Government

The Past 2 Weeks, Without The Candidates' Names

How would you react to some of the recent statements and events if neither candidate's name was attached?

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ABC News Hosts Presidential Debate Between Donald Trump And VP Kamala Harris At The National Constitution Center In Philadelphia

(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Please think about events of just the past two weeks, without considering the presidential candidates’ names. Don’t assign these hypothetical events to either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris. After all, we want to be fair.

A presidential candidate, in a public forum, discussed the size of Arnold Palmer’s pecker.

If Harris said that (or, to avoid possible charges of sexism, maybe said the equivalent about, say, Raquel Welch’s rack), how would you react? “Ha, ha, ha! That’s quite funny. Maybe it will help her with young male voters.” Or: “How can we ever give this person a position of power? She’s insane!”

If Trump said that, how would you react?

Suppose a presidential candidate, in a public forum, danced alone onstage for 39 minutes, while the crowd dwindled.

If Harris did that, how would you react?

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And Trump?

If one presidential candidate called the other “low IQ” and “lazy” (but not shiftless), how would you react?

If one candidate said the other was a threat to democracy …. Oops. Cut that one. Within just the past two weeks, Harris called Trump a fascist, and Trump said that, if Harris was elected, there would never be another election in America.  That’s a push.

If one presidential candidate said that it would be appropriate to call out the United States military to deal with members of the opposing political party, how would you react?

If Harris said that, would you be outraged?

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How would you react if Trump said it?

If there were credible reports that a presidential candidate had said the candidate wanted American generals to act like Hitler’s generals, how would you react?

If Harris spoke those words, would you say that the Marine general and former chief of staff who reported these events was a “lowlife” and a “degenerate” who was plainly lying?

If there was yet another allegation of sexual misconduct, this time in connection with Jeffrey Epstein, how would you react?

If a presidential candidate threatened to yank the broadcast licenses from television networks that broadcast things that offended the candidate, how would you react?

If a presidential candidate could garner no support from any former president, vice president (including his own), presidential candidate, or vice-presidential candidate from the candidate’s own political party, how would you react?

If only four (out of 44) of a presidential candidate’s former cabinet members had publicly endorsed the candidate for president — and many of those cabinet members had affirmatively said that the candidate was unfit for office — how would you react?

People are talking about the possibility of an October surprise in the coming week. I no longer believe this is possible. I think David Frum had the right reaction to rumors of an October surprise:

Do you think somebody possibly has video of Trump mocking the handicapped, demeaning US prisoners of war, boasting about sexually assaulting women, praising Vladimir Putin, or urging a violent attack on the US Capitol? That would be huge.

Remember: I’ve mentioned only the events of the past two weeks in this column.  I haven’t said a thing about civil liability for sexual assault, criminal convictions for 34 felonies, multiple other indictments, inciting (and failing for three hours to say a word to stop) a mob attacking the Capitol Building, and the like.

Yet about half of the country will be voting for this cretin.

Am I wrong to be breathless? Am I wrong to be embarrassed to be an American?

Mark Herrmann spent 17 years as a partner at a leading international law firm and later oversaw litigation, compliance and employment matters at a large international company. He is the author of The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Practicing Law and Drug and Device Product Liability Litigation Strategy (affiliate links). You can reach him by email at [email protected].

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