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You are here: Home / 2024 Campaign / ‘Ignore Him’

‘Ignore Him’

September 7, 2024 at 7:21 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Mark McKinnon, a former George W. Bush operative now backing Kamala Harris, writes in Vanity Fair that she should ignore Donald Trump in next week’s debate.

Said McKinnon: “He hates-hates that. You and Walz have figured out how to pick the lock on his psyche. Don’t call him dangerous—it only makes him appear stronger and bigger. Keep hitting him with weird. Keep bruising his ego. Not with head shakes and tut-tutting (neither of which works in a debate), but by brushing off his absurdities with clarity.”

He adds: “You don’t need to land a heavy blow, just a deft gut punch—and gut check—every now and then. Keep deflecting his jabs with composure, poise, and mild disbelief bordering on low-grade disdain. It diminishes him and makes him smaller.”

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Filed Under: 2024 Campaign

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About Political Wire

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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