This Guy is Scared His worst nightmare? Losing to a woman of color Dan Rather and Team Steady Aug 1 Credit: Getty Images When I heard that Donald Trump was scheduled to appear at the National Association of Black Journalists conference, I was, frankly, surprised. Strategically I thought that it would not be the best move for the Republican presidential nominee. While he has improved in the polls among Black voters, he is not close to winning that demographic. He would, by all accounts, be walking into a hostile room. I assume his campaign ran a cost-benefit analysis. If they did, their numbers were off. In what will likely go down as one of Trump’s worst interviews — and that is a low bar — he started out defensively and ended by getting pulled off stage early by his campaign staff. He lied and ranted, incoherently at times, about Kamala Harris and her race. “I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?” Trump asked. Remember, he said this in a room full of Black journalists. He also said immigrants are taking “black jobs.” Asked what a black job is, Trump said a “black job is anybody that has a job.” What? You could hear the gasps in the room. This was not Trump’s first toe dip into the pool of racist and sexist epithets since Harris entered the race, but it was the most blatant. All the talk of a more disciplined Trump this campaign cycle seems to have disappeared. Take his Fox “News” interview on Tuesday. Trump said Harris wouldn’t be able to stand up to world leaders because of her appearance. “She’ll be like a play toy,” said Trump. “They look at her and they say, ‘We can’t believe we got so lucky.’ They’re going to walk all over her.” He then turned to the camera and said, “And I don’t want to say as to why. But a lot of people understand it.” As someone who has studied politics for decades, I find Trump’s pivot to over-the-top misogyny and bigotry a head scratcher. I have my theories, and I’d be interested to hear yours, but a case can be made that boils down to the fact that Donald Trump is facing a challenger who is a woman and a woman of color. He simply cannot fathom the idea that she could beat him. His ability to control his inner bully is gone. Eleven days ago, Trump was running against a white man, older than himself, who was not  popular. The playbook for that campaign was to sit in the dugout and let Biden strike out. And it was working. But that was then. Today, Trump’s lead in national and swing state polls has all but evaporated. He is being backed into a corner, and his instinct is to lash out and double down. That’s the behavior of someone who is anxious and afraid. Harris has turned the political tables on Trump. She is now controlling the narrative, and it’s not one he likes. The enthusiasm she now engenders used to be reserved for Trump. The Trump campaign claims they were planning for a Harris run, but no one could have predicted the quick coalescing around the vice president and the groundswell of momentum she is enjoying. Can it last? And if so, how? The history of winning presidential elections teaches that she should stay steady, and by that I mean she should hit hard when she sees a clear opening, but mostly she should be disciplined, project positivity, and stay above the fray. Harris’s response to Trump last night was spot on. “The American people deserve better,” Harris told a crowd in Houston. “The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth, a leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts.” Two weeks ago, many Americans were so unhappy with their options they chose to stick their collective heads in the sand to avoid having to pay attention to the race. That disinterest helped Trump. The less people saw of him, the better he did. He clearly has reverted back to his constant attack mode.  The race has shifted from a referendum on Joe Biden to a referendum on Trump, who can’t help but show his true colors. To support my team’s efforts to protect our democracy through the power of independent journalism, please consider joining as a paid subscriber. It keeps Steady sustainable and accessible to all. Thank you. No matter how you subscribe, I thank you for reading. Stay Steady, Dan