'Serious predicament': Trump camp insiders fear he'll blow debate — and then the election
Donald Trump's advisers are pinning their campaign hopes on an upcoming presidential debate they remain fundamentally unsure the former president can win.
Trump's campaign team remains terrified that Trump will lose control Tuesday night, when he debates Vice President Kamala Harris on ABC News, and potentially lose the 2024 presidential election in the process, sources told the Guardian.
"Trump’s campaign is most concerned ... with the former president’s mood," sources told the Guardian. "The campaign’s internal refrain is whether they get 'happy Trump' or 'angry Trump.''"
Fears of "self-sabotage" were only exacerbated by a disastrous appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago this summer when a furious Trump hurled insults at his interviewers and questioned Harris' race, according to the report.
Advisers are particularly concerned about how Trump might respond when faced with a Black woman in a position of power, the Guardian reported.
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"The anxiety over Trump’s mood on the day reflects the reality that the campaign has been looking at the debate as the best opportunity for Trump to try and reset the race after playing defense against Harris for weeks – and the risks of doing so," the Guardian reported.
"Trump’s senior advisers continue to insist that they are pursuing multiple strategies against Harris, but the true picture that has emerged is that their game plan currently consists of hoping Trump wins the debate to gain back momentum."
As Trump and his running mate have lost momentum with a series of scandals that include an Arlington Cemetery photoshoot scuffle and a series of questionable comments from Sen. J.D. Vance on childless Americans, post-menopausal women and school shootings, Harris has gained traction.
Campaign finance disclosure filings show Harris raised three times as much cash as Trump did in August and recent polls show the two candidates "neck-and-neck" — a stark contrast from the easy win Trump believed President Joe Biden would deliver him.
Trump's team decision to pin its hopes on a successful debate night suggests a "serious predicament" inside the campaign: the lack of campaign strategy, the Guardian reported.
"What has happened internally in the Trump campaign in recent weeks is the realization that nothing they did in the period up to the debate cut through in a significant way that blunted Harris’s gains that have her level in key swing state polls," the report stated.
"The reality is that good news for Trump has mostly been in short supply."