Trump avoided a major trap and Harris lied to the nation – Orange County Register

As a voter, I watched the presidential debate for a specific reason.

It didn't happen.

I've been watching to see if former President Donald Trump would say or do anything that would push Vice President Kamala Harris into the role of feminist victim.

It could have been a snarky remark about a personal relationship in their past. Or a condescending tone that sounded like Trump was “mansplaining” something to a woman. Or a facial expression that conveyed contempt, arrogant superiority, or – riskiest of all – mockery.

If Trump were to be shown in even one video showing disrespect to a woman, it would likely be on the front page of every newspaper in the country and would be played on a loop on MSNBC from now until the polls close.

But it didn't happen.

Some commentators praised Harris' performance after the debate as if she had triumphed over Trump, and the Harris-Walz campaign released a jubilant statement: “Tonight, Vice President Harris dominated the stage on every single issue that matters to the American people.”

Maybe not entirely. The economy, inflation, uncontrolled illegal immigration, and an unsecured border are issues that matter to the American people. Trump brought up these issues in as many of his answers as possible, regardless of the question.

Harris also brought up Roe v. Wade and abortion as often as she could.

If the polls are to be believed, it is clear that voters who are concerned about the economy and the border are more likely to vote for Trump, and voters who are concerned about abortion rights are more likely to vote for Harris.

And that's probably how it will stay, because nothing happened. Tuesday's debate did not cause a ruckus in the race over the gender gap. Trump avoided the special trap that leads to quicksand for male candidates running against women.

In 2000, Congressman Rick Lazio ran against Hillary Clinton for the U.S. Senate in New York. Their televised debate, moderated by NBC's Tim Russert, was combative. The New York Times reported on the candidates' demeanor: “Mrs. Clinton was serious; she did not smile often. In contrast, Mr. Lazio pulsated when he smiled; one of Mrs. Clinton's advisers later said he almost grinned.”

So if you watched the debate and wondered why Trump's face seemed frozen in a serious frown, maybe it's because every New Yorker remembers that Senate debate, but no one remembers Rick Lazio.

The risk of offending female voters was just one of the traps for the Republican candidate. The moderators allowed Harris, who repeatedly accused Trump of lying, to repeat false stories unchecked. The Charlottesville story, for example, was declared untrue even by fact-checking websites hostile to conservatives. Trump said the tiki-torch-bearing neo-Nazis and white nationalists at the Charlottesville protests “should be condemned in the strongest possible terms”; he never said they were “fine people.” Trump said Biden’s policies would cause an economic “bloodbath” in the U.S. auto industry, not that there would be a literal “bloodbath” if he didn’t win.

Harris has deliberately misled the country, which appears to be the preferred position of the Biden administration.

But none of this is news. Biden himself brought up the Charlottesville hoax during his own debate against Trump. It didn't seem to make a difference. And it certainly didn't save Biden.