Riding the Crest of Success

Dismantling Donald Trump.

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The three weeks after Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race is in direct contrast to the three weeks prior as far as Democrats' prospects are concerned. Whereas there was a distinct feeling that the party was descending into chaos and that Biden’s chances of beating Trump were becoming increasingly improbable before his withdrawal, the mood has shifted diametrically in the opposite direction, with Kamala Harris not setting a foot wrong. Never before has there been such a swift change in American politics.

At each major decision point, Harris has managed to maintain an extraordinarily high level of momentum and enthusiasm, which continue to translate into cold, hard cash coming into the campaign’s coffers, setting records for small donor fundraising. This is much to the despair of the Republicans, who are trying to portray erroneously the increase in fundraising as a result of a few large corporate donors who will become beholden to the Democratic ticket.

Although Harris has been a key part of the outgoing Biden administration, she has been able to present herself as the candidate of change, which in itself is a remarkable feat.

Herein lies the basis of her recent success: the Republicans have been slow in defining Kamala Harris and are seemingly unable to find an effective line of attack. From the moment that Harris realised that she was in the running, she implemented an intense whirlwind of public meetings, taking to the Biden campaign in Wilmington Delaware the very next day after Biden’s withdrawal, talking to excited crowds on a daily basis and fine-tuning her message on the stump. Whilst talking to supporters at her first campaign rally in the important State of Wisconsin, Harris was explaining what it would be like if the Republicans were to end the Affordable Care Act as they have threatened to do and concluded her argument by saying “we’re not going back”. This simple phrase caught on immediately with the crowd who started to chant back “we’re not going back” and Harris had inadvertently stumbled on her first campaign slogan. A simple but powerful message on the back of a concrete example. An eminently relatable message that exemplifies the Harris approach: refusing to go back to Trump’s presidency and his policies.

 The first major decision Harris had to make was to choose a candidate for the VP slot on the Democratic ticket. The consensus belief was that she would choose a Democratic Governor from one of the battleground States, such as Mark Kelly from Arizona or Josh Shapiro from Pennsylvania. Shapiro seemed to be the most logical and plausible choice, as he would hopefully be able to help Harris win the 19 electoral votes from his State, considered to be a must-win.

Conventional wisdom pointed in this direction. But to much surprise, Harris chose instead the dark horse in the race, Governor Tim Walz from Minnesota, officially because she had “better chemistry” with him. The left-wing Governor from Minnesota has a successful record as Governor in Minnesota, passing progressive legislation in the State despite having a slim majority in the State legislature. During their first campaign together, it became clear that Tim Walz’s background as a regular, normal, American from the Midwest with rural ties and a history as a military veteran serving 24 years in the National Guard, a schoolteacher’s career and a football coach to boot, he presents as the perfect foil to JD Vance’s elitist profile.

Walz’s experience and ease of public speaking are also welcome additions to the campaign, making Harris and him relatable to the potential electorate. His off-the-cuff comment: “You know there’s something wrong with people when they talk about freedom: freedom to be in your bedroom, freedom to be in your exam room, freedom to tell your kids what they can read. That stuff is weird (…)[1]  This terminology became an internet sensation, with “weird” becoming the favourite anti-Trump word of the election.

 He went on to remind people that Minnesota was the third-happiest State in the Union and during his first campaign rally with Harris, he thanked her “for bringing back the joy”.[2]

This is not the first time in American politics that the notion of “Happy (or Joyful) Warriors” has been used. Another Minnesotan, Hubert Humphrey, used similar language in 1968, coincidentally when launching his campaign to replace the retired President Lyndon Johnson. History also notes that he lost this particular campaign, but the spirit of the times was markedly different. Anti-Vietnam War protests were taking place, Martin Luther King had been assassinated, riots were running amok throughout the country, and the economy was entering a depression.

The only person who believes that today’s America is in a worse state than in 1968 is Donald Trump. He famously referred to “American Carnage” in his 2017 Inaugural Address and continuously paints a dystopian picture of America to this day, promoting his well-known theme of the politics of fear. According to Trump, [3]“America is a failed nation,” “on the verge of World War Three,” and “a great depression.” “Violent crime is on the uprise”, and “over 20 million illegal immigrants” are invading the country, most of them from psychiatric wards and prisons.  

Notwithstanding the factual misrepresentations of such a vision, Trump's constant emphasis on negativity and a dark vision of America is consistent with an authoritarian play book. Society's need for security and protection is the source of the appeal for an authoritative leader, and for this appeal to work, the present day has to be portrayed as dark, dangerous, and insecure. The best solution therefore is to turn to a “saviour”, a leader who can lead the country back to safety and utopian “better” days. It is even better if you can add to the mix a well-identified, dehumanised enemy responsible for the country’s troubles, namely illegal immigrants.

As I have mentioned numerous times “authoritarianism” is, in fact, used today in American politics as a code word for “Fascism”. But let there be no doubt: Trump is of fascist ilk.

