Sarah Burris is a long-time veteran of political campaigns, having worked as a fundraiser and media director across the United States. She transitioned into reporting while working for Rock the Vote, Future Majority and Wiretap Magazine, covering the Millennial Generation's perspective during the presidential elections. As a political writer, Burris has had bylines at CNN, Salon.com, BNR, and AlterNet and serves as a senior digital editor for RawStory.com.
Speaking to International CNBC, Tarkanian explained that Trump's comments were nothing more than the same grievances over and over again.
"I actually didn't learn anything new," she said. "It's pretty similar to one of his rallies. But unfortunately, once again, if you're somebody who were maybe on the fence, or if you were just somebody [who] was just curious, or somebody who has made up your mind; I don't think really it really changed too many minds."
Host Dan Murphy explained that Trump is losing ground on voters who believe he would do better on the economy, as a recent poll showed that Vice President Kamala Harris now has the edge over him on the issue.
Tarkanian agreed it was bad news, but there is even worse news when the same poll is broken into demographics. Trump has always struggled with female voters and young voters. Tarkanian explained that these numbers look even worse up against Harris.
"Those are two areas Trump has struggled with, even in his first campaign, and he just seems not to have bounced back," she said. "And I think with the pick of his vice presidential nominee, J.D. Vance, and his unfortunate comments that have come to the forefront attacking women, whether it be on reproductive rights or whether it be on statements that women should stay in unhealthy marriages, even if they are violent, for the children. These are things that are not helpful at all for the Trump ticket. He has quite an uphill battle."
A split like this means that voters can end up making decisions on single-issue topics or on how the candidate makes them feel. Harris uses words like "freedom" and "joy," which appeals to more voters. Trump, she said, is still angry.
Tarkanian said the one benefit is that Trump essentially received "two free hours of advertising" for his campaign.