When election’s about Trump, he loses

Donald Trump is finally seeing the downside of being an incumbent president.

After nearly four years in office, the promise to “Make America great again” no longer applies. As an incumbent, he has to run on what he has made America into.

And for an increasing number of people, it is not a pretty picture.

Obviously, a president has tremendous power over the national conversation. But not total power. When times are bad, the president himself can become the topic. That’s what’s happening to Trump.

His hopes of turning the election around on the theme of law and order fizzled as protests in Portland, Ore., and elsewhere died down. The economy isn’t the selling point it once was, now that businesses that were getting by on stimulus money are running out of cash and Trump has caused chaos in talks on a new relief bill.

The Hail Mary hope of a coronavirus vaccine being ready before the election has evaporated and been replaced with the image of Trump himself being hospitalized.

Now, in what might be his biggest fourthquarter mistake, Trump says he won’t debate Joe Biden unless it’s a facetoface encounter.

The fact is, Trump needs the debate a lot more than Biden does. Trump’s incoherent and rude performance during their Sept. 29 debate

might have felt good to his base, but it will probably cost him with any undecided voters who were still out there.

Above all, Trump needs to get off Twitter and show the American people that he is not only in command, but in control and sane.

For Biden, the job is easy. Lie low and point out Trump’s failures.

Because this time, Biden is the outsider. Lights, camera, Kamala: The vice presidential debate was genuinely fun to watch.

Sen. Kamala Harris was in her top prosecutorial form. Vice President Mike Pence was his usual stonefaced self.

It wasn’t really a fair fight, as Harris stayed on message in laying out the Trump administration’s failures, especially on the coronavirus pandemic, while Pence was stuck defending the largely indefensible. He did himself few favors with women by talking over Harris and even moderator Susan Page several times.

But the real star turned out to be the fly that landed on Pence’s head and stayed there for 2 minutes.

People have asked me how Pence could not have noticed the winged wonder.

My take: After serving as Donald Trump’s No. 2, it’s a wonder Pence feels anything anymore.

Signed, sealed, delivered: University of California Regent Dick

Blum is under fire for writing letters in support of admitting students whose parents are friends or good for donations to the school. What’s the shock? Prominent people have been writing letters of support for kids to get into UC for decades. And it’s not just regents who have done it. Throughout my time in the Legislature, we all wrote those letters. We were there to serve our constituents, and if a constituent wanted a letter, they got one.

And hopefully they remembered the letter when we were up for reelection.

Those were the nobrainer letters, frankly. It was the requests for a letter to the parole board that were worrisome.

Anyone can defend helping someone get into a UC campus. But helping the wrong guy get out of jail can haunt you for a lifetime.

The president’s rude performance during the debate will probably cost him with any undecided voters who were still out there.

Take a knee: At the rate the 49ers are going through quarterbacks, they should consider putting in a call to Colin Kaepernick.

At least Kaepernick could get some attention for a team that is falling apart.

Street scene: The Smuin Ballet company would normally be putting on performances at one of the South of Market event spaces, but that’s obviously not possible now. So Ellis Street between Stockton and Powell has been blocked off for an outdoor show.

They sold every seat, so now we’ll all get to see what ballet dancers who’ve been sheltered in place for seven months eating home cooking can do in full tutu.

On the fly: About half a dozen people stopped me while I was walking along the Embarcadero, and every one of them said, “Have you seen this?”

They all held up a cell phone with a picture of Ruth Bader Ginsburg with the caption, “I sent the fly.”

RBGBIG forever.

Want to sound off ? Email wbrown@ sfchronicle. com

Alex Brandon / Associated Press President Trump holds his mask after removing it from his face as he stands on the balcony upon returning to the White House from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday. As an incumbent, Trump has to run on what he has made America into.