Why Harris went from 'joy' to calling Trump a 'fascist'

Reuters

On Wednesday afternoon, Kamala Harris stood outside the vice presidential residence in Washington, D.C., and launched a brief but scathing attack on her Republican presidential opponent.

Calling Donald Trump increasingly unhinged and unstable, she cited critical comments made by John Kelly, Trump's former White House chief of staff, in an interview with the New York Times.

The vice president quoted Kelly describing Trump as someone who certainly fits the general definition of fascists and who has repeatedly spoken of Hitler with approval.

She said her rival wanted unchecked power and later, during a CNN town hall, was asked point-blank whether she thought he was a “fascist.” “Yes, I do,” she replied.

The Trump campaign quickly accused the Democratic candidate of peddling lies. She is increasingly desperate, said spokesman Steven Cheung, because she is struggling and her campaign is in shambles.

In the home stretch of political campaigns, especially those as close and hotly contested as the 2024 presidential election, candidates have a natural tendency to turn negative. Attacks tend to be more effective in motivating supporters to vote and disrupting opposing campaigns.

For Harris, however, the heavier hand toward Trump contrasts with the more optimistic and joyful messages of the early days of her campaign.

Although she warned at the Democratic convention of a Trump presidency without guardrails, Harris largely strayed from President Joe Biden's campaign's core message that Trump posed an existential threat to American democracy.

However, according to political strategist Matt Bennett of the centrist Democratic group Third Way, it's clear why Harris was quick this time to amplify Kelly's dark portrayal of Trump as a man with authoritarian tendencies.

Harris says Trump wants unchecked power

Everything she does now is tactical, he said. The imperative was to ensure that as many voters as possible knew what Kelly had said.

The vice president's latest remarks follow a weeks-long campaign strategy aimed at attracting independent voters and moderate Republicans who might be willing to support the Democratic ticket. Polls suggest the race is extremely close, with neither candidate having a decisive lead in any of the battleground states.

The suburbs around the largest cities in key battleground states—Philadelphia, Detroit, Milwaukee, and Phoenix, for example—are populated by college-educated professionals who have traditionally voted Republican, but who, according to polls, have doubts about Trump's return to the White House.

His argument for winning this victory is to create as broad a coalition as possible and bring in disaffected Republicans — people who simply don't feel like they can vote for Trump again, Mr. Bennett said.

Reuters

Former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly listens to then-President Donald Trump in 2018.

Devynn DeVelasco, a 20-year-old independent from Nebraska, is among those who had already been won over by the long list of top Republicans who worked for then-President Trump but now say they are unfit for office .

While she hopes some Republicans will join her in supporting Harris, she worries there will be fatigue around claims made about the former president.

“When these reports [about Kellys comments] I wasn't shocked, it hasn't changed much,” Ms DeVelasco told the BBC.

Republican strategist Denise Grace Gitsham said voters have been hearing similar rhetoric about Trump since 2016 and so new allegations are unlikely to move the needle.

If you vote against Donald Trump because you don't like his personality, you are already a decided voter, she told the BBC. But if you're someone who looks at policy and that matters more to you than a vibe or a personality, then you're going to go with the person you think you did best with when they were in the White House.

Both Harris and Trump have sharpened their beards in recent days. During a tour of Midwestern states on Monday, Harris repeatedly warned of the consequences of a Trump presidency on abortion rights, health care, the economy and American foreign policy.

On Friday, she will hold a rally in Texas, the state she says most dramatically represents the future of the anti-abortion fight if Trump returns to power. Next Tuesday, her focus will be on Washington DC, with a rally reportedly planned on the National Mall, where Trump spoke before some of his supporters attacked the US Capitol.

Meanwhile, Trump continued his attacks on his Democratic counterpart. At a public forum in North Carolina, he said Harris was lazy and stupid and only became his party's nominee because of her ethnicity and gender.

He also issued his own warning, saying we might not have a country anymore if Harris won.

None of these lines constitute a particular departure for Trump, however, as he spent most of his campaign attacking Democrats and sticking to his core message on immigration, trade and the economy.

Harris' closing speech, meanwhile, aimed at winning over anti-Trump Republicans and independents is not without risks, Democratic strategist Bennet said.

You're always neglecting one thing to try to promote something else, he said. Candidate time and advertising time are the two most valuable assets. And how you spend those things.

Trump has been a polarizing figure in American politics for more than eight years now. Most Americans now have strong, deeply held opinions about this man.

If anti-Trump sentiment puts Harris over the top on Election Day, her latest strategic move will have paid off. Otherwise, the challenge will come fast and furious.

Additional reporting by Ana Faguy

North American correspondent Anthony Zurcher makes sense of the race for the White House in his biweekly newsletter US Election Unspun. UK readers can subscribe here. Those outside the UK can register here.

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