Donald Trump’s advisers are reportedly already preparing a playbook for dealing with Vice President Kamala Harris, amid swirling rumors that she might be tapped to replace President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee for president in 2024.
Trump’s advisers seemed adamant that Harris would struggle to retrieve support from blue-collar workers in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, according to Axios. One Republican operative even suggested that the Democrats should leak the likely abysmal polling on Harris from these states, if they want to end the speculation that she could replace Biden. It’s likely that this would be central to their campaign against Harris, should she run.
Blue-collar workers are a demographic Trump has been particularly anxious to capture; he recently began touting the promise of a policy to end taxes on tips, hoping it would secure the working-class vote in states vital to a presidential victory.
Trump’s campaign has already begun using Harris as a foil for this particular policy. On Thursday, the campaign turned a candid video of Trump calling Harris “so f*cking bad,” which was obtained by The Daily Beast, into promotional material about the policy, because Trump happened to be tipping a caddy as he railed against Biden and Harris from the golf course.
Trump’s other angles of attack would be that she is liberal, inexperienced, weak on border security, and hostile to corporations, according to Axios. He’s already started making fun of her for her weird laughter during public appearances.
Trump and his allies have good reason to fear a potential Harris run. Harris, who is nearly two decades younger than Biden and Trump, would likely appeal to independent and Democratic voters who have expressed interest in a younger candidate. She could also potentially increase voter turnout among women, who tend to vote in greater numbers than men.
Harris, who has been a sharp critic of measures restricting abortion across the country, could help to recenter the overturning of Roe v. Wade as the key issue in the upcoming election. Abortion access was a winning policy point for Democrats during the 2022 elections and could ensure a renewed wave of enthusiasm and turnout in November.
