In recent weeks, Vice President Kamala Harris and fellow members of the Democratic Party have increasingly been calling former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance, “weird.”
This new line of attack has been criticized by Republicans. However, analysts have claimed that this political strategy is working.
A Long-Term Political Strategy
This recent strategy — the idea to call Harris’ political opponents “weird” — has been a long time coming.
In Edward-Isaac Dovere’s 2021 book, he wrote that Harris thought of the idea when first considering her 2018 presidential bid. When asked by her aides what she would do if Trump acted oddly to her — as many say he did when debating Hillary Clinton in 2016 — Harris responded, “I’d turn around and say, ‘Why are you being so weird? What’s wrong with you?’”
A Change in Attack
Now that Harris is the presumptive presidential nominee for the Democratic Party, her campaign has often called Trump, Vance, and other Republicans “weird.”
This is a massive change in strategy from what was seen in just the last few months when President Joe Biden was still running on the ticket.
When Republicans Are Called Weird
Harris and other Democrats have increasingly been calling conservatives weird whenever they say anything involving women, abortion, or other issues.
For example, many have called Vance weird after he said that political leaders who do not have biological children cannot lead, as they “don’t really have a direct stake” in the U.S.
Walz Calls Out Republicans
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz — a potential Vice President candidate for Harris — has made headlines after calling Trump and Vance weird.
Last week, he said the two were “just weird,” particularly when talking about how often Trump brings up fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter.
Harris Campaign Continues Calling Conservatives Weird
Meanwhile, the Harris campaign has repeatedly called Republicans weird. After Trump appeared on Fox News, the campaign released a statement.
This statement included a bulleted list of takeaways from his appearance, one of which read, “Trump is old and quite weird?”
Harris Makes These Claims Herself
During a fundraiser, Harris also called out Trump and Vance herself, saying they were weird. She began by attacking Trump’s “wild lies about my record and some of what he and his running mate are saying, it is just plain weird.”
Harris also added, “I mean that’s the box you put that in, right?”
Analysts Say This Strategy Is Working
Republicans have become furious with the “weird” strategy that Harris and other Democrats have adopted — and this might be because it’s working.
Many political analysts have already come out to explain that this political strategy could be what the Democratic Party needs to swing voters over to their side this November.
A Concise Take
David Karpf, a George Washington University strategic communication professor, explained that this concise take is exactly what the Harris campaign needs.
“I don’t know who came up with the message, but I salute them,” Karpf said.
Republicans Are Upset
Many Republican politicians and leaders have grown increasingly upset about this strategy, which has only allowed the strategy itself to work even better for Harris.
Karpf explained, “It frustrates opponents, leading them to further amplify it through off-balance responses.”
Trump and Vance Can’t Combat This Strategy
Karpf further added that Trump and Vance can’t seem to find a way to effectively combat this strategy.
“So far, at least, Trump-Vance has been incapable of finding an effective response,” Karpf said.
Taking a Republican Tactic?
Though Republicans like Vance and Donald Trump Jr. have attempted to call Democrats and Harris weird, it seemingly hasn’t taken off as well as the Democratic Party’s strategy has.
Some political analysts have also claimed that this new strategy could have been co-opted by the Democrats and taken from the Republicans — similarly to how the Democrats made Harris’ viral “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?” a rallying cry of support for themselves.
