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

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

The approach will not be one-sided, her advisers said, but will also seek to highlight her vision and explain what she would do in office.

The plan to hammer Trump harder and more aggressively in his final days is already starting to take shape. On Wednesday, Harris said during a town hall that she believed Trump was a “fascist.” She appeared in a series of moderated conversations 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 delivered an unplanned speech aimed at Trump’s former chief of staff John Kelly, confirming that Trump praised Adolf Hitler’s generals.

Harris’ campaign also announced she will deliver a speech Tuesday at Ellipse Park outside the White House — the site where Trump spoke shortly before the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, which critics and prosecutors have cited as the catalyst for the attack.

“This campaign looks at what their goals are and what their data says, and they make what appear to be sensible decisions,” said Cornell Belcher, a veteran Democratic pollster who worked on both of Obama’s successful presidential campaigns. “This is a conventional political strategy that goes back a long time and says you should keep prosecuting the case and unseat the sitting president. And in this case, they are operating as if Trump is the sitting president because he is the one who was elected president.”

While the Ellipse speech will be a wide-ranging speech that also lays out her vision as president, some Democrats worry that Harris may focus too much on Trump and not enough on making an affirmative case for why she is uniquely qualified to be president to become.

Ashley Etienne, who previously served as Harris’ vice presidential communications director, pointed to Harris’ answers during a CNN town hall and said she had heard from several people expressing frustration that she had not spoken more about her plans.

“By now everyone knows the argument against Trump. I don’t think you can convince people of Donald Trump,” Etienne said. “I really believe that people see her as a change agent… Where she falls short is that she has not risen above the political toxicity of Donald Trump in the struggle to lay out an argument for why she is currently the is the right leader. ”

Etienne added, “Her story 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 vision for the future looks like.”

One Democratic lawmaker said they were concerned that Harris was unwilling to answer questions about legislation she would pass and that she should have leaned on an economically populist message.

Trump’s campaign has tried to remove him from the line of criticism and roundly rejects that he is a threat to democracy. He attacked Kelly following reports of his comments.

The Harris campaign argues the plan will tip off some undecided voters — some of whom are disaffected Republicans or independents. Her campaign estimates that in seven battleground states, 7% of the electorate is made up of Republican, undecided voters and about 3% of young voters who are likely to be people of color, according to three sources familiar with the campaign’s thinking.

Campaign officials said they are working hard to attract these voters, arguing that if they can “convince them to participate,” these voters will be “more likely” to support Harris.

“Americans make a choice and elections are about choices — the way you want to live your life, the kinds of freedoms you want,” said a source familiar with the vice president’s thinking and her campaign. “Do you want to live under a democracy or someone who wants to be a dictator from day one? And when it comes to that last bit of undecided voters deciding what they’re going to do, it really comes down to the way they want to live their lives and they want their families to live their lives and so she makes this very stark contrast.”

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

“The joy part is great. It’s great to see this brought back into national politics,” the person said. “But ultimately, when people go into the voting booth to decide how to vote, they think about the impact of this election on my life and on the lives of my family and the people I love. ”

Despite the heavy focus on Trump, campaign officials point out that Harris still talks about what she wants to do if elected, including in paid ads and on social media.

On Wednesday, Harris posted on X: “Trump has a list of enemies. I have a to-do 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 law, restoring reproductive rights, expanding Medicare to include home care for seniors and people with disabilities, and promoting gun safety laws.

On Friday night, Harris will give a major speech on reproductive freedom in Houston, where she will be joined by women and men who have had to deal with the fallout from state-level abortion bans since the fall of Roe v. Wade.

“It’s either Donald Trump in there, checking off his enemies list, or I’m working for you and checking off my to-do list. You have the power to make that decision,” Harris said as he campaigned alongside the former president for the first time. Barack Obama in Georgia.

The Harris campaign says it is also focused on understanding what messages could have an impact on the small number of undecided voters remaining in key battleground states.

Harris is also trying to avoid a policy message aimed at undecided voters — like the kind of voters who supported former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley in the Republican primaries — who may have conservative views but dislike Trump, according to two sources familiar with with the Republican elections. the thinking of the campaign.

Instead, Harris campaign officials say these voters are more likely to be convinced by Kelly’s comments. The former chief of staff has said Trump spoke positively about Hitler and wanted generals like Hitler, adding that Trump meets “the common 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 part of an overall message that reminds voters of Trump’s shortcomings 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 their closing argument — about turning the page on the chaos and division of the Trump era and moving forward — I don’t view this as a conversation about her either. I think it’s a perfect twist. It is an indictment of the chaos and division that Trump knows.”

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

“That message about democracy is a bipartisan message, bringing in some conservative votes but also motivating sporadically voting Democrats,” he said. “The two most motivating messages for the Democratic rise are those around abortion and democracy.”

Some Harris campaign officials echoed that argument.

Next week’s Ellipse speech is intended as a reminder of the chaos and division of the Trump era, particularly the destruction of the Capitol on January 6, his inaction as the violence continued, his subsequent call for it to be a “beautiful day” and his continued pledge to pardon those jailed after being convicted of attacking police, a senior campaign official said. The official added that it will both unite her base and reach persuasive voters.

Harris’ speech will not focus solely on Jan. 6, the senior campaign official said, stressing that it plans to be a sweeping address laying out her vision for the country, what her presidency would look like and what the second presidency would look like of Trump would look like. on the other hand.

Another source close to the campaign said the speech is a “natural extension” of the campaign against Republicans and Harris with Cheney. The person said going to the location “puts a bow” around a central closing argument.

In the meantime, the campaign is also trying to adjust the message.

A Harris pollster said giving people — such as undecided black men — more information about Harris during focus groups would sway them in her favor. Spreading information about her past positions and policy 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’ unique skills and vision.

A longtime Democratic strategist with close ties to Harris said Harris should tell voters that she understands she has interviewed and wants to answer any final questions people have about her. The person added that Harris should also proactively answer questions such as how she plans to bring Americans “closer together” and how she plans to maintain America’s position in the world.