Debate night with The Dossier, tonight at 8:45PM ET
Join the Live Chat tonight, starting at 8:45PM ET.
The second presidential debate goes down tonight at 9 pm Eastern time, moderated by ABC News. I'll be hosting a debate watch party exclusively for paid subscribers, starting at 8:45 PM ET. The live conversation will be going down in The Dossier’s Substack Chat page. Upgrade your subscription and download the Substack app so you don't miss it. We had a blast at the first debate watch party, and I look forward to the second edition tonight.
Here’s what I’ll be looking out for:
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How much will Kamala stumble?
Vice President Kamala Harris is an infamously terrible communicator. She stumbled so badly in the 2020 Democratic debates that it pretty much ended her candidacy on the spot. Despite spending $50 million on her 2020 campaign, she dropped out before the first primary vote. Now, she performed considerably better against Mike Pence in the VP debates, but Mike Pence is as stale as it gets.
She has reportedly committed to significant prep work in the days preceding the debate. Expect a lot of “girl power” and super cringe and woke bumper sticker lines to make their way into the debate. Nonetheless, I still expect her to struggle mightily against President Trump, who has always had the charisma advantage against his political opponents.
How bad are the moderators?
The Trump and Harris campaigns have agreed on a similar ruleset that allowed for Trump to thrive in his first debate against President Biden.
The debate will be moderated by ABC News managing editor and "World News Tonight" anchor David Muir and ABC News Live "Prime" anchor Linsey Davis.
They are both corporate media bots, and you can expect all kinds of loaded questions that advance leftist narratives. It’s safe to assume that VP Harris has acquired the questions in advance. I’m still not sure that any of this will help her.
Still, there will be enormous pressure on the moderators to attempt to score points against President Trump, following the failed effort by CNN to land any blows in the Biden-Trump debate, leading to the humiliation of the ruling class. Given that all of their colleagues and acquaintances believe in the ideology of “Orange Man Bad,” the ABC corporate bots won’t want to let down their network.
They no longer have a backup plan, so I would expect the moderators to drive themselves into a frenzy to try to assist Harris and chip away at Trump.
What is Trump’s strategy?
Charisma comes naturally for Donald Trump; the debates are his time to shine. He must capitalize on his time on a national stage, and use it to articulate the decisive narratives and frameworks for the final stretch of his campaign. Politically, he has nothing but tailwinds at his back, following the decision to postpone sentencing from his sham conviction until after the election. On policy, he must drive home the point that he is running against a San Francisco leftist, while reminding viewers of the unprecedented disaster that is the Biden-Harris Administration.
See you tonight, starting at 8:45 PM ET!
From my view, David Muir is most known for beginning every telecast during President Trump's first term with, "Today, President Trump said, without any evidence whatsoever, that...." So it wouldn't surprise me if he revives that same statement tonight.
Won’t be able to hang in the chat this evening due to a prior engagement but look forward to reading your take!