One of the main messages of Biden’s campaign was to “save the soul of the nation” and to “save democracy”. Whilst these are both eminently noble notions, they remained theoretical concepts to a large swath of the electorate, who failed to relate the concept of democracy to their everyday life and concerns. Introducing the concept of joy into the debate makes such an argument more palatable and relatable, as it is possible to offer an alternative to Trump’s end-of-the-world vision that is positive and joyous. Talking only about Fascism is not only “f…… boring” as mentioned by a recent article in Vanity Fair,[4] but also very depressing and inspires very negative feelings. Human nature is, by definition, attracted to more positive emotions and vibes. It doesn’t change the logic of the argument, but it radically changes the feelings and vibes thereof, thus becoming more appealing to potential voters.

If there is a first lesson to be learnt from this recent intense phase of the campaign, it is that the 2024 election is shaping up not only to be a policy-based election but a so-called “vibes election”. In this area, the Democrats have clearly taken the advantage. The “weird” epithet and related connotations have burst the Trump bubble of infallibility.

With the absence of Biden, Trump is confronted with a modern, much younger candidate and VP pick who brings much-needed renewed energy to the table and who can express matters in a more relatable and straightforward manner. The Middle America “Dad” philosophy also explodes the anti-establishment elitist coastal Democrats trope, which has always been at the centre of Trump’s political philosophy. Trump is no longer perceived as “the man of the people” and suddenly looks like the older, grumpy, angry, crazy uncle he is who is politely tolerated at Thanksgiving, no more, no less.

The secret of success in defeating Donald Trump is as follows: “In essence, just as Donald Tusk created a powerful new social movement in Poland, President Biden can firmly establish a long-lasting social movement in the US in favour of constitutional democracy”. It is much more difficult to run against a movement than a candidate.

The genius of Kamala Harris has been making such a movement relatable and likeable, “sexy” to use a more colloquial term. Fun, joy and happiness characterise this social movement that is growing day by day and that is inspiring people of all ages and backgrounds across the nation. Social media and Zoom calls are leading the way with “Black Women for Kamala” Zoom calls, inspiring “Black Men for Kamala”, then “White Dudes for Kamala”, and finally “Republicans for Kamala”, increasing the depth and breadth of the pro-democracy coalition.

The birth of a social and political movement is a rare phenomenon but necessary in times of acute political tensions. Kamala Harris is in the process of spearheading such a movement and has become herself a “femininomenon”. One must also give credit where credit is due. President Biden’s address to the nation on July 24th , when he came back to Washington DC after his covid isolation, set both the tone and the stage when he declared “America is going to have to choose between moving forward or backward, between hope and hate, between unity and division. We have to decide, do we still believe in honesty, decency, respect, freedom, justice and democracy? At this moment, we can see those we disagree with not as enemies, but as fellow Americans. Can we do that? Does character in public life still matter? (…) So, I’ve decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. That’s the best way to unite our nation. I know there is a time and a place for long years of experience in public life, but there’s also a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices, yes, younger voices, and that time and place is now.”[5]

 The emergence of Kamala Harris as a formidable opponent and candidate is the justification for the second edition of the present book in such a short time. To better reflect the major shift change underway in the campaign, it is only natural that the subtitle of the second edition is changed from “It’s Fascism, Stupid!” to “The Politics of Joy”.

Elections are about the future, about looking forward, not about looking back. Kamala Harris has become the standard-bearer for the pro-democracy movement initiated by Joe Biden and has given it substance, belief and relatability.

Donald Trump has been on the back foot ever since Kamala Harris started her campaign barely three weeks ago. His Achilles heel has always been dealing with strong women, and even more so when they are black, as illustrated by the women prosecutors who have fought against him in New York and in Georgia. Not all judges can be as pliable and amendable as the Trump nominated judge Eileen Cannon in Florida.

The dismantling of Donald Trump is underway, and the next step in the process is to permanently discredit the underlying belief system and values of Trumpism by focusing on the fundamental and glaring differences in the policies promoted by the two campaigns. The remaining 80 days or so of the campaign will allow the Democrats to do just that.

[1] Elise Taylor: “How “Weird” Became the Anti-Trump Term of the 2024 Election”, Vogue, August 15th, 2024, “www.vogue.com/article/how-weird-became-the-anti-trump-term-of-the-2024-election”

[2] Cathy Wurzer and Gracie Stockton: “Walz picks up Minnesota’s ‘politics of joy’ baton for Harris campaign, 2024 race”, MPR News, August 7, 2024, “www.mprnews.org/story/2024/08/07/walz-picks-up-minnesotas-politics-of-joy-baton-for-harris-campaign-2024-race”

[3] Stephen Collison: “Trump has the inklings of a plan to take on Harris, but he seems unable to implement it”, CNN, August 15th, 2024, “https://edition.cnn.com/2024/08/15/politics/trump-attacks-harris-analysis/index.html”

[4] Brian Stelter: “Sweet Emotion: How the Harris-Walz Ticket Wields Joy Against Donald Trump”, August 15, 2024, “www.vanityfair.com/news/story/harris-walz-ticket-joy-against-trump”

[5] “Transcript: Biden’s speech explaining why he withdrew from the 2024 presidential race”, AP News, July 24 , 2024, “https://apnews.com/article/biden-speech-transcript-campaign-withdrawal-432dc25a5af4ddebf75d73bfcc0fa72a”