Kamala Harris‘s transition to likely Democratic presidential nominee is forcing MAGA and Donald Trump to rewrite their campaign playbooks — and early ad drops reveal two different lines of attack that Republicans are pursuing against Harris.
The first big change is that instead of simply asserting that incumbent Joe Biden is too old to be president, the GOP is now out of the gate saying that Harris knew Biden was unfit to be president — and that she worked to cover up the fact.
Biden’s famously woeful debate performance is given as evidence of his diminished mental acuity, with Harris’s proximity to Biden implicating her in the GOP’s cover-up narrative. One Congressman is trying to impeach Harris on the charge.
[NOTE: A counter-example can be found in Biden’s subsequent live Q&A after hosting the NATO summit earlier this month, in which the President exhibited presence of mind and command of geopolitical detail. Biden’s 2024 State of the Union address, which was energetic to the point that Republicans and Trump accused the President in the aftermath of using pharmaceuticals, is another counter to the idea that Harris participated in a conspiracy about Biden’s fitness for office.]
Below is one of the first attack ads Republicans have launched against Harris accusing the Vice President of a conspiracy to hide information about Biden’s health.
Kamala was in on it. She covered up Joe's obvious mental decline. Kamala knew Joe couldn't do the job, so she did it. Look what she got done: a border invasion, runaway inflation, the American Dream dead. pic.twitter.com/H3Oyew0ug9
— MAGA War Room (@MAGAIncWarRoom) July 21, 2024
[NOTE: It’s not clear how effectively — or for how long — this line of attack will play to those who aren’t already conspiracy theory consumers. Biden’s Oval Office speech explaining his decision to step aside is likely to influence its staying power one way or another.]
The second attack strategy is featured in a new ad that isn’t a presidential campaign ad, but is instead a part of Republican Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dave McCormick‘s campaign against incumbent Democratic Senator Bob Casey, who swiftly endorsed Harris.
McCormick’s ad attempts to paint Harris as what Donald Trump often calls a “radical leftist” and to malign Casey by association with the Vice President.
Bob Casey just endorsed the most liberal nominee in U.S. history. pic.twitter.com/J0V6W7CUlh
— Dave McCormick (@DaveMcCormickPA) July 23, 2024
The ad calls Harris the “most liberal nominee ever” — an assignation Harris and Democrats will counter with Harris’s background as a prosecutor and California Attorney General. Shown above, the ad features brief clips packaged together in a political version of TikTok Edits, with a manipulated version of Harris’s laugh as a backing track.
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