Dr. Jill is discussing the upcoming campaign with Joe at the White House.
JILL: Well, it’s all over but the shouting. Trump will be the Republican nominee.
JOE: Just as I predicted.
JILL: I’ll give you credit for that. I thought DeSantis would make it closer than he did.
JOE: Everyone running against Trump has to figure out how to beat him without alienating the base. Nobody has succeeded as of today.
JILL: So we need to start planning the campaign against Trump in earnest.
JOE: Let’s start with the issues that Trump will use against me. You can play Trump. We’ll deal with our wedge issues against him on another day.
JILL: OK. Inflation. It’s raging out of control. We didn’t have inflation in my day. Vote for me and inflation will disappear.
JOE: Inflation was a worldwide phenomenon caused by the pandemic and supply chain issues. It’s basically back to normal now. And Trump doesn’t have a plan to deal with what’s left. His tariff plan is a tax increase on average Americans that will raise prices and bring inflation back for the benefit of rich stockholders who live all over the world–not just in America.
JILL: The supply chain thing is true, but it sounds like whining. I like the part about the tariffs. It’s punchy.
JOE: Next issue.
JILL: China. You’re weak on China. I’m much tougher. The Chinese won’t dare to mess with me.
JOE: Based on what? All you care about is the trade deficit. You made a deal that cost our farmers and taxpayers tens of billions of dollars, and the Chinese basically ignored it. I created a loose coalition to deter Chinese misbehavior and cut off their high tech imports. For your part, you sucked up to Xi Jinping all the time and ignored Chinese human rights violations. I have plenty of video to prove it.
JILL: The video will help. That’s the short and punchy thing that will help us win.
JOE: What’s next?
JILL: The border. It’s a disaster. We’re being overrun by illegals. We barely have a country anymore.
JOE: So says the guy who promised to build the wall and have Mexico pay for it. Now he’s tanking a bipartisan deal that would actually do some good here.
JILL: He’s handing you a great issue by opposing the bill. Next, there’s crime. It’s out of control. Only I can fix the problem by being tough.
JOE: Crime actually started increasing on your watch in 2020. And we haven’t had any of those terrible riots you complain about during my presidency. They all happened during yours.
JILL: Excellent! The reality here is that the president has no control over crime, but the public doesn’t accept that. You need an effective counter rather than an excuse. The rising crime and riot approach is a good one.
JOE: Anything else?
JILL: Those are the biggies. We’ll work on our issues against him later.