Former President Donald Trump's campaign bluster, despite a tight race against Vice President Kamala Harris, reveals a subtle strategy that his opponent is already using against him, according to a new report.
Trump's campaign is purposefully hitting a victory party tone while avoiding high-profile events such as national debates that would directly position Harris, 59, against the 78-year-old Republican presidential nominee, the Washington Post reported Saturday.
“They could try to create a contrast with us," an adviser told the Post. "We’re going to starve her of that opportunity.”
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Instead, Team Trump is limiting Trump access to keen supporters who attend campaign rallies while lobbing attacks at Harris that her team says misrepresents her views, according to the Washington Post.
“You communicate and you push and you demonstrate that you are ahead,” adviser Chris LaCivita told the Post. “But you run like you are behind.”
Harris, for her part, is making moves to make sure Democrats and undecided voters get as much access to Trump as possible, often sharing on social media video clips from the rallies and quotes from his speeches.
The Harris-Walz team wants those voters to hear for themselves the promises and claims Trump makes that don't always appear on national cable news, according to the report.
Former Rep. Conor Lamb (D-PA) told the Post that Harris' campaign tactics could work in western Pennsylvania, where Trump is currently the favorite, but only by a slim margin.
He argues Harris can do something that Trump cannot to win their votes.
"Trump hasn’t fully closed the deal, Harris still has an opportunity if people get a chance to know her,” he said. “Trump knows that people are not going to change their opinions on him very much regardless of what he says or does."
