A happy warrior.Gage Skidmore/Zuma
On her way to a packed rally in Glendale, Arizona on Friday, Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris made a pit stop in Phoenix to greet campaign volunteers.
The Arizona Republic newspaper described the energy as “exuberant” as Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, worked the room to thank supporters for their work.
“What is that?” asked Harris, pointing to a large circle on a poster the volunteers had prepared for the rally, which would attract 15,000 people. “It’s a coconut,” said a volunteer, a reference to a line in 2023 Harris speech that has become a meme.
The tone reversal is paying off for Kamala Harris.
Harris responded with a big grin and her characteristic laugh. It was a quick moment, but one that embodied the spirit of the still-nascent Harris-Walz campaign. Under President Joe Biden’s steerage, the Democrats’ 2024 messaging was centered on former president Donald Trump’s threat to our governing system: a well-supported and somber allegation, but not a new one after eight years. In contrast, Harris has attempted to play up joy at her rallies, by including performances by Megan Thee Stallion and Bon Iver, and taking time to idealize a happy and well-functioning democracy.
New data suggest the tone reversal is paying off: Harris leads Trump in three critical swing states, according to fresh polling from the New York Times and Siena College. Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan likely voters prefer Harris to Trump, 50-46 percent; when Biden led the ticket, similar polls were tied or showed a slight Trump advantage.
As Harris and Walz—a former football coach, educator, and congressman who has been compared to the big-hearted television character Ted Lasso—campaign for a future in which forming labor unions, retiring, buying homes, and obtaining health care are all easier, the New York Times reported in an in-depth article on Saturday showing that Trump is… well… being Trump: Obsessing over his deceitful claim that Democrats are hijacking elections; doubling-down on his earlier comments that Harris, who is Black, has only recently decided to be Black for political gain (“I think I was right,” Trump reportedly said privately); and instructing aides to bombard one of his wealthiest donors with a deluge of angry text messages.
According to the Times, Trump rejects the suggestion that he is a softer version of himself in the wake of the July assassination attempt against him, reporting that he insisted “I’m not nicer” at an early August dinner. The paper also pointed out that Trump called Harris “nasty” on cable news, and reported he has repeatedly referred to her as a “bitch” in private. (His campaign refutes the claim.)
At the same August dinner, a wealthy real estate mogul asked Trump how he planned to counter the Democrats’ more jubilant campaign strategy. Trump, according to the Times, didn’t show any interest in offering a positive vision or minimizing his repertoire of insults. He instead responded by criticizing Harris—and concluding that “I am who I am.”
