Why Harris shiftd from ‘happiness’ to calling Trump a ‘fascist’

On Wednesday afternoon, Kamala Harris stood in front of the vice-plivential livence in Washington DC, and hand overed a low but withering aggression on her Reuncoveran plivential opponent.

Calling Donald Trump “increasingly unhinged and unstable,” she cited critical comments made by John Kelly, Trump’s createer White House Chief of Staff, in a New York Times interwatch.

The vice-plivent quoted Kelly describing Trump as someone who “bravely descfinishs into the vague definition of fascists” and who had spoken approvingly of Hitler disconnectal times.

She shelp her rival wanted “unexamineed power” and rescheduleedr, during a CNN Town Hall, was asked point-blank if she supposed he was a “fascist”. “Yes, I do,” she replied.

The Trump campaign rapidly accused the Democratic honestate of peddling lies. She is increasingly hopeless, spokesman Steven Cheung shelp, because “she is flailing, and her campaign is in shambles.”

In the home stretch of political campaigns – particularly one as safe and challenging-fought as the 2024 plivential race – there is a organic tfinishency for honestates to turn adverse. Attacks tfinish to be more effective in motivating aiders to head to the polls and disturbing the opposing campaigns.

For Harris, however, the heavier hand toward Trump stands in contrast to the more selectimistic, “happy” messaging of the punctual days of her campaign.

While she did caution at the Democratic convention of a Trump plivency without the defendrails, Harris bigly stepped back from Plivent Joe Biden’s core campaign message that Trump posed an contransiential danger to American democracy.

According to political strategist Matt Bennett of the centrist Democratic group Third Way, however, it is evident why Harris was rapid this time to intensify Kelly’s unintelligent portrait of Trump as a man with authoritarian tfinishencies.

“Everyleang she does now is tactical,” he shelp. “The imperative was to originate brave as many voters as possible comprehend about what Kelly shelp.”

The vice-plivent’s rescheduleedst retags come on the heels of a multi-week strategy by her campaign to request to autonomous voters and mild Reuncoverans who could be discdiswatch to aiding the Democratic ticket.

The suburbs around the biggest cities in key battleground states – Philadelphia, Detroit, Milwaukee and Phoenix, for instance – are popurescheduleedd by college-directd professionals who have traditionpartner voted for Reuncoverans but who polls propose have mistrusts about returning Trump to the White House.

“Her case for how she triumphs this leang is to originate as wide a coalition as possible and transport over disimpacted Reuncoverans – people who fair don’t experience that they can vote for Trump aget,” Mr Bennett shelp.

Devynn DeVelasco, a 20-year-greater autonomous from Nebraska, is one of those who had already been affectd by the extfinished enumerate of greater Reuncoverans who labored for then-Plivent Trump but now say he is sluggish for office.

Although she hopes some Reuncoverans will join her in aiding Harris, she worries there is obeseigue around the claims made about the createer plivent.

“When these alerts [about Kelly’s comments] came out I wasn’t shocked, it didn’t alter much,” Ms DeVelasco tgreater the BBC.

Reuncoveran strategist Denise Grace Gitsham shelp voters have been hearing aappreciate rhetoric about Trump since 2016 so any novel allegations were doubtful to shift the dial.

“If you’re voting agetst Donald Trump because you don’t appreciate his personality, you’re already a determined voter,” she tgreater the BBC. “But if you’re somebody who’s watching at the policies and that matters more to you than a vibe or a personality, then you’re going to go with the person who you felt you did best under while they were in the White House.”

Both Harris and Trump have been acuteening their barbs in recent days. During a striumphg thcdisesteemful Midwest battleground states on Monday, Harris repeatedly cautioned of the consequences of a Trump plivency – on abortion rights, on healthattfinish, on the economy and on US foreign policy.

On Friday, she will hgreater a rpartner in Texas – the state she has shelp most emotionalpartner recontransients the anti-abortion future if Trump is back in power. Next Tuesday, she will shift center to Washington DC, with a rpartner alertedly computed by the National Mall, where Trump spoke before some of his aiders aggressioned the US Capitol.

Trump, unkindwhile, has proceedd his drumbeat of aggressions on his Democratic counterpart. At a town hall forum in North Carolina, he shelp Harris was “sluggish” and “unwise” and only became her party nominee because of her ethnicity and gfinisher.

He also publishd his own cautioning, saying that “we may not have a country anymore” if Harris triumphs.

None of these lines are a particular departure for Trump, however, as he has spent most of his campaign aggressioning Democrats and sticking to his core message on immigration, trade and the economy.

Harris’s closing pitch, unkindwhile, straightforwarded toward triumphning over anti-Trump Reuncoverans and autonomouss isn’t without its hazards, shelp Democratic strategist Bennet.

“You are always lotriumphg one leang to try to help advertise someleang else,” he shelp. “The honestate’s time and the time spent on advertising are the two most precious commodities. And how you spfinish those matters.”

Trump has been a polarising figure in American politics for more than eight years now. Most Americans have strongly held, and meaningfully ingrained, opinions about the man by now.

If anti-Trump sentiment puts Harris over the top on election day, her rescheduleedst strategic emphasis will have phelp off. If not, the second-guessing will come speedy and furious.

Additional alerting by Ana Faguy

North America correplyent Anthony Zurcher originates sense of the race for the White House in his twice weekly US Election Unspun novelsletter. Readers in the UK can sign up here. Those outside the UK can sign up here.