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July 24, 2024 - 10:30pm
Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the upcoming election has forced a change in strategy for Republicans, who are now focusing on Kamala Harris’ liberal record as opposed to the president’s advanced age. But there’s a tension on the Right between the desire to focus solely on her policies and the impulse to pursue personal attacks.
A new attack ad running in Pennsylvania provides a window into the next leg of the campaign. The ad, which ties Harris to a down-ballot Democrat in Pennsylvania, shows footage of her expressing support for a ban on fracking and offshore drilling, abolishing the federal immigration enforcement agency and reducing policing, alongside audio of her laughter.
Harris has historically taken a softer position on crime and policing than Biden, providing an opportunity to the GOP in a post-2020 political landscape in which crime is a salient issue for voters. She famously declined to seek the death penalty for a man who had murdered a police officer, has expressed openness to allowing incarcerated felons to vote and raised money for a bail fund that helped release convicts who were later charged with murder.
One report in the Atlantic claimed the Trump campaign was going to attack Harris for being too tough on crime, given her background as a prosecutor, though the Trump campaign has been publicly attempting to discredit the reporter behind this story. By all appearances, Republicans are all-in on painting Harris as soft on crime.
Immigration has been a key talking point of the Trump campaign, and that rhetoric has only heated up since Biden stepped down from the race. Biden’s decision to delegate immigration issues to Harris in 2021 has only added fuel to the fire, and Trump has already blamed Harris for “millions and millions of illegal aliens [invading] our country”.
The new Pennsylvania ad closely follows guidelines released by Senate Republicans earlier this week urging members to criticise the Vice President along the lines of immigration, energy and crime. But the guide also features a section titled “Weird,” mocking Harris’ laugh and some of her odd public comments, such as her love of Venn diagrams.
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SubscribeI’m not sure Trump can attack Harris for being a recipient of nepotism in regards to her ex boyfriend giving her a job when he has his kids dotted around in various jobs in the White House and is only where he is due to his fathers money.
The difference is he is good at being President.
Was he? How many of his policies promised on the campaign trail actually came to fruition?
One thing is clear, Trump would never win the Dem nomination, even if 80% of party members supported him. Our great and noble defenders of democracy will make sure the donor class gets its pick everytime.
Open border letting in illegal aliens and tons of fentanyl, causing 100,000 deaths per year, twice the total Viet Nam war deaths. Every year. More per year than the Civil War.
The individual people killed or raped by illegal immigrants.
Anything else they talk about weakens their cause.