“They don’t have a narrative that they’re comfortable with about how to take down Harris,” said Chuck Coughlin, an Arizona-based political strategist. “He’s grasping around. I think he’s desperately grasping around with his instincts. I don’t think his team has any way to put their handle on this, and so he’s instinctually grasping around for what to say.”
The Trump machine had in recent days begun a multi-million-dollar TV advertising blitz hammering Harris for her record on the border, an issue the former president’s campaign sees as a winner — and portraying her as ideologically out of the mainstream. One ad from a pro-Trump group labeled the vice president a “dangerous San Francisco liberal.”
Harris had even begun defending herself from the attacks, hitting back Tuesday night in Atlanta about her border record, and simultaneously releasing a nearly minute-long video framing her as pro-border security.
But Trump’s comments Wednesday on Harris’ racial background drew some of the biggest gasps from the audience, and provided Democrats with ammunition. During the appearance, Trump said Harris “happen[ed] to turn Black … She was Indian all the way and all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a Black woman.”
How are there two “pro border security” people up for election? Is there no meaningful opposition to that position?
I think Harris is trying to capture a group of Americans that hardlines on immigration, unfortunately some of what she’ll concede on during this election cycle will likely alienate progressives in favor of tempting the opposition. It’s strategically valuable because progressives will still vote for her, but maybe a few conservative voters will be swayed.
Imo it’s more important to pay attention to how she’s voted, how she acts, and whether she will change her mind when presented with important information. In that way she’s by far our most trustworthy candidate even on issues like this one.
The bigots who buy the “migrant crime” narrative were always gonna vote Trump. Being the lesser evil holds no appeal to them. But the party covets votes it will never get and will throw marginalized people under as many buses as necessary in hopeless pursuit of the vote of the fictional “good” bigot.
Here’s the dumbest part, the only problem with the American/Mexican border is that the U.S. is too slow at processing migrants and getting them into the country. The far-right has invented a narrative of a migrant crime wave requiring harsh restrictions at the border, the public bought the lie, and now Democrats are trying to pass legislation based on the lie to appeal to the public.