The Democrats’ current strategy is to manufacture enthusiasm and raise money for their presidential candidate. Easy task. Why? Because people are thrilled that President Joe Biden will not be running. Eighty percent of Americans in polls said they did not want him to seek re-election. Thus, it was easy to draw enthusiasm for any Democratic candidate not named Biden.

Right now there is no media scrutiny, only staged events with Vice President Kamala Harris reading from a teleprompter. Thus, there is no danger of her fumbling the ball. The result is only good media coverage or no coverage, which also helps Harris.

Former President Donald Trump announced his willingness to do the three traditional presidential debates. So far Harris has agreed to one.

She is the first person to ever become a major party’s nominee without holding a formal press conference. She has also not done a one-on-one interview at a major news outlet.

For a politician to get away with not doing interviews is like a bank robber not carrying out the money. That is simply not supposed to happen.

She is likely the first person given the unique task by her boss – President Joe Biden – of being a so-called Border Czar. She has only given token attention to the assignment. It was borderline (pun intended) insubordination. The data does not lie. It shows the high number, into the millions over three years, of illegal immigrants who have invaded America via our porous border with Mexico.

She is also one of the first candidates to brazenly take their opponent’s campaign issue and make it her own. Trump had boasted about his plans to eliminate taxes on tips. What does Harris do? She “steals the idea” and features it as part of her platform, as though nobody would notice.

Her campaign has been far from flawless. When given two choices: Attend a sorority convention or do her assigned job of presiding over Congress with the Speaker of the House for a world leader’s speech, she picks the wrong “door.” She went to the sorority event.

When picking a vice presidential candidate, she failed to vet him properly, as folks are known to embellish their resume. Her running mate did exactly that. Corrections have been made to revise Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s military credentials. Here Trump and his vice presidential candidate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, have rightfully pounced.

The next expected positive did not happen, however. Democrats expected Trump to attack Harris relentlessly. Trump wisely did not. He has made comments about Harris, but she ain’t seen nothing yet. Trump remembered that he destroyed Biden and forced him out of the race. Democratic leaders wanted to see if Trump would do the same to Harris prior to the official nomination. If so, they had others who could replace Harris if she too crumbled early.

So, Trump reversed things. He has been remarkably disciplined. He has not taken the Democrats’ bait. He has not aggressively counter-punched or introduced any hard hitting television ads, which has allowed Harris to gain ground to a degree.

Trump and Vance will have to work hard to win. Trump is in a hole due to the blind allegiance of Black Americans. With Harris, her campaign gets 9 -1 bonus points from Black Democrats. (She is likely to win at least 90% of the Black vote)

Black women – 95% have voted for Biden-Harris. Trump has faced a series of Black women prosecutors (past and present), and a judge – an attorney general of NY, a district attorney in Georgia, and a judge in Washington, DC. He has also faced a Black male prosecutor in New York City. And now he faces former California Attorney General and Democratic presidential nominee Harris.

It can be harmful to have “coincidences” like this. It can give the appearance that Democrats are using Black people to get their way.

Also, let us remember that in terms of appropriate experience for the office, if going after “bad guys” was the chief prerequisite to becoming president, Wyatt Earp would have been a multiple-term president. It simply is not. Instead, strong legislative experience, leadership acumen, executive experience, negotiation skills, and the proven ability to bring people together are all far more practical and necessary skills for the presidency. All these qualities are lacking in Harris.

Biden’s record is Harris’s record, and Harris’s voting record is similar to Socialist Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. She held the distinction of being the most liberal (Socialist-like) senator in the entire Senate, completely out of step with most Americans.

The Democrats’ new trick? They want Americans to be upset with the color of their rooms, the size of their rooms, the paintings on the walls of their rooms. Wait. Will someone tell half of America that they are on the Titanic and unless we change the course of the ship, it will not make any difference as to the color, size, or paintings in their rooms?

Democrats are hoodwinking America on what is important for the “quality of life” question, with the help of the liberal media. They are fooling people about what is truly important. Answer: peace and prosperity.

We have neither.

We are funding two wars and we have had severely high inflation ($100 in groceries during the Trump Administration is now costing Americans around $125).

Biden-Harris have had the longest sustained period of highly negative polling numbers per their job approval than any duo in modern history. They have led us in the wrong direction.

Whether you personally like Trump or not, voters must show their “love for America” by changing the course of leadership. We are going in the wrong direction. Harris and the Democrats are four more years of the same.

Gary Franks served three terms as U.S. representative for Connecticut’s 5th District. He was the first Black Republican elected to the House in nearly 60 years and New England’s first Black member of the House. Host: podcast “We Speak Frankly.” @GaryFranks/Tribune News Service