WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senator Kamala Harris’ selection of Joe Biden as his running mate provides a brand new goal for President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign, which is struggling to find an effective offensive line against his Democratic rival.
PHOTO PHOTO: Senator Kamala Harris, Joe Biden’s selection as his running mate, appears on stage at a First in the West Event at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, November 17, 2019. REUTERS / Carlo Allegri
But going to Harris comes with its own risks and challenges.
Within minutes of Biden’s announcement on Tuesday, Trump had called Harris “disgusting,” “horrible” and “disrespectful,” while his campaign portrayed her as an extremist who would drag moderate Biden to the left.
But there is currently little evidence to suggest that the public considers Harris, a former California prime minister and attorney general with strong ties to the Democratic establishment, to be a radical.
In fact, she’s more liked by Republicans than Biden, according to a Reuters / Ipsos poll conducted on August 10-11, just before she was announced as Biden’s choice. The poll showed that 21% of registered Republican voters had a favorable impression of Harris, compared to 13% who had a similarly favorable view of Biden.
More on Trump: Attacks that may appear sexist or racist against the first Black woman on a major party ticket in U.S. history could complicate his campaign’s effort to strengthen his status among suburban women, a critical ballot he returned must win to be re-elected, say strategists from both sides.
Already, leading Democratic women have warned against a replay of Trump’s 2016 match-up with then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, who was subject to gender-based criticism as the first female presidential candidate. Trump also called Clinton “disgusting” and accused her of playing the “women’s card.”
“If he wants to use misogynistic forces against Kamala Harris, I think that’s deeply challenging for him,” said Neera Tanden, a top supporter of Clinton during her presidential bid. “He has no room for error in prominent women.”
According to the latest Reuters / Ipsos poll, Biden had a 10 percentage point advantage over women and a 6-point lead among those living in the suburbs. Overall, Biden leads Trump by 11 points, less than three months to go before Nov. 3.
Sarah Longwell, a Republican pollster, said Trump’s advisers probably wanted the president, known for his fierce and bombastic rhetoric against his political rivals, to be more cautious about attacks on Harris, unless they had reason to believe suburban women did not. distrust or were not fun.
“But there’s still no evidence that they do not like it when they are not mistrusted,” Longwell said. “Actually, I think she’s going to play pretty well with suburban women.”
Look for an edge
Trump’s position with the public has hardly faded amid the coronavirus pandemic, the economic downturn and nationwide protests over police brutality and racial injustice.
Trump and his Republican allies quickly launched a barrage of attacks on Harris moments after the pick was announced.
The campaign called for a conference call with reporters to address their early positions during their own White House bid, supporting progressive policies such as the Green New Deal, a sweeping clean energy plan, and Medicare for All, a single -payer, government sponsored health care plan. Biden did not support either proposal.
Harris shifted several of her policies during the campaign in an effort to get to the center. But the Trump campaign made it clear that it would try to portray her as an unrepentant leftist, while suggesting that the 77-year-old Biden could leave office soon and be replaced by her.
At the same time, the campaign said it would also seek to highlight criticism of Harris from the African-American community over its criminal justice system, and hopes to drive a wedge between it and the Democratic Party’s loyal constituency.
Privately, however, Trump’s aides acknowledged that Harris would be a formidable opponent. One senior White House official said Harris’ pick means Vice President Mike Pence would have a tough debate in October.
Trump acknowledged at his White House news conference Harris’ aggressive questioning of then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh at his 2018 confirmation hearing.
“She was annoying at a level that was just awful the way she’s treated now – Justice Kavanaugh, and I will not soon forget that,” Trump said.
The immediate challenge for Harris and Biden will, in fact, be to put out all the bristle fires among progressives that call for Biden to choose a more openly progressive candidate, said Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democratic activists. [L1N2FD2IE]
During her presidential bid, Harris was sharply criticized by progressives who considered her legal record to be too supportive of law enforcement. She has since become a vocal supporter of progressive reform of criminal justice.
Rashad Robinson, executive director of Color of Change, an advocacy group that has partnered with Harris on police reform efforts, said the nominee should push her progressive critics to win them over.
“These are questions they need to answer in advance,” Robinson said. ‘She needs to answer questions about her evolution. Talk about the challenges she has and talk about where she has moved. ”
Additional Reporting by Joseph Ax, Trevor Hunnicutt, Chris Kahn, Jeff Mason, and John Whitesides; Edited by Soyoung Kim, Robert Birsel
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