Is Trump heading for election defeat? Republicans' warnings fall on deaf ears

FR Is Trump heading for election defeat? Republicans' warnings fall on deaf ears Article by Stephanie Munk • 38 million • 4 minutes reading time "Candidate out of sorts" Can Trump stand up to Harris in the 2024 US election? The Republicans seem to have doubts - but their candidate is immune to advice. Washington D.C. - Donald Trump must have already felt like a winner when he stood in a huge hall in Milwaukee at the Republican Party Convention on July 15 with a bandaged ear and a blissful expression on his face and the crowd cheered him on. It seemed a given that he would beat US President Joe Biden in the 2024 US election. The only question that remained to be answered was how big his lead would be. Trump had narrowly survived an assassination attempt two days earlier. He seemed invincible. But Trump's heroic behavior after the assassination, his apparent overwhelming superiority over the Democrats - all of that seems like a long time ago. Since July 21, it is Kamala Harris, a black woman 20 years younger than her, against whom Donald Trump has to prove himself in the election campaign. Since Harris is running against Trump in the 2024 US election, he has seemed vulnerable Trump no longer seems invulnerable. Instead, he seems nervous, angry, rash. His derogatory comments about Kamala Harris' origins and personality are driving her popularity ratings up rather than down among women and blacks. And according to a survey before the US election, white voters also seem to be able to imagine a new US president named Kamala Harris more and more easily. Even big names within the Republican party have noticed that Trump has been weakening in the US election campaign since Harris entered the stage as the Democratic candidate. Fears of Trump's defeat are growing. More and more people are apparently doubting whether Donald Trump is really the right person for the Republicans and for the country. Republicans doubt Trump ahead of US election - "Unhinged candidate" The New York Times spoke to over a dozen influential people within the Republican Party and reported a mood of increasing concern. "The people around Trump see an unhinged candidate," the renowned US newspaper concluded. Trump is not spreading a positive spirit of optimism, but angry aggression. Even in private conversations, Trump has been mostly angry and in a bad mood in recent weeks, writes the New York Times based on its confidential interviews with people close to him. In the election campaign against Harris, Trump relies on insults instead of substantive criticism Trump publicly insults his opponent Harris as "evil" and a "slut" instead of concentrating on content and communicating the policies he wants to use to convince US voters. Republican Kevin McCarthy, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, openly criticized this on Monday (August 12) in an interview with Fox News. Trump fades into the background The tide is unlikely to turn for Trump in the coming days. The Democratic Party Convention is coming up with the official selection of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz as candidate and vice-candidate. It will be a four-day major event with the support of the most prominent Americans in the country - Barack Obama and George Clooney, for example. Media interest will mainly revolve around Harris rather than Trump, which again means free campaign support for the Democrats. Even Trump's tirades on his own platform Truth Social and X (formerly Twitter) - where Elon Musk wants to reactivate him - will probably fall on deaf ears for the time being. (smu)