISIS terror attacks while Donald Trump was president? Nope, because Trump bombed the blank out of them, ended their caliphate, and forced them to go away. What has the weakness of the Biden-Harris administration allowed? Afghanistan to fall to the Taliban once again allowing for the proliferation of Islamic terror, Russia to invade Ukraine. China to complete the takeover of Hong Kong – turning their sights on Taiwan and the Philippines next. Hamas to carry out the largest attack on Jews since the Holocaust bringing about the Israel-Hamas war and now this. Earlier this year the reestablishment of ISIS as a worldwide terror threat as they had regained the size and strength to carry out a highly sophisticated terrorist attack in a Moscow entertainment venue and now the terror plot against Swifties. Every day that Joe Biden is president and Kamala Harris is vice president the entire world is less safe, but now it's not just that Swifities are less safe – it's especially Swifties that are less safe.