A lesson in shifting the narrative

No fundamental social change occurs merely because government acts. It’s because civil society, the conscience of a country, begins to rise up and demand – demand – demand change. – Joe Biden

As much as the outside world is projecting a White House return for President Trump and the Republican party in the upcoming US presidential election, I wouldn’t put my money on it just yet.

To say that the situation in the increasingly heated race has flipped on its head is an understatement.

When I last wrote about the US presidential election, the country and the rest of the world had to contend with a geriatric masterclass between Trump and incumbent President Joe Biden.

Trump, 78, would have been the oldest person to run for president in the country’s history if not for Biden – who is four years older than the former and was 78 in 2020, when he was elected as the 46th US President.

The first presidential debate in June was difficult to watch. It was not a contest of ideals and personalities as one would usually expect, but was a competition of who can string more coherent sentences and produce the least gaffes.

As it turned out, Biden was the lesser of the two and this caused panic in the Democratic party. Biden’s age issue has been a topic of contention among the electorate and for a while, he was able to ease these particular worries, but his performance showed that he was no longer up for the task.

The case made by Democrats is that Biden has been a good president – having a good track record and had done more in one term in the White House compared to other presidents did in two terms.

The argument was that he was sharp as a tack when not in front of the camera and would perform better in speaking events aided with teleprompters.

But being a leader doesn’t only mean being a good administrator and the ability to govern well, but also having a certain presence, charisma and showmanship to capture the imagination of the public.

On the other hand, Trump is the exact opposite – he is a political performer and has the ability to rile up crowds, regardless of the substance of his messaging – which I think is very polarising. Watching one of his rallies is akin to having brain cells removed.

But that is not the point – the point is that Trump is able to capture the imagination and Biden doesn’t and to be fair, I don’t think that the Republican campaign really pressed on the age issue against Biden. It is probably because their candidate in Trump isn’t that far off.

The Biden today is not the same person who ran for president in 2020 and there’s no guarantee Trump will fare better against Father Time in years to come. But of course, in the media, the portrayal of Biden being someone who is simply too old to remain president was damaging.

The poor debate performance by Biden and the subsequent assassination attempt on Trump has only elevated the Republican candidate to cult status and polls indicate that a White House return is within touching distance.

Democrats, clearly panicking has managed to pressure Biden into stepping out of the race and in his place as the party’s presumptive presidential nominee is his vice-president Kamala Harris.

As of writing, polls by news outlets in US has shown that the support for the Democratic ticket has reinvigorated and the candidate has smashed fundraising records, raising $200 million in the first week.

She has also attracted big-money donors who were less enthusiastic about donating for Biden’s re-election bid, but now has turned up in droves.

What is also important for both candidates now is capturing the youth votes and with the age problem “removed” by the Democratic campaign, the party is tipped to benefit greatly from a key electorate group in the youth voters.

Harris made waves on social media with a more youthful messaging which resonates better with the Generation Z voters.

The next task for the Harris’ campaign is to nominate a pick for a vice-president to run on the Democratic ticket and this is a decision that prove to be a ‘sink or swim’ situation for the 59-year-old.

The US presidential race which previously had bleak prospects and possibly a clear winner in Trump and the Republicans will go down to the wire with candidate change by the Democrats at the eleventh hour.

In just a matter of days, the party managed to turn the situation around shifted the narrative. This will be a race to watch.

The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.