Harris risks ignoring voter concerns in final stretch as Biden returns to attack rhetoric

Vice President Kamala Harris appears to be ignoring voters’ demands for the content of the policies during the recent campaign and has returned to rhetoric reminiscent of President Joe Biden’s harsh anti-Trump rhetoric. But with polling data showing voters still know little about his plans in the final days of the campaign, his “mood of joy” and “summer brat”-to-fearmongering approach risks stalling concerned voters as they approach the finish line .

While Republicans have long attacked Harris for dodging tough interviews and refusing to engage with the media about content, even Democrats are joining the chorus criticizing her lack of content during a recent town hall on CNN.

“It’s his habit to kind of go to word salad city when he doesn’t want to answer a question,” he said David Axelrod, Obama’s longtime adviser from its performance. “He acknowledges that he has no concerns about any of the administration’s policies, and that is a mistake. Sometimes you have to accept some things.”

The incident saw Harris slide into hyperbole, calling former President Donald Trump a “fascist” and belittling the MAGA movement as undemocratic in its ambitions. The rhetorical shift has drawn comparisons to Biden’s. Wednesday evening marked the first time Harris has publicly described Trump this way.

“Based on Donald Trump’s words and actions, there is a legitimate fear that he will not abide by his oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States,” he said.

“And in short, he sounded a lot like JOE BIDEN. “This is a surprise.” Read the Politico Playbook. The broadcast contrasted Harris’ initial rhetoric of dismissing Trump as “insignificant” with Biden’s portrayal of Trump as a larger, more existential threat to the nation.

“I am not Joe Biden”

The broadcast also highlighted the risks of adopting the campaign approach of a candidate who has failed to convince the public that he is the preferred option over Trump. Harris was quick to distance herself from Biden after taking the top spot on the Democratic ticket. In an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier, when asked what changes he would make to Biden, he responded: “I’m clearly not Joe Biden.” Even far-left documentarian Michael Moore responds to this statement in his own account. podcast Harris was demanded: “Prove it.”

Biden hugged fiery discourse Ahead of the 2022 midterm elections and throughout his own presidential campaign, he frequently tells supporters that “Democracy is on the ballot” and blames “extreme MAGA Republicans.” His State of the Union address Moreover, this year we went one step further, draw exclamations From both sides of the aisle.

Harris’ embrace of Biden’s anti-Trump rhetoric could further complicate her efforts to define herself. The vice president had some difficulty defining his relationship with the current commander in chief; He often portrayed himself as the driving force behind the administration’s key policies while also claiming to represent real change.

“Harris has already struggled to emulate Biden’s successful 2020.”I’m hiding in the basement” strategy. The current president has avoided major campaign events and minimized his time in the spotlight, reducing the risk of major gaffes and allowing his status as a known commodity to effectively remain relevant.

Disastrous media attack

The vice president initially tried to do the same and faced pushback from Republicans, but eventually her Democratic allies began to realize that Harris could not replicate Biden’s success with Biden’s strategy. The basement strategy was successful for Biden in 2020, but when he abandoned it in 2024, partly out of a need to demonstrate his fitness to remain in office, his disastrous debate performance led to him being booted off the ticket altogether.

In a sense, Harris followed suit by adopting the same. widely panned media blitz here he made a number of strange blunders and came under criticism from many quarters. With the exception of Fox News, Harris’ handlers chose to place her ahead of friendly if unsupportive broadcasters like NBC, CNN, niche podcasters and late-night hosts.

“The more interviews Kamala Harris does, the weaker the presidential candidate looks,” he said Piers Morgan. “Just endless word salad bilge. “Democrats must be pushing themselves because there was no viable competition to replace Biden.” Also traditionally left-leaning publications Washington Post “reality checked” statements On this trip he encountered a number of distortions, exaggerations and outright lies.

It bears the title of ‘Change candidate’

Latest polling data suggests there remains a potentially decisive bloc of voters who want more information about Harris to form a clear opinion. 86 percent of those surveyed said Wall Street Magazine The poll, conducted Oct. 19-22, said they knew enough about Harris to have a strong opinion, while 13% of voters said they didn’t know.

Such a percentage far exceeds the differences in polls for each major swing state; which suggests Harris has an audience if she tries to define herself and her policies more clearly.

But right now, in the eyes of voters, Trump appears to be the “change” candidate; While 49% say Trump will bring “necessary change”, 40% say the same for Harris. 45 percent of respondents said Trump has a clearer vision of the future than Harris (43%).

He also appears more “inconsistent” in the eyes of voters; While 45 percent give him that label rather than Trump, 42 percent say the same about Trump. Most importantly, 54 percent of survey respondents said “Kamala Harris will largely continue the Biden administration’s approach and policies,” while only 41 percent said she would “bring new ideas and new leadership to the White House.”

With less than two weeks to go and early voting already underway, Harris has little time to change public perception of herself and her candidacy and convince voters that she represents a shift from Biden. But mimicking his attack-style rhetoric and refusing to present himself in detail to a context-seeking audience may not help his case.