Trump being Trump: Is it working?

Former President Trump couldn’t miss the headline in his hometown paper, The New Times, Monday. “Trump’s best poll results in weeks. … He leads in three Sun Belt battleground states.”

Within the Republican Party, there is a let-Trump-be-Trump contingent and there are the hand wringers.

Some Republican supporters fret about the quality of Trump’s get-out-the-vote efforts, which are handled by outside groups. They’ve urged him to abandon rhetoric about Haitian immigrants eating pets and concentrate on an economic message. They balk at his talk about replacing the popular Affordable Care Act and his use of social media to flirt with a potential government shutdown, a guaranteed loser with voters in November.

The Wall Street Journal: During a Monday rally in Pennsylvania, Trump issued fresh trade tariff threats aimed at U.S. manufacturer Deere & Co. Today, Trump is expected to use a Georgia speech to threaten foreign companies with heavy tariffs if they do not move manufacturing operations to the U.S. 

Some of his allies fervently hope Trump accepts a rematch debate with Vice President Harris next month. She accepted an invitation from CNN for another faceoff Oct. 23, but Trump turned the idea down. “It’s too late,” he said, arguing that Americans are already voting.

“We have proven that Donald Trump has engaged in the debates,” Corey Lewandowski, a loyalist in the let-Trump-be-Trump camp, told Newsmax during a Monday interview. 

He said Trump had “maybe the greatest debate performance ever” when he faced off against President Biden in June. 

Harris’s widely praised debate with Trump on Sept. 10 may have attracted an audience of more than 67 million people, but it did not move the needle in her favor in swing state polls, except in comparison with where Biden stood in earlier surveys.

Trump’s campaign maintained ground, according to polls. Nevertheless, strategists suggested he had nothing to lose if he agreed to another debate. Known for changing his mind, Trump declined while expressing interest if Fox News were to host, which the Harris campaign has rejected.

Trump bashes Harris to his base during large rallies, in free media and on conservative radio. He’s seized on openings aimed at young voters who favor podcasts and live streamed conversations with influencers. As The New York Times reported Monday, the former president leads Harris in Arizona, Georgia and narrowly in North Carolina, according to fresh polling.

Harris’s desire for another debate could mean she’s anxious to get a new opening to persuade undecided voters as Election Day nears. Trump could gain, too. The race remains close, and neither candidate has a slam-dunk path to 270 electoral votes.

Meanwhile, the sole debate between running mates takes place Oct. 1 in New York City at 9 p.m. ET. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) is leaning on Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) to help him prepare to face off against Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), a former member of the House who has some debate experience.