Republican strategists are feeling increasingly confident about former President Donald Trump’s chances of returning to the White House. They believe that as the campaign season progresses, voters will harden their opinions, leading to a decline in support for Vice President Kamala Harris after her initial boost on replacing President Joe Biden and receiving the DNC’s nomination.
James Blair, the Trump campaign’s political director, told the Associated Press that they are feeling positive about their chances as they move past Labor Day. However, he also acknowledged that there is still a lot of work to be done. Republican strategist Jason Roe agreed with this sentiment, stating that the energy behind Harris’s campaign would likely decline post-Labor Day.
Democrats acknowledge the difficulty Kamala Harris faces in preventing Trump from completing what they believe could be the greatest political comeback in modern American history. David Plouffe, a senior adviser to Harris, told the Associated Press that there is no easy scenario for beating Donald Trump and winning 270 electoral votes.
Polling shows that Trump and Harris are currently tied in both national and swing state polls. However, when it comes to specific issues, Trump holds a significant lead, suggesting that Harris’s performance in these polls may be more of a “sugar high” than reflective of the political reality regarding who voters trust to end the nation’s managed decline.
Republicans believe that Harris’s debate performance will also benefit Trump, as he is likely to attack her on her radical Senate and vice presidential policy records. For instance, Harris supported reparations during the 2020 campaign but has remained quiet about whether she supports a package of reparations bills in California.
Another challenge for Harris is that she cannot campaign on reducing soaring costs, the number one issue for 2024, without undermining the Biden-Harris administration’s policies. However, she must tout these policies to validate her record and candidacy. This conundrum was evident during CNN’s Dana Bash’s first pre-taped interview with Harris last week, where the vice president tried to own both the Biden-Harris administration’s economic record and blame it on Trump at the same time. The resulting contradiction put her in a difficult position, forcing her to validate her candidacy while undermining her record and her candidacy.