Harris focuses her closing argument on Trump, arguing that he is dangerous

WASHINGTON – With just days left until Election Day, Vice President Kamala Harris is leaning toward a closing argument focused on attacking former President Donald Trump as a danger, an approach campaign officials believe will help her win over undecided voters. remaining and to motivate his base, according to four Harris aides familiar with the strategy.

The approach will not be monographic, his advisers said, but will also seek to highlight his vision and explain what he would do in the position.

The plan to hit Trump more harshly and aggressively in recent days has already begun to get underway. On Wednesday, Harris said she believed Trump was a “fascist” during a town hall. He appeared in a series of moderated discussions with Liz Cheney, the former Republican congresswoman who served on the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack and has been an outspoken critic of Trump. And on Thursday, Harris gave an unscheduled speech focused on Trump’s former chief of staff, John Kelly, confirming that Trump praised Adolf Hitler’s generals.

Harris’ campaign also announced that she will give a speech Tuesday at the Ellipse Park in front of the White House, the site where Trump spoke shortly before the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol and which critics and prosecutors have pointed to as the catalyst for the attack. .

“This campaign is looking at what their goals are and what their data says, and they’re making what appear to be wise decisions,” said Cornell Belcher, a veteran Democratic pollster who worked on Obama’s two successful presidential campaigns. “This is a conventional political strategy that goes back a long, long time, that says you have to keep prosecuting the case and fire the incumbent. And, in this case, they are operating as if Trump is the incumbent because he is the one who has been elected president.”

While Ellipse’s speech will be a broad speech that also lays out her vision for the office, some Democrats worry that Harris may be too focused on Trump and not enough on making an affirmative case for why she is uniquely qualified to be president. .

Ashley Etienne, who previously worked as Harris’ deputy communications director, highlighted Harris’ responses during a town hall on CNN and said she heard from several people who expressed frustration at not speaking more about her plans.

“By now everyone knows the argument against Trump. “I don’t think you can persuade people about Donald Trump,” Etienne said. “I think people see her as an agent of change… Where she’s falling short is that she hasn’t risen above the political toxicity of Donald Trump in the fray to make a case for why she is the right leader for this moment. “

Etienne added: “Their history is what makes America exceptional… People want more meat on their bones. …More poetry about who we are as a nation, why she is the right leader and what this future vision looks like.”

One Democratic lawmaker said they were concerned that Harris was not prepared to answer questions about the legislation she would sign and that she should have leaned toward a populist economic message.

Trump’s campaign has sought to inoculate him from criticism and he flatly rejects that he would be a threat to democracy. He attacked Kelly after reports of his comments.

Harris’ campaign maintains that the plan will tilt some late swing voters, a large portion of whom are disaffected Republicans or independents. His campaign estimates that in seven battleground states, 7% of the electorate are Republican-leaning undecided voters and about 3% are young voters who are likely people of color, according to three sources familiar with the campaign’s thinking.

Campaign officials said they are working hard to appeal to these voters because they maintain that if they can “persuade them to turn out,” these voters are “more likely” to support Harris.

“Americans are making a decision and elections are about choices: the way you want to live your life, the types of freedoms you want,” said a source familiar with the thinking of the vice president and her campaign. “Do you want to live in a democracy or someone who wants to be a dictator from day one? And when it comes to that last group of undecided voters who are deciding what they’re going to do, it really comes down to how they want to live their lives and they want their families to live their lives and that’s why she’s making this contrast so hard.”

Harris launched her campaign with a message of joy, and in recent days some Democrats have questioned the effectiveness of resorting to a more aggressive mode of attack. But the source close to Harris added that Harris and her advisers believe the same issues that led voters to elect a Democrat in 2020 are still at play now because Trump remains a danger to the Constitution.

“The joy part is great. “It’s wonderful to see that come back into national politics,” the person said. “But at the end of the day, when people walk into the voting booth to decide how they are going to vote, they think about how this election is going to impact my life and the lives of my family and the people I love. “

Despite the heavy attention on Trump, campaign aides note that Harris is still talking about what she wants to do if elected, including in paid advertising and on social media.

On Wednesday, Harris posted on X: “Trump has a list of enemies. I have a bucket list” along with a list of 14 things she plans to do if elected. The list included cutting taxes for more than 100 million Americans, strengthening Medicare and protecting Social Security, passing a bipartisan border security bill, restoring reproductive rights, expanding Medicare to cover home care for seniors and people with disabilities and promote gun safety laws.

On Friday night, Harris is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech on reproductive freedom in Houston, where she will be joined by women and men who have faced the consequences of state-level abortion bans since the fall of Roe v. Wade.

“Either Donald Trump is there, arguing, arguing about his list of enemies, or I’m working for you, checking off my to-do list, you have the power to make that decision,” Harris said while campaigning for the first time alongside the former president. Barack Obama in Georgia.

Harris’ campaign says it is also focused on understanding what messaging could affect the small number of undecided voters who remain in key battleground states.

Harris is also trying to avoid a policy-heavy message aimed at swing voters, like the type of voters who backed former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley in the Republican primary, who might hold conservative views but don’t like Trump, according to two sources familiar with the matter. campaign thinking.

Instead, Harris campaign officials say these voters are more likely to be persuaded. for Kelly’s comments. The former chief of staff has said that Trump spoke positively about Hitler and wanted generals like Hitler, adding that Trump meets “the general definition of a fascist.”

Belcher, the Democratic pollster, said he doesn’t see Harris’ focus on Trump and her definition of herself as separate, but rather as part of an overall message reminding voters of Trump’s flaws and Harris’ qualifications.

“There’s always a conversation about the balance between how much you talk about yourself and how much you talk about your opponent,” he said. “I think her final argument – ​​about turning the page on the kind of chaos and division of the Trump era and moving on – I don’t even see as a conversation about her. I think it’s a perfect pivot. “It is an indictment of the chaos and division that is Trump.”

Pete Giangreco, a veteran Democratic strategist who worked on Obama’s presidential campaigns, agrees with the strategy.

“That message about democracy is twofold: it takes some conservative votes but it also motivates Democrats who vote sporadically,” he said. “The two most motivating messages for Democratic participation are those related to abortion and democracy.”

Some Harris campaign officials echoed that argument.

Ellipse’s speech next week is intended as a reminder of the chaos and divisions of the Trump era, particularly the destruction of the Capitol on January 6, his inaction as the violence continued, his subsequent call for a “beautiful day” and his constant promise to pardon those jailed after being convicted of attacking police, a senior campaign official said. The official added that this will rally her base and reach persuadable voters.

Harris’ speech won’t focus exclusively on Jan. 6, the senior campaign official said, emphasizing that it plans to be a broad speech laying out her vision for the country, what her presidency would look like and what Trump’s second presidency would look like. on the contrary.

Another source close to the campaign said the speech is a “natural extension” of attacking Republicans and Harris’ campaign with Cheney. The person said that going to the location “takes a bow” around a central final plot.

Meanwhile, the campaign is also trying to adapt its messaging.

A Harris pollster said giving people, such as undecided black men, more information about Harris during focus groups worked to sway them in her favor. Spreading information about his past positions and political ideas in spaces frequented by black men will help, the pollster said.

Still, some Democrats who have worked with Harris worry that there is too much focus on Trump and not on Harris’s unique skills and vision.

A veteran Democratic strategist with close ties to Harris said Harris should tell voters that she understands she has been participating in a job interview and wants to answer any final questions people may have about her. The person added that Harris should also proactively answer questions such as how she plans to reach out to Americans and how she plans to maintain America’s standing in the world.