What’s Trump’s plan for the next 30+ days?
The Resistant Grandmother (TRG) imagines how a dysfunctional campaign team is on the case.
The Resistant Grandmother
The setting: Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago personal business space, thirty-some days before the election. The room is outfitted to look like a mini version of the Oval Office, down to the imitation Resolute desk. This day, Trump’s senior campaign advisers meet there to scope out strategy in what seems both an oddly static, yet ever-changing political landscape.
Trump’s top three campaign leaders—Corey Lewandowski, Susie Wiles, and Chris LaCivita—bypass the faux Resolute for a large table on the opposite side of the room. Luckily, given the competition and discomfort between Lewandowski and longer-term hires Wiles and LaCivita, they’ve had a round table hauled up for the meeting. The usual rectangular one Trump uses with a larger chair for himself has been pushed to another part of the room. Plus, they could use some of the King Arthur vibe.
Given the prickly relationship between the Wiles and LaCivita duo and Lewandowski, in today’s meeting it’s important that they at least look equal in power and influence, although Trump has been deliberately unclear about whether Lewandowski is actually Wiles and LaCivita’s superior, or not. But they all know that with fewer than six weeks to go before Nov. 5., any or all of them could be fired, given Trump’s track record with campaign managers.
Their mutual tenuousness creates a sort of dysfunctional band of brothers, their futures dependent on people they distrust. But given the calendar, it’s important they at least look like they’re working together. Any chance of future patronage should Trump again become president depends on such mutual cooperation. Yet in spite of these hoped-for career carrots, the tension remains palpable.
(Wiles tries to begin the meeting, but Lewandowski interrupts.)
LEWANDOWSKI: I’ve called this meeting to review where we’re at. With only six weeks left, it’s important we’re all singing from the same song sheet.
WILES (miffed at being superceded): Let’s just hope the song isn’t Lara Trump’s new “Anything is Possible.” Right, Chris? (Wiles and LaCivita laugh; Lewandowski stifles the temptation.)
LACIVITA (piling on while still chuckling): If horses could sing…
(Wiles and LaCivita now lose it completely…)
LEWANDOWSKI: I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that crack, you guys. And I’d be careful if I were you…the walls have ears.
WILES (becoming serious): I’d just like to make clear that the President (sic) said we don’t report to you, although for some reason, you believe otherwise.
LEWANDOWSKI: Evidence?
WILES: Your calling around to snoop up on my expense authorizations. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/09/21/trump-turbulence-campaign-election/
You do this again and I’ll gladly testify in any or all the sexual harassment allegations dogging you. Remember, Lewandowski, even Tom Cats have only nine lives…
LACIVITA: OK, let’s cool it, Susie. Sniping among ourselves will get us nowhere. Got work to do in the two hours the President is still on the course…
LEWANDOWSKI (taking the reins again): We’ve got the five weeks and change to Nov. 5. The race is still close—too close. Today we do a deep dive on what’s working and where we need to shore up.
(to LaCivita, deliberating bypassing Wiles): You got anything. Chris?
LACIVITA: Let’s look at the big picture. Just about all the polls show Harris ahead— not just in the Blue Wall states, but now in North Carolina, Georgia, Nevada, and Arizona.
WILES: Not quite. Bloomberg’s Morning Consult has her tied in Georgia, losing a point or two there lately.
LACIVITA: True. And all are still within the margin of error.
LEWANDOWSKI: Whistling past the graveyard, guys. We should be up and within the margin of error. This is not good news. So what can we do in five weeks to turn things around?
WILES: Given these numbers follow Harris’s strong debate performance, we can safely assign a post-debate bump to the upticks. Trump did well on June 27, but didn’t get enough credit since all the attention went to Biden’s debacle.
LEWANDOWSKI: You’re not suggesting another debate? He’s already said no.
WILES: Let me finish. No, we don’t want another debate with Harris. God no. But given the poll numbers, just in case he changes his mind, thinking this time it’d be different, we need to be united and stick to the “it’s too late” excuse—lame and transparent as it is. And we need to be clear we will not entertain, condone, or allow the President to get anywhere near another debate.
LEWANDOWSKI: I believe this is obvious, Susie. Don’t know why you would even bring it up.
LACIVITA: Agreed! Moving on…Let’s focus on what’s working for us—the economy and the border, even with non-border state voters, if you can believe.
LEWANDOWSKI: Yeah, you see those young male voters in that Tuesday MSNBC visit to Michigan? Here they were, in a non-border state, in good, union manufacturing jobs provided by Joe Biden! And yet the border was their number one issue! We’d had some data to suggest this, but it was amazing to see it right there, big as life (https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight).
WILES: Luckily, many of our voters don’t read or listen to anything but Fox, if that. More likely social media, if that. And these are the undecideds who are going to determine this election. Thank God…
LACIVITA: But you also notice that an older male worker in that MSNBC shoot told those young guys to get their heads out of their a** and vote for Harris. He might just be the kind of influencer who will ultimately have sway in their world.
LEWANDOWSKI: We’ll see. But you’ve offered a good segue to our male voter stats. Let’s see where our manoverse bros stand compared to women, most of whom are voting for Harris.
WILES: Well, good news and bad. Good—Trump's still up with men, by 12 in the latest NBC poll. Bad news: he’s ticked down by four since July, when he was up by 16 with Biden.
And while we still have the male vote, in numbers it’s not as reliable or large as women’s voting. Men have trailed women by a range of seven to 10 percentage points in presidential races since the 2012 cycle. And their failure to outpace women in the 2022 midterms is considered one of the major reasons why the Big Red Wave didn’t happen. Not enough men showed up against all those women angry over Dobbs. And that’s still likely the case this year.
