Make Kamala Explain

Dan Proft Commentary

View the full transcript below

Before Kamala Harris was rebranded by the DC press corps as America’s Momala, a once-in-a-generation force of nature with unparalleled legal acumen actually overqualified to be President, her uniquely mindless word jumbles were the subjects of mockery…by the Left, as in this Daily Show spoof.

If all comedy has some basis in truth, the truth is Trump’s job at what may be his only debate with her is to get Kamala talking.

My admittedly counterintuitive view is that whoever talks the least in this matchup wins.

Of course, it’s a bit more complicated than that as the substance of what is said matters no matter how succinct or verbose.

Trump’s general charge is this: he must perform the function the DC press corps refuses to fulfill on that debate stage in September, on stages at his rallies and in the countless interviews he does on news programs without any Kamalaesque fanfare.

Trump must be the fact-intensive inquisitor.

Vice President Harris, as a Senator you sponsored legislation called the Zero-Emissions Vehicle Act that would mandate car manufacturers sell only electric vehicles by 2040. Now you say you’re against electrical vehicle mandates. What changed your mind?

Trump might even offer a suggested line of defense to further set her up. Madame Vice President, does your opposition to EV mandates have something to do with the lack of demand for electric vehicles? Do you find the reverse-Robin-Hood notion of middle income families subsidizing the purchase of six-figure EVs for the wealthy objectionable? Or was it something else?

Trump can even ask and answer questions directed at Kamala himself to prompt her to engage.

Vice President Harris, you and I both wanted to get our troops out of Afghanistan but the Gold Star families of the soldiers killed in the suicide bombing at Abbey Gate have endorsed me. Why do you think that is? Might it be because there is wanting to do something and then there is doing it sensibly. You said yourself you were the last person in the room and fully onboard with the planned evacuation that resulted in 13 dead soldiers and countless more Afghan allies who helped our soldiers. As President, will the buck stop with you or will you again pass the buck to someone else when things go wrong?

And Trump can prompt her to explain her 180s to align with him by attempting to build upon them.

Vice President Harris, you used to say that building a wall on America’s southern border was just a “medieval vanity project” of mine and that you would never support funding for a border wall. Now you are willing to devote hundreds of millions of dollars to a border wall and while you feature photos of a border wall in your ads. It’s great news. I’m glad you have come around to my view. While we have your attention on this issue, how about you join me in supporting the immediate deportation of adults in this country illegally beginning with those convicted of crimes here or who are known associates of international criminal organizations like MS-13 and Tren de Aragua? As a former prosecutor, you don’t want foreign criminals in our country, do you?

By offering substantive questions, Kamala will demonstrate who she is and isn’t and unburden Trump of the responsibility of providing the color commentary.

Furthermore, as to the matter of demonstrating not dictating, Trump should remember not to forget the things he demonstrated as President. As my friend Rusty Reno, editor of First Things and not a particularly big fan of Trump, observed near the end of Trump’s Presidency, Trump was the most honest President of his lifetime in the sense that he did or attempted to do exactly those things he said he would do if elected. Does anyone believe the same could ever be said of Kamala? Does she even believe that?

Perhaps Trump should ask her.