Harris is another caliber than Biden - but a message is missing
Approximately a week has passed since the sudden candidate switch from US-President Biden to his Vice President Harris. The Republicans are aimlessly attacking with everything they have. The Democrats are sorting themselves out. Who will take the first lead?
It took only a few days. Instead of campaigning for US-President Joe Biden, his 1300 employees had to switch their powerful campaign team to the newly designated candidate. Kamala Harris is Biden's Vice President, she was previously a well-known Senator, known for her relentless and tough questioning. Now she is supposed to "defend democracy," as Biden announced in his speech to the nation. Harris is supposed to prevent another presidency of Donald Trump in November.
The first poll results after the Democrats' course correction confirm what they had hoped for: a restart against the washed-up Trump. 87% of US-Americans believe Biden made the right decision by stepping down. The 59-year-old Democrat outperforms Trump in polls in the banks, but she is still slightly behind the Republican. In the presumably decisive states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and others, it's still neck and neck, with a thin advantage for Trump.
"Radical Left Crazy"
The heated campaign phase has only just begun. But from Harris' perspective, she must now convincingly present herself and maintain the initiative as long as possible: setting agendas, showing strengths, possibly admitting "weaknesses" like in a job interview. "Let no one tell you who you are," Harris' mother reportedly told her daughter. "You tell them who you are." The Democrats can't go fast enough in this regard. But the Republicans will fill in the gaps. It's a race that won't take a break until the election day in November.
On Wednesday, Donald Trump held his first appearance since the candidate switch and pressed Harris with general labels. He called her "lying Kamala Harris," a "true Marxist," a "radical left crazy," the "most left-wing Vice President in American history," also "Queen of the Border" and the "driving force behind every single Biden disaster." Trump also twisted Harris' campaign donations for a bail fund for criminals into professional decisions: "If you kill someone, just go home and relax." He also called her an "enemy of the Jewish people."
Republicans also associate Harris with migration and the southern border. Since 2016, when she was still California's Attorney General, she had often said, "I know what crime looks like. An undocumented immigrant is not a criminal." For the border fixation of the Republicans, this is a found feast. They attacked Harris for her "laughing in inappropriate situations" or her origin. Overall, however, the Conservatives are still divided on which attacks are most effective. "They're throwing everything they have at her to see what sticks," a Republican campaign strategist told the magazine "Politico": "We're not even at her time as Senator or Attorney General yet, there's a lot more to find." In other words, the Republicans were not well-prepared for Harris.
The Vice President is now a different caliber than the seemingly weaker Biden. According to the "New York Times," Harris showed "exactly the strength and energy that Biden had been missing in the past few weeks" on Sunday. The President reportedly informed Harris of his upcoming resignation beforehand. Harris immediately summoned her team, drafted a battle plan, and called 100 Democratic delegates in Congress and in the states within ten hours. Biden, it is said, had made 20 phone calls within ten days following his disastrous television debate.
On Tuesday, Harris entered the campaign against Trump with full force and sharpness. Trump's events, in contrast, were more akin to gabfests where the former President tested which attacks resonated with his supporters. On Wednesday, Harris released her first campaign video. "In what country do we want to live?", she asks in the video. Distorted images of Trump are shown. "We choose something other than chaos, fear, and hate", it continues.
Defending democracy and portraying Trump as a potential autocrat who wants to restrict freedoms such as abortion rights - this is particularly important to voters according to polls. However, it is hardly surprising to undecided and independent voters that Harris and the Democrats focus on this.
The Republicans have already made promises, such as tax cuts and protectionist measures that are supposed to enable higher wages for workers. Harris will also have to make her messages more concrete to convince undecided voters. This will not be easy in terms of inflation control and affordability of daily life. After all, she is the incumbent Vice President.
In the United States Presidential Election 2024, 87% of Americans believe Joe Biden made the right decision in stepping down, allowing Kamala Harris to take the lead. Despite Harris outperforming Donald Trump in polls, the Republican candidate manages to label her as "lying Kamala Harris," a "radical left crazy," and other derogatory terms during his campaign rallies.
