I tell my students that there are three things that a story needs to be: Immersive, entertaining, and unexpected. Get those three things, along with a unique voice, and you’ve got a story. And that also explains why Trump is so hard, but not impossible, to beat.

Trump has a straightforward yet effective playbook. First, all those tweets, with their random capitalization, weird syntax, and random turns of phrases (thank you for your consideration)? That’s all done intentionally to reinforce Trump’s voice and to emphasize the fact that no single human being talks like him. So pay attention.

Second, he creates a vaporware either for the media to chase, or you to comment on. Wrestling on the WH lawn? Three days of discussion, memes, etc. Even the ridicule is good for Trump, who truly believes that if you’re talking about him, he wins. And since he has no shame, there is no bad publicity. All publicity feeds his narcissism.

Finally, the last phase is when Trump, sitting in his chimp’s chair, does what he’s told by the power brokers behind the scenes. Trump couldn’t name a single policy that’s part of his core belief. So he has to listen to the charlatans, the racists, the rogues gallery of any comic book villain trope. And that’s the dangerous part.

To beat Trump, you need a message that is disciplined, uniform, and clear, while defining Earth One, where we consistently understand the truth. But that’s not all. It also has to be immersive, entertaining, and unexpected. And it needs to have a voice.

AOC, Jasmine Crockett, and Zohran Mamdani understand the voice, but they’re undercut by corporate Democrats who don’t want that voice, resulting in no uniformity. And less than 18 months from the midterms, what about the Democratic message is entertaining, immersive, and unexpected?

My spidey sense tells me that unless something dramatic happens, the Democrats will lose the midterms in the way they always lose elections. By trying to be GOP light, and not Democratic principles heavy.