Hillsdale’s politics department has its takes on the events that unfolded inside and outside the White House this summer. Courtesy | The Hill (Middle East)

Current events this past summer have been nothing short of bizarre, said Khalil Habib, associate professor of politics.

“One of the most unbelievable things is anyone taking a shot at a former or current president,” Habib said. “And yet the media just ignored one of the biggest events in my life — a shot against a former president — and I thought that was completely unique and very revealing.”

Habib said the media quickly shifted their focus toward Vice President Kamala Harris’ entry as a contender for the Oval Office in light of President Joe Biden’s exit from the race.

“Once Biden was replaced by Kamala, they basically buried all the headlines concerning the Trump assassination attempt,” Habib said. “People now are just living their lives as if nothing happened.”

Associate Professor of Politics Kevin Slack said he recognizes the media’s actions as characteristically dishonest.

“They vociferously proclaimed Biden’s cognitive competence until Democratic Party elites decided to remove him,” Slack said. “Compared to his faltering, vacuous statements over the past two years, Biden’s debate performance went just as expected.”

Slack added that the Biden campaign’s demise was largely caused by media influence.

“Party elites and donors, looking at his falling poll numbers, decided to dispense with him, so they had the pundits turn on a dime to use the debate as news to replace him,” Slack said.

Habib said the Democratic party’s quickness to rally behind Harris is not without precedent and is a repeat of what the party did for Hillary Clinton while Bernie Sanders still had the support of many Democrats.

“Everyone knows that the machine helped put Hillary in a position to run against Trump when all the enthusiasm was for Bernie Sanders, and now you’re seeing the same thing take place with Kamala,” Habib said. “In fact, there are many Democrats who are disappointed they didn’t get an opportunity to put forward candidates. Instead, the machine has advanced her into the candidacy.”

Assistant Professor of Politics Daniel O’Toole said he believes the Democrats’ political apparatus has worked in concert with the media to bury a problematic Biden candidacy.

“It had become apparent that Biden was too old for the job, especially after the debate,” O’Toole said. “Of course, many people could tell obviously, before that, but after the debate, they couldn’t hide it for enough people anymore.”

O’Toole said Harris brought the party a much-needed chance to start anew.

“There’s been a very deliberate media strategy to force her not to take any controversial stance, or to pretend away every radical stance that she’s taken — on health care, on the green New Deal, on the border — on all that,” he said. “So they very effectively have concealed where she actually is politically and have made it seem like that doesn’t matter — she’s so fresh and new.”

O’Toole also said that the media appears to have used similar strategies against Sen. J.D. Vance, the Republican nominee for vice president.

“They’ve highlighted every statement that Vance makes, taking it out of context, to make him sound — by modern, 21st century standards — to be ‘weird,’ even though the reality is, if you actually listen to the guy speak, he’s highly intelligent, thoughtful, and makes developed arguments,” O’Toole said. “I just fear that the incredible power of the media narrative is politically decisive.”

Slack said that the reasons why she is a step up from Biden are clear.

“Despite her inanity, stupidity, and fake Southern accent, Harris can remember her husband’s name and venture across a stage without help from secret service,” Slack said. “A vote for Harris, just like a vote for Biden, is not for the candidate but for the oligarchs who will make the real decisions.”

Slack added that Harris, while still more capable at a basic level, has many pitfalls of her own.

“First, Biden and Harris’s administration was a genuine disaster on immigration, foreign policy, and economics, which is why she has had to flip-flop on key issues. Second, Harris is truly incompetent — she literally slept her way into political office — and there is a decent chance that she will embarrass herself the way she has for four years,” he said. “It is no accident that ‘Tampon’ Tim Walz, and not Josh Shapiro or Gretchen Whitmer, is her running mate: the latter two do not want any part of this dumpster fire.”

More recently this cycle, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump. Habib said while the endorsement itself might not greatly affect the election, it still carries weight.

“It signifies that many reasonable centrists have left the Democratic Party,” Habib said. “Don’t forget — Tulsi Gabbard, who was always an independent, is now fully supporting Trump and has switched to the Republican Party. So has Robert Kennedy. I think that’s more significant. Endorsements really don’t add that much.”

Habib added that Kennedy’s candidacy might still sway the election in certain states.

“What also has more significant traction is RFK pulling his name out of certain states to not take votes from Trump,” Habib said. “Democrats in those states now are trying to force RFK to keep his name in there even though he no longer wants to run. If he wasn’t a threat, they wouldn’t have attempted that.”

O’Toole said that Republicans must tap into their voting base by campaigning on Trump’s hallmark issues in order to energize voters.

“I think the key is getting out working-class, middle-class voters — including white voters who are often neglected — and focusing on the 2016 issues,” he said. “Trade, the border, crime, a non-interventionist foreign policy, and then the economy and inflation. Those core issues are what matter most and are most likely to bring him voters.”