AoSHQ The Morning Report
September 16, 2024
Who really are the MAGA People? pic.twitter.com/Zk6rvijCge
— Nicole Shanahan (@NicoleShanahan) September 13, 2024
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump finally faced off in what will likely be their only debate, and it went more or less as expected. While this debate probably won’t change the overall trajectory of the race in a major way, it did have its key moments—and not all of them went in Trump’s favor. I predicted Trump needed to perform significantly better than he did against Joe Biden, and frankly, that didn’t happen.In Other News
Let’s start with the obvious: Kamala came in prepared, and Trump, as usual, took the bait more than once. Sure, he got in some good lines and managed to score points on the economy, crime, and border security, but Kamala’s strategy was clear: provoke Trump and let him hurt himself with his own aggression.
It worked more than it should have.
Trump’s debate with Biden in June was a different story. Biden essentially lost because of his own failures—his gaffes, freeze-ups, and the infamous mumbling did him in. Trump didn’t win that debate so much as Biden lost it. But Kamala didn’t have the same weaknesses as Biden. She wasn’t a great debater by any means, but she didn’t need to be. She just needed to appear competent and presidential enough to avoid the Biden-like self-destruction.
The dividing lines between Republicans and Democrats are now more like ever-widening chasms. We can barely see each other from our entrenched positions.In Other News
There is a lot of talk in mainstream media and among Democrats about a fundamental shift in the Republican party because of Donald Trump's influence. The only thing that's changing in the GOP is the way the party goes about the business of politics. Trump has energized the people who long ago grew tired of losing to Democrats because the Bush Republicans were more interested in angling for Fox News jobs than in winning elections.
The principles of conservative Republicans haven't changed.
In reality, it's the Democrats who have been creating the rift. They have been undergoing a progressive makeover for a long time and what they consider to be the center is hanging out somewhere on a beach in Cuba. If you had a time machine and went back to the early 1980s and brought Tip O'Neill to 2024, he'd switch parties and be a moderate Republican. Heck, he'd be more conservative than Mitt Romney, Larry Hogan, or whichever squish is running Ohio these days.
There really are two Americas now, and one of them is filled with people who hate America.
BREAKING: RFK’s VP pick Nicole Shanahan releases a “Trump Derangement Syndrome” ad. pic.twitter.com/ubFZ5KyrMN
— Leading Report (@LeadingReport) August 29, 2024
A revival event was held on the Ohio State University campus last weekend, where a few Buckeye football players gave testimonies and dozens of students were baptized.
The event was held Sunday outside OSU’s Curl Market and organized by numerous on-campus Christian student groups, featuring multiple members of the university’s football team leading the worship.
Approximately 60 attendees were baptized that evening, reported the OSU student newspaper, The Lantern. Speakers included receiver Emeka Egbuka, running back TreVeyon Henderson, defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau, and former wide receiver Kamryn Babb.