By Jess Bidgood, Lisa Lerer and Michael Gold
With the presidential contest in a toss-up just days before Election Day, Vice President Kamala Harris is taking decisive steps to remind voters in key states why they turned away from Donald Trump four years prior.
Gone are the days of her joyous early weeks as the Democratic presidential candidate. She is no longer focused merely on downplaying the former president. Now, his presence is significant. Literally.
“See for yourself,” she instructed a gathering in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, on Thursday, pointing at two massive screens set up at the rally. “Let’s roll a clip.”
The video displays illuminated with a 40-second compilation of Trump boasting about undoing Roe v. Wade.
While Harris stood watching, akin to a late-night host gauging the audience’s reaction, the gathering reacted with boos, subsequently starting a chant of “Lock him up.” She calmly intervened before resuming her commitments to restore and safeguard abortion rights.
Utilizing his own words as her most potent tools, Harris emphasizes Trump’s erratic conduct and increasingly outrageous and antidemocratic claims to depict him as unqualified, unstable, and, above all, too perilous for another term. It’s a final plea she hopes will sway the diminishing pool of undecided voters to assist her in defeating him.
“I truly believe that Donald Trump is not a serious man,” she stated at a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Friday. “And the repercussions of him returning to the White House are tremendously serious.”
Harris’ increasingly pointed criticisms of the former president come as she grapples to overcome his lead on economic issues, which voters are most likely to prioritize. These tactics are complemented by her campaign’s deliberate outreach to crucial demographics that Democrats perceive as alienated by Trump’s divisive approach and rhetoric. She intends to spend the upcoming days courting suburban women and moderates through a series of events featuring former Rep. Liz Cheney, one of the most prominent Republicans to endorse her campaign. Last week, she aimed to connect with Black male voters through various policy launches and interviews, part of an initiative to remind past Democratic supporters of why they had previously rejected Trump.
This strategy signifies a return to President Joe Biden’s initial approach of amplifying Trump to transform the contest into a referendum on not his administration, but the prior president’s actions and words. This blueprint successfully propelled significant Democratic wins in 2018, 2020, and 2022. Moreover, Trump’s recent series of undisciplined actions has provided Harris with abundant material to showcase.
However, such a strategy carries risks. Voters now perceive Trump slightly more positively than they did when he left office, and polls suggest that he is reaching out to new voters, including Black and Latino men, groups that could be crucial on Election Day. His campaign has diligently worked to create an impression that Trump is heading towards an inevitable victory — despite nearly all available polling indicating a tightly contested race — as it strives to mobilize infrequent voters.
Trump’s supporters believe his strategy, a bold tour through battleground states, including a stop at Madison Square Garden next week, will be effective — even if they can’t precisely articulate how or why.
“It’s akin to dealing with a giraffe or a panda; you can’t describe him in conventional terms,” remarked former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Republican. He continued, “I believe Trump has every reason to be confident that the strategy is working.”
Nonetheless, Trump has been delivering long-winded speeches that have unsettled some allies, doubling down on politically damaging remarks about his foes and projecting a bleak, apocalyptic message that underscores Harris’ argument. He commenced the week with a town hall where he spent 39 minutes silently swaying onstage to his favorite tunes, as if engaging with voters’ queries was unnecessary. He concluded it in Pennsylvania on Saturday with an inappropriate joke about a famous golfer’s anatomy, while also using vulgar language to refer to Harris.
Throughout the last six days, Harris has unleashed a torrent of criticisms aimed at making Trump as unappealing as possible. Her campaign is saturating the media with negative advertisements — for instance, the most prevalent ad for Harris in Nevada over the past week features two of Trump’s former advisers labeling him as “unstable,” as revealed by the tracking firm AdImpact — but she is also promoting her message in every opportunity available.
Additionally, she took the fight directly onto the former president’s ground, utilizing an appearance on Fox News to label him “unfit” before an audience typically not exposed to such denunciation.
“The American public is concerned about Donald Trump, which is why individuals who know him best, including leaders from our national security sector, have all voiced their concerns,” she stated on Fox News on Thursday. “Even those who worked closely with him, engaged with him in the Oval Office and the Situation Room, have claimed he is unfit, dangerous, and should never be president of the United States again.”
This shift in strategy indicates a growing belief that, in a closely contested race, framing the election as a choice between Harris and an intolerable rival is the best way to garner every vote.
“To win a tight race, you need to capitalize on the margins,” conveyed Dan Kanninen, the Harris campaign’s director for battleground states, regarding the seven battleground states. He added: “We were relatively confident they would all be competitive. And here we are.”
For Trump, the stakes extend beyond the forthcoming election: The former president is vying not just for the White House but also for his freedom. A loss could potentially lead him to face imprisonment.
With public perceptions of Trump largely established, the onus lies on Harris to demonstrate her appeal to undecided voters, according to some Republicans.
“Trump will behave as Trump behaves, but the real question is, what is Kamala Harris doing that sets her apart, that is forward-thinking and delivers a moment of clarity that allows swing voters in Georgia and across the nation the justification to support her?” questioned Stephen Lawson, a Republican strategist in Georgia.
Harris, who frequently identifies as the underdog, has been asserting that she will attract just enough of those voters.
“Make no mistake,” she declared on Friday in Michigan, “we will prevail.”
