In a Monday call with reporters, Trump spokesman Jason Miller revealed some of Trump's strategy for Tuesday's debate. As might be expected, the key strategy is: lie.
According to Miller, Trump’s big pitch isn’t just to tie Democratic nominee Kamala Harris to the policies implemented under President Joe Biden. It’s not even to suggest that Harris has been advising Biden on those policies. Instead, Trump intends to push the idea that Harris has been secretly running the government all along; that this is actually the “Harris/Biden administration.”
It’s a strategy that may appeal to Trump’s base, who are already big believers in secret governments, and is the focus of at least one new Trump ad. But it’s likely to leave most Americans scratching their heads.
And if Trump wants to fight on this ground, expect Harris to be very prepared.
The idea that Trump would try to tie Harris to the actions of the Biden administration isn’t exactly shocking. Trump has been repeating that claim in rallies and speeches. Trump has also made claims about Harris being responsible for immigration issues because she was “the border czar.” She wasn’t. And isn’t.
But the idea that Harris “owns” issues from the Afghanistan withdrawal to the economy because she was somehow pulling Biden’s strings takes Trump’s claims to a new level.
Meanwhile, Miller was also happy to pile on one of the other lies that Trump has been making: that Harris is “very stupid” and that debate prep is just too much for her.
“These binders of stats and details,” Miller told reporters on the Monday call. “She has no idea what any of this is. No idea whatsoever.”
Miller also made it clear that Trump intends to hit Harris over a statement made during her most recent interview that “her values haven’t changed.” Republicans want to use that statement as a pretense that Harris still owns every policy she ever held and that any change in her policy is hypocrisy. But values and policy are not the same thing. Harris is likely to make that clear.
Harris has recently moved away from Biden, including differences on tax policies. The debate could offer her a chance to draw more of a line between her proposed policies and those of Biden, while still allowing Harris to voice her pride over the accomplishments of the last four years.
A recent The New York Times poll shows voters wanting a change from Biden’s policies and still trusting Trump more on issues related to the economy. That might seem surprising considering the mess Trump made of everything in his final year. But it’s not all that shocking considering how the media has spent years underplaying every bit of good news and trumpeting concerns about a recession that never arrived.
If Trump really pushes Harris about being in charge of the Biden administration, she might just surprise him … and brag about it.
As Bloomberg reports, anyone connected to the accomplishments of this administration has many sources of pride: record household wealth, record health care coverage, a record run of job creation, and a trillion dollars invested in moving America to renewable energy sources.
Meanwhile, investments made possible by the Infrastructure Act and Inflation Reduction Act are creating jobs and growing the economy in so many red districts that Republicans are finding it hard to gather support to move away from these “Harris/Biden” policies.
Trump will spend the night trying to blame Harris for the “failures” of the Biden administration. But nearly four years in, those failures look like more jobs, more wealth, more health care, more energy, and a better environment. Harris is certainly going to make clear those areas where she differs from Biden. But if Trump insists that she owns these accomplishments, it’s unlikely she’s going to argue too hard. Then again, with Trump, you never know truly what to expect.
Show Kamala Harris how much you blame her for rising wealth, more jobs, and a better environment by sending $10 to the Harris/Walz campaign.
