By Cianan Sheekey
America is in the midst of the electoral circus. The presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, are ramping up their campaigns, attempting to reach out to undecided voters and drag them to their respective support bases. Action is required: the polls are teetering on a knife edge. Seems like the perfect time for a McDonalds trip, doesn’t it?
Harris has responded fearlessly, opting to take an interview with Republican-aligned Fox News. Waltzing into the lion’s den so close to election day deserves commendation, but her responses have faced swathes of criticism. Experienced, socially conservative interviewer Bret Baier probed Harris on policy in what became a hostile, cagey affair. Baier became notably frustrated with Harris’ diversionary responses. These included referring to the significance of debates surrounding border control but giving no incite, as well as criticising Trump’s economic plans without detailing her solutions. The Democratic engine is running on the fuel of change, with Harris describing her prospective Presidency as the “turning [of] the page”. Although her abstract sentiment was beautifully articulated, Harris did not want to focus on specific policy out of fear of further alienating conservative viewership or providing attack ammunition to the Trump camp. Focusing on the abstract prospect of her candidacy or the weaknesses of her opponent, however, will not swing Republican Fox viewers and will certainly not save her from the perpetual slander protruding from Trump’s mouth. So, if she doesn’t want to talk about policy and platform, why doesn’t she focus on publicity?
Trump is a publicity machine. He lives, breathes and oozes it. His recent shift serving fries to customers through a drive-thru window in Pennsylvania having spawned a social media wildfire. Trump’s successful election in 2016 was cemented through his constant spotlight, as the world could not get enough of the ‘funny orange man’ and his passionate, potent rhetoric. Trump does not want to talk about policy: he similarly does not fuel any opposing fires, and can cynically be regarded as weak on the subject, so he uses his celebrity persona to generate a cult of personality.
"The Harris approach has been to enter the lion's den without the ability to slay the lion, and her campaign is living with the scars of such overconfidence."
If you can’t escape the man, you know the man and know him well (or you believe you do). Know the man well? That’s half of the challenge for a presidential candidate, all that is subsequently required is for some enjoyable one-liners, a quick retort to criticism, or admiration for surviving an assassination attempt to stick in your psyche and then you’re voting for him and you don’t really know why. Politics disregarded.
Both presidential candidates do not want to disclose policy because it can cause more harm than good. However disappointing that is for liberal democracy, we live in a dark world where the medium is more than the message, and Harris needs to avoid placing herself in the firing line of nuanced debate and discourse, especially not in the media home of American Republicanism. As an individual, she came across as confident and well-spoken. As a political candidate, she came across as vague and undefined. You have to play the game.
Trump is performing in a fashion that maximizes his capacity to invade the electorate's minds, minimizing true, articulate criticism. Harris is placing herself in enemy territory, maximizing her time in the firing line and all this is doing is crippling her standing amongst undecided voters, allowing Trump to draw back points in the polls. Losing electoral ground this swiftly has swung the momentum towards the Republican side, and the Harris team’s campaigning has assuredly contributed to rising Democratic anxiety.
The obvious conclusion is the adoption of a pro-publicity approach. It is not a sophisticated direction, but the current strategy has proven self-detrimental. The Harris approach has been to enter the lion's den without the ability to slay the lion, and her campaign is living with the scars of such overconfidence. The current political landscape is one in which stunts hold more power than statements; Harris has little time to heed these lessons or suffer the electoral consequences.
Image: New York Times/AP Pic
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