Trump tanks Trump
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Former President Trump's off-script whims are increasingly throwing mud on his advisers' game plans, Axios' Sophia Cai reports.
- Why it matters: After spending months in the lead, Trump now faces a tougher opponent, Vice President Harris, who's rising in polls.
Case in point: Trump's campaign this week debuted a Pennsylvania mail-in voting website for a program called "Swamp the Vote," aimed at boosting GOP turnout in swing states.
- The same day, Trump called mail-in voting "terrible" during an interview with "Dr. Phil" McGraw.
For months, Trump's team has been training field volunteers to get out the Republican vote.
- But Trump is making clear he doesn't care as much about their efforts as "election integrity" — a push aimed in part at justifying his false claims that he lost 2020 because of fraud.
- "Our primary focus is not to get out the vote — but to make sure they don't cheat," Trump said last week.
- Steven Cheung, the Trump campaign's communications director, told Axios both programs are equally important: "Trump has encouraged his supporters and voters to get out the vote through video, social media posts, in-person events and much more."
🥊 The ex-president continues to lean into personal attacks, despite his advisers' repeated efforts to get him to focus more on issues.
- Aides are writing policy proposals into his speeches, and pushing policy ideas on social media and in a daily campaign newsletter, Palm Beach Playbook.
- Trump frequently deviates from prepared remarks to ask rally-goers which nicknames he should give his opponents. He's begun calling Harris "Comrade Kamala."
In North Carolina during the Democratic convention, Trump complained: "They always say, 'Sir, please stick to policy, don't get personal ... You'll win it on the border. You'll win it with inflation. You'll win it with your great military that you built.'"
- He then did a "free poll" of the crowd: "Should I get personal, or should I not get personal?" The MAGA crowd roared, wanting more vintage Trump.
- "My advisers are fired!" he joked at a time when he's brought back past advisers, including Corey Lewandowski (who's on "Fox News Sunday" tomorrow).
The disconnect between Trump and his team was apparent this week over ground rules for his Sept. 10 debate with Harris on ABC.
- As Trump's advisers were pushing to keep mics muted for the candidates when it's not their turn to answer, he declared he didn't care. The mics will be muted, under the latest rules.