(Lewandowski looks dejected)
WILES, cont’d: Not only gender, but age is working against us. For example, that young male Michigan worker may likely be unique to his age group. A recent Harvard youth poll has Harris leading with men 18 to 29 by 17 points. With young women, she leads by a whopping 47 (npr.org).
LEWANDOWSKI: What about our young Republicans?
WILES: Again, not as likely to vote as Dems. That same Harvard poll shows an enthusiasm gap between young Democrats and Republicans: 74 percent of young Dems 18 to 29 plan to vote for Harris while only 60 percent of GOP’ers the same age say they’ll vote for Trump. And the 60 percent is down four points from last spring.
That’s important because the youth vote helped elect Biden in 2020, especially in the swing states. And they showed up for Democrats in 2022 after Dobbs. Remember all those photos of Covid-masked students at the University of Michigan, Michigan State, University of Wisconsin, and Penn State voting in 2020?
LEWANDOWSKI: No. So the manoverse demographic might not turn out between now and November, while women and young people are poised to turn up big?
WILES: Anything can happen. But if the past is prologue, just like when Trump was on the ballot in 2020 and everything was on the line for him, like now, men did not show up in large enough numbers to make a difference. Since this has been a pattern for more than ten years, we see no reason why this cycle should be any different. Especially since Harris is a compelling new candidate attracting new voters, and women are still raging over Dobbs.
LEWANDOWSKI: (Sarcastically): Thanks for all the bad news, Susie.
LACIVITA: You can’t fix bad without truth.
LEWANDOWSKI: (Sarcastically) You suggesting that be our new campaign slogan? If so, I don't think the boss will like it. (He sits up straighter and clears his throat.) Okay, so let’s get straight on what we’ve got to do to maximize the next five weeks. Obviously, we need to drill down on the economy and immigration, even though we’re rowing an increasingly leaky boat.
Even though Harris is making up for lost time, Trump still leads on these issues. He needs to hit hard on his pre-Covid job and inflation numbers. As for jobs, nothing to write home about compared to the past four years under Biden, but most of our voters—confirmed or likely at this point—don’t have strong recollections or keep up on facts.
The elites for Trump are different—they do remember and have facts available. But greed for the kind of money that will continue to flow to them from low taxes keeps them in Trump’s pocket. And we’ll ride Trump’s low tax promises with this group all the way to November 5th.
ALL: Nod in agreement.
LEWANDOWSKI: Our other big winner is immigration. Again, we’re seeing Harris having made up ground here with those ads telling voters Trump nixed that border deal so he could run with it as an issue. But that doesn’t mean we don’t keep hitting hard on it any way we can.
ALL: Uh huh!
LEWANDOWSKI: Even though the border numbers have gone down lately, to us they haven’t—got it?
ALL: Oh, yeah!
LEWANDOWSKI: Our truth is that they’re streaming over the border daily, hourly—their next stops are our big cities and small ones like Springfield. Immigrants may be here legally, but our voters don’t care about that. All they want to hear is that they’re roasting chickens and cats on their front porches.
(All laugh.)
LACIVITA: I suppose Laura Loomer has carte blanche to come up with any and all lunacy she can dig up from the dark web on the subject…
LEWANDOWSKI: You got it. And Trump will sell whatever she dredges up like nobody can.
(A slight pause in the conversation follows their understanding that the next six weeks will be essentially no different: a campaign focusing on the economy and immigration and built on lies. Just then, LaCivita breaks the silence with another question)
LACIVITA: Just want to put this last thing on the table. I have no preference one way or another…
LEWANDOWSKI: Ok, shoot.
LACIVITA: (Uncomfortable) Uh, to that point, what should we tell him about talking about the two assassination attempts? He’s all over the place—accusing Iran of being behind it and Democrats for their “harsh rhetoric.” Vance has really been hitting Dems hard on that, and Melania is insinuating some conspiracy is afoot.
LEWANDOWSKI I don’t know that his blaming Democrats is landing all that effectively. Both shooters had Republican connections. So pointing the finger at anyone except the proverbial troubled outcast seems not a hill we want to die on at this point. And the less said about Melania, the better. It only opens us up to her crazy nude photos book launch—Jeesh, right at the close of the campaign…
In other words, he’s gonna say what he’s gonna say, so we’ll let this go with no input from us—agree?
(All nod in agreement.)
As they’re wrapping up, the former President enters his office, sweaty from his latest golf game.
LEWANDOWSKI: Hello, Mr. President. We’ve got the next five weeks all mapped out. We think it’s a winner. Guaranteed to get your “47” berth…
TRUMP: OK, Corey. You can brief me later. Right now I want to send out a Truth Social about my meeting with Zelensky.
WILES: What more is there to say without getting into the uncomfortable terrain of surrendering to Putin?
TRUMP: Just want to stress how I alone can fix everything. My base loves that.
WILES: Okay, Mr. President. When you draft something, we can take a look at it.
TRUMP: I don’t think so, and I make the decisions around here.
(With that, all three campaign honchos gather up their things and depart, being faux congenial as they go.)
(Alone in his simulated presidential space, Trump doesn’t compose a post on the Zelensky meeting. Instead, he sits behind his pretend Resolute desk, feeling once again he’s president. Adding to the mood, he picks up an unconnected replica of the red phone in the real Oval Office, and tells a secretary who isn’t there to get Putin on the line. When the “call” goes through, he says: “Vladimir. Have I got a deal for you…”)
—trg
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