Former President Donald Trump is finally set to debate Vice President Kamala Harris for the first time on September 10. Back in June, Trump trounced Joe Biden so brutally in their first debate that the current president dropped out of the race just days later.

Trump will undoubtedly hope to have the same success with Harris. However, one polling expert is claiming that two things must be done for Trump to earn this victory against her.

Renowned polling expert Frank Luntz said this week that this first “debate is everything.” In order for Trump to win, Luntz believes that the former president must use “silence” to his advantage. In Luntz’s opinion, Trump should use “silence” against Harris in two different ways.

From The Washington Examiner:
“If I was advising the campaign right now, which I do not, I’d say to him that silence in some cases is the best language … because he has questions that he can ask that she can’t answer,” he said.

He shared some suggested questions for the Republican nominee. He suggested, “Why did inflation get so high under your administration? What exactly are you going to do if your policies caused it? What can you do to solve it?”

“And most importantly, are you better off today than you were four years ago? It’s not my question. That was Ronald Reagan’s question,” he continued. “If [Trump] asked that question plainly, he will be successful. I don’t believe he has the ability to do so.”

Should Trump Take This Advice?

Granted, Trump is not typically known for silence. Indeed, this strategy may be easier said than done for him to carry out. Even so, Luntz may be on to something with this one.

After all, Harris likes nothing more than playing the victim. You might recall that while debating Mike Pence in 2020, Harris spent much of the debate playing the victim card by trying to make it look as if the then-vice president was constantly talking over her.

Harris knows that she can’t beat Trump in a policy debate. After four years of her and Joe Biden in office, millions of Americans are far worse off than they were under Trump. That’s why Harris would undoubtedly rather whine about Trump “bullying” her than actually go toe-to-toe with him on the many issues that America is currently facing.

Harris is such an irritating presence that Trump will undoubtedly be tempted to out-talk her. Because of just how bad things have gotten under the Biden-Harris administration, Trump doesn’t need to do that. Instead, he should let Harris dig her own grave by forcing her to feebly try and explain the Biden-Harris administration’s many failures.

It should also be noted that Harris has been one of the least popular vice presidents of all time. The more she talks, the less many Democrats like her. This is also why it’s in Trump’s best interest to give Harris as much of the floor as possible.

While staying silent has never been easy for Trump, he might want to consider Luntz’s advice on this one. We’ll all find out next Tuesday if Trump can actually do that!

Key Takeaways: 

• Polling expert advises Trump to use “silence” to his advantage in the upcoming debate with Harris.
• Trump should consider staying silent at key debate moments.
• Trump should ask Harris questions that she “can’t answer.”

Sources: The Washington Examiner, Axios