Opinion
Now that the Democratic National Convention and Republican National Convention have concluded and the election is just over 70 days away, it’s time to take stock as so much has shifted in the past two months.
One thing clear to me is that former President Donald Trump needs a shift in strategy, or he could suffer defeat due to his inability to adjust. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “what got you here won’t get you there.”
It is time for the Trump campaign to channel Nick Saban and his big decision in 2014 to hire Lane Kiffin as his offensive coordinator. Saban realized his offensive was too simple with too much reliance on defence to win, and without change they would be left behind.
Nick Saban is the greatest coach in college football history because he stayed on top due to moves like the one in 2014, even though Alabama was the Bowl Championship Series champion in 2012 at 13-1, and was coming off an 11-2 season which included a loss to Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl. He saw the leading indicators that he was falling behind offensively compared to other Power 5 powerhouses.
At the time Kiffin was on the scrap heap after bombing at USC and being fired by Al Davis and the Raiders on the tarmac due to his immaturity and lack of results. Kiffin was a risk, but Saban knew that he had to dynamically shift the way the offence was run and its ability to put up numbers fast in the shotgun and RPO schemes. The rest is history.
According to some polls, Trump still has the lead nationally. He is polling very well on the economy in comparison to Harris, but lags when people vote for the person. Earlier this week South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham stated, “In the advice-giving column, here’s what I would say: Donald Trump, President Trump can win this election. His policies are good for America, and if you have a policy debate for president, he wins. Donald Trump, the provocateur or the showman, may not win this election.”
Graham is right.
The year 2024 is not 2016, and Trump is not running against Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden. Trump’s staple of attacking personally is not resonating with people outside of his base. Harris is a new foe and he needs to shift and focus on policy like Graham suggests, with less time on producing fodder for Fox News, with fewer nicknames and more focus on the policies that do resonate with Americans.
Critics of Harris and this week’s DNC convention say that there was a void of policy and details on what voters are choosing with her besides happiness and joy. It’s a fair critique but a sound strategy on the Democrats’ part as they also see the polls and Trump’s inability to shift as a path to winning on vibe-enomics and not economics.
Like Saban in 2014, Trump needs a new offensive scheme, but in this case the change entirely falls on his shoulders for the discipline to do what is needed to win the 2024 election.
