Author: craigcrawford

Trail Mix Host. Lapsed journalist, author & retired pundit happily promoting nothing but the truth for Social Security checks.

Are you better off than four years ago?

Any undecideds in your life about the election on Tuesday? Polls and pros are saying the only thing keeping a lot of voters on the fence is they think things were just swell under Donald Trump’s presidency.

Here’s an elevator pitch to wake them up, courtesy of Reuters:

In 2020 under Donald Trump’s presidency we had:

350,000 COVID dead

A plunging GDP

A shrinking economy

Unprecedented federal deficits

Lower average incomes

Higher unemployment

Higher inflation (6.2% — it’s now 2.4%)

— Reuters: “Trump wants to compare now to four years ago. Here’s what it looks like“

When Do We Invade Poland?

Tough to top the Drudge Report’s banner headlines on Trump’s Hate Festival last night at Madison Square Garden.

UVA’s Larry Sabato: “I love historical documentaries. I’m currently watching one about the 1939 pro-Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden. Oh wait, it’s a live Trump rally! My bad.”

Tim Walz compares Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally to 1939 pro-Nazi event. “Don’t think for one second that he doesn’t know exactly what they’re doing there”– The Hill

Geraldo Rivera: “Fuck these racists. Latino men of good will, have pride in yourselves and your ancestors. A vote for Trump is a vote against self-respect.”

Finally, Real Votes Instead Of Polls

As actual votes come in we can dial back on sifting through polls.

And the Democratic ground game in the Blue Wall is showing results.

PA: Almost 800,000 early votes have been cast in Pennsylvania and Democrats are destroying Republicans.

MI: Over 1 million early votes in Michigan and Democrats are destroying Republicans.

WI: Just over 300,000 votes cast so far in Wisconsin and Republicans come in third:
Democrats 40%
Unaffiliated 41%
Republicans 19%

EARLY VOTE IN ALL 7 BATTLEGROUND STATES
Total Cast: 4,755,160
Democrats: 2,410,117 (50.7%)
Republicans: 1,950,572 (41.0%)
Unaffiliated: 394,471 (8.3%)

— Source: TargetEarly Dashboard by TargetSmart

In Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina the two parties are roughly even, while Republicans are running about 10 points ahead.

For now I’m resisting a hard look at comparisons to the similar time frame for early voting four years ago because in 2020 the COVID pandemic made voter behavior so unique it might not be useful information.

Into The Lion’s Den of Misinformation

Kamala Harris takes no crap from FOX Host Bret Baier’s rude and deceptive interview, at one point calling him out for showing a clip that did not represent the topic at hand. “Bret, I’m sorry, and with all due respect, that clip was not what he has been saying about the ‘enemy within’ that he has repeated when he is speaking about the American people. That’s not what you just showed.”

Full interview (27 minutes):

Seems like the consensus news hook was her declaring independence from Biden, even FOX headlined it that way, a good outcome for her — and she did it without a hint of criticism for the President:

Axios: Harris: “My presidency will not be a continuation of Joe Biden’s”

FOX News: Kamala Harris defiantly asserts her presidency ‘will not’ be an extension of Biden’s

AP: Kamala Harris pledges break from Biden presidency in testy Fox News interview

Washington Post: Harris clashes with host, distances Biden in contentious interview on Fox

TRUMP DUCKS AND WEAVES IN LATINO DEBATE

Meanwhile Donald Trump had a rough time with skeptical Latino voters at the Univision Town Hall last night. My notes:
— Oops he got a question why he killed the border bill. He didn’t get close to answering, never mentioned the bill she asked about in a rambling answer that focused on crime in Chicago “Everything the Democrats run is bad”.
— These are all rough questions. Next, “Could you explain your pro-gun policy to the parents of children killed in schools”. Again, no answer, instead he starts reciting the same Chicago murder stats he brought up before, and again blames the Democrats.

Now a questioner says he’s a Republican unhappy with Jan 6, handling of COVID and how “so many in your administration, like your own Vice President, don’t support you”. Trump riffs about how Jan. 6 was a “day of love” and a bunch more crap. The guy obviously wasn’t convinced.

— A woman asks if he agrees with Melania’s pro-choice views on abortion. No answer, but he does plug her book: “It’s very good. I hope you all go out and buy it”.
— These people are not buying his bullshit. No nodding of heads in agreement as Kamala got last week in her Univision Town Hall.

New York Times got these headlines just right.