Caution is useless against Trump, who will do anything to win. That is why Harris, who is dazzling when just being herself, should go off-script more often.
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There are those in the media who think that Vice President Kamala Harris should do more interviews… simply because that’s what presidential candidates always do, and because major news outlets are entitled to these sit-downs.
That’s just silly.
She doesn’t owe them anything. Even eight years after Donald Trump burst onto the scene, the corporate media still hasn’t figured out how to properly cover a candidate who is both mentally ill and comically inept.
That being said, Harris should do more interviews… because she is at her best when she goes off-script.
With about six weeks to go, the state of the race is clear: Everybody knows who Donald Trump is, which means that the ceiling for his support is limited.
And, while Americans generally like Harris more, she still hasn’t properly introduced herself to many of them.
When she spoke from the heart, she was much more relatable than when she tried to make the question fit her prepared response instead of answering it.
So far, the key moments of her campaign were a well-coordinated roll-out after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, another boost when she chose the affable Tim Walz as her running mate, a solid convention, and a good debate performance.
Those were also the times when she dominated the headlines.
However, many Americans still don’t know much about Harris… and they won’t learn anything new if she keeps relying on her stump speech and rehearsed talking points, especially when asked policy questions or when she has to defend the record of the Biden administration.
That’s a mistake.
By only doing scripted events, she doesn’t generate news. That allows Trump to dominate news cycles and gives Republicans an opportunity to define her.
For better or for worse, voters see a lot more of Trump and his running mate, JD Vance. Often, that means for worse.
However, a strategy of “playing it safe” and “not being Trump” is risky. It certainly didn’t work out for Hillary Clinton in 2016.
It seems pretty clear that a majority of Americans would rather not elect Trump again. Voters are yearning for a sane alternative that they can embrace and feel comfortable with.
For Harris to be that alternative, she has to reassure them that she can make their lives better and handle key issues, especially immigration and the economy.
And that’s just not going to happen if she does the same speech over and over or tries to work a few rehearsed phrases into any answer she gives.
This was very apparent the two times she participated in high-profile events: the debate with Trump and an interview with the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) this week.
In both cases, when she spoke from the heart, she was much more relatable than when she tried to make the question fit her prepared response instead of answering it.
Harris does best when she can be on the attack.
Here she is on abortion during the debate:
You want to talk about, this is what people wanted? Pregnant women who want to carry a pregnancy to term suffering from a miscarriage, being denied care in an emergency room because the health care providers are afraid they might go to jail and she’s bleeding out in a car in the parking lot? She didn’t want that. Her husband didn’t want that. A 12- or 13-year-old survivor of incest being forced to carry a pregnancy to term? They don’t want that.
That’s a genuine answer.
Here’s another.This is from the NABJ when she talked about Springfield, OH, the lies Trump and Vance told about Haitian migrants there, the bomb threat to local schools, and the responsibility of leaders to use their voices responsibly (and we’ll quote the entire thing without cleaning it up or altering it in any way):
It’s a crying shame. I mean, my heart breaks for this community. There were children, elementary school children who it was school photo day. You remember what that’s like? Going to school on picture day? Who dressed up in their best, got all ready, knew what they were going to wear the night before and had to be evacuated. Children. Children. A whole community put in fear. And I’ll say a couple things about it. One, I learned a long time ago in my career, having a background as a prosecutor. When you have these positions, when you have that kind of microphone in front of you, you really ought to understand at a very deep level how much your words have meaning. I learned at a very young stage of my career that the meaning of my words could impact whether somebody was free or in prison.
As attorney general of California, fifth-largest economy in the world, I was acutely aware that my words could move markets. When you are bestowed with a microphone that is that big, there is a profound responsibility that comes with that. That is an extension of what should not be lost in this moment. This concept of the public trust to then understand what the public trust means, it means that you have been invested with trust to be responsible in the way you use your words, much less how you conduct yourself. And especially when you have been and then seek to be again, president of the United States of America.
That’s a great answer.
Harris draws a contrast to Trump in every way. First of all, her response is coherent. She can string sentences together in a way the former president simply can’t.
More importantly, she is showing real passion and highlights what sets her apart from Trump. She reminds voters of the divisiveness that the former president brings to every issue (and that Americans are sick of).
Then, however, instead of showing how she is different, she starts telling the audience… and that is less effective.
And look, I said it not very far from here the other day at the debate. This is not new. This is not new in terms of these tropes. This is not new in terms of where it’s coming from and whether it is refusing to rent to people, rent to Black families, whether it is taking out a full-page ad in The New York Times against five innocent Black and Latino teenagers, the Central Park Five, calling for their execution, whether it is referring to the first Black president of the United States with a lie, birther lies…
This is simply less authentic and less persuasive (and that becomes even more apparent in the video).
It doesn’t matter what kind of racist things Trump did years ago, it matters what he is doing now. In addition, this part sounded rehearsed.
For Harris to win the presidency, and we mean truly win it, the country needs to see more of the former and less of the latter.
Yes, Harris will be forced to answer tough questions, but, by now, she should have answers to them. In addition, voters deserve to hear her plan. It’s also fine to be humble and admit to shortcomings, which offers yet another contrast to Trump.
And, sure, she will stumble, but not as much as the former president, who is unable to respond coherently to just about any question.
If nothing else, Harris speaking off the cuff will highlight the difference between her and an aging, feeble-minded, deranged Trump. A few months ago, when Biden was running, this contrast benefitted the GOP. Now it’s the other way around.
The same is true for her running mate.
Americans simply like Walz… in the same way they don’t like Vance.
So why is Vance out there every day, answering questions, while the Minnesota governor is not?
If anything, this overly cautious approach will hurt the Democratic ticket much more than any unartful answer they give ever could.
Again, playing it safe may be a path to a close victory.
But that’s not enough this year. As we noted recently, Trump has to be thoroughly defeated to avoid a (much worse) repeat of 2020.
And for that, Harris has to enter Election Day as the favorite in the race, which means that she has to seize the initiative now and make this choice a no-brainer.
