UVA Prof. Lawless Talks How Trump Wins, Debate Prep and Union Assault at DNC

UVA Prof. Lawless Talks How Trump Wins, Debate Prep and Union Assault at DNC

University of Virginia Political Science Department Chair Jennifer Lawless discussed the upcoming Presidential debate on Tuesday; the critical opportunities for Donald Trump; and "thugs and bullies" at the Democratic National Convention this week on GoLocal LIVE. 

“The first thing that's really striking is that the two of them have never met, so this will literally be the first time that Kamala Harris and Donald Trump meet one another. Typically, that's not the case, but Donald Trump didn't attend Biden's inauguration, so he didn't meet the Vice President,” said Lawless.

 

Trump’s Opportunity

“The economy will be the area where Trump has the opportunity to shine,” said Lawless. "The problem is that although that ad is very, very effective, and it's basically Kamala Harris debating herself about economics, Donald Trump seems to have forgotten about Covid and the conditions that the Biden team inherited in 2021.”

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Moreover, Lawless pointed out that while the ad is focused, Trump is almost never on message.

 

The Debate

“What Harris needs to do is explain that the comparisons [Trump uses] are just not right and what we really need to do is compare the economy that Joe Biden inherited [from Trump] to the economy that we have right now and that it's far from that," she said. 

“The progress is far from finished. She understands that there are families are still struggling, but here are the very, very real consequences of a return to Trump policies,” said Lawless.

“So they're going to be talking over each other; they're going to be referring to all different data, all different examples. The question is who can do it in a really compelling way,” said Lawless.

 

 

Thugs and Bullies - Laborers’ “Assault” on Professor Nadia Ahmad

Lawless criticized the action of the men at the Democratic National Convention who hit Barry University law professor Nadia Ahmad in the head and then later ripped a banner out of her hand.

“I think the reality is that there are bad apples on every tree and that there are thugs and bullies in every environment and there's never a place for violence.  This is never appropriate. This is what they did; it is never an appropriate response to peaceful protest, and it's not there; there's nothing to be justified,” said Lawless.