Perhaps the only presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris was not as impactful and momentous as Trump’s knock-out debate against Joe Biden a few months ago, but it was indeed telling for voters viewing without a partisan prism. Both sides declaring victory, Democrats and Republicans pretty much heard what they wanted to hear. As expected, press and pundits praised Harris for thrashing Trump and just ignored any actual issues or policies raised by Trump. However, average Americans not consumed by partisanship but concerned with our declining country heard something different.

To Democrats’ great relief, Harris handily hurtled a very low bar at the debate. In short, she did not implode. With due credit, she avoided her signature incoherent word salads and refrained from cringey cackles, and she successfully drew Trump into addressing some old and not central issues. Overall, Trump did stay on his main message of inflation and illegal immigration, but he feels he must answer every charge, and thus at times provided more details than necessary at that moment. While that annoyed debate coaches, folks watching took it more as evidence that Trump knows what he is talking about and is passionate about it.

The Democrat media complex mocked Trump as just angry, but average Americans heard someone who shares their justified outrage about crushing inflation and sky-rocketing crime. As Trump explained the persistent problems plaguing Americans and his proposed solutions, Harris looked down her nose with snarky smirks like he was making it up, but Americans are hurting and directly related to Trump describing their all too real travails. Trump was angry, but so are the voters. So they were left wondering what is Harris smiling about and why is she dismissing our misery?

Despite repeatedly claiming she grew up in a middle-class neighborhood and worked at McDonalds as an economic plan, Harris has trouble relating to working Americans because she and Biden have spent the last 3.5 years implementing destructive policies, devastating the Middle Class, and denying there was a problem. So her feigned empathy now rings hollow.

Bereft of any real ideas, Harris copied the child tax credit from Trump. Well versed in creating inflation, her $25,000 down payment assistance for first time home buyers is inflationary, and it requires spending other peoples’ tax dollars. A better solution is guaranteeing mortgages that working people can pay back. The $50,000 tax credit for new businesses is smoke and mirrors, because anyone who has ever started a business knows the first few years seldom make enough money to owe taxes.

Harris’s new pledge is to create an “opportunity economy.” Trump rightly notes she is in office now, so why hasn’t she already done it? What is she waiting for? And who really believes she has changed her Marxist stripes? A real “opportunity economy” is when we have low inflation, low interest rates, and rising wages, so Americans can make their own way. That would be the economy Trump created in his first term.

Beyond a couple cynical gimmicks, Harris has nothing new to offer, so her claim to be the change candidate is laughable since she and Biden created this mess. She stammers through hollow platitudes insisting her administration will care for you and provide for your needs, like building 3 million new homes – no one wants government housing. However, Democrats know they cannot run on the Harris/Biden record. She has no plan, so they must malign Trump and misrepresent his policies.

The ABC Harris campaign surrogates posing as moderators eagerly and erroneously fact checked Trump, but stood back has Harris repeated numerous debunked smears of Trump. His comment about “fine people on both sides” was about the debate over Confederate statutes not white supremacists, and Trump said Harris’s misguided EV policies would be a “bloodbath” for the auto industry, not an electoral backlash if he lost. Facts and truth seldom constrain Democrats.

Trump’s policies have been proven before, so Harris must deceive the public about his ideas. She makes ridiculous allegations that Trump will impose a nationwide abortion ban, end IVF treatments, and even monitor pregnancies. All absurd lies only intended to scare people and the Democrat media complex gladly underwrites them, but hopefully most Americans are not fooled.

Trump clearly stated abortion is back with the states where it belongs, so we have some states with stringent abortion restrictions and some where babies can be murdered right up until birth – Trump says his work is done here. When an Alabama Supreme Court ruling jeopardized IVF treatments, Trump encouraged a fast-working Alabama legislature to rectify that situation – Trump supports IVF. These Democrat lies are easily exposed and the ridiculous charge of pregnancy monitoring is so crazy it pretty much establishes their lack of credibility.

The Harris campaign’s only strategy is to mislead voters about Trump’s record and policies and destroy him personally, so they must deceive the electorate at all costs. Realizing his record is demonstrably excellent and his ideas resonate with voters, Democrats have been resorting to character assassination and now we have had two actual assassination attempts!

Despite Democrats relentless efforts to undermine the democratic process by removing opposition candidates from ballots or simply trying to imprison Trump, they have been screaming for some time now that Trump is an “existential threat to democracy.” Democrats have been regularly calling Trump “Hitler;” yet feign shock when someone tries to kill him. This comparison is incredibly insane. Hitler was a mass murderer, so there is a moral imperative to stop Hitler. But Trump has killed no one, and is nothing like Hitler.

Incredibly, the Democrat media complex now blames Trump for heated rhetoric that invites assassination. In other words, shut up or someone else will come for you. And despite the violence, Democrats keep insisting Trump is a mass murderer. This is crazy! It must stop!

The Democrat media complex tactic to destroy Trump at all costs is disturbing, but the Harris campaign strategy to deceive the public about Trump is disconcerting, because it complements this whole nefarious business. Americans see a Trump that is determined to serve the people and make America great again, versus a vacuous candidate whose only hope is to deceive you about her opponent.

Americans are not fooled, and therefore Democrats are panicking. So the grave danger for Trump and our Constitutional Republic will only grow. Pray for Trump’s safety and a fair election!

“People accuse others falsely and send them to their death” (Ezekiel 22:9).

Pete Riehm is a Navy Veteran, conservative activist, and columnist in south Alabama. Email him at peteriehm@bellsouth.net or read all his columns at http://www.renewamerica.com/.