Harris vs. Trump: A New Face-Off
Hi there, welcome back to Politics Explained! My name is Lily Scheckner, a new addition to the team, and I’m here with a short and sweet opinion piece about the current presidential race.
As we all know, there was a major concern weighing on the minds of Democratic voters in recent months. When the race was seemingly shaping up to be a battle between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump, this issue was everything. It invaded Twitter/X pages, TikTok videos, and news outlets from the right to the left. No one could ignore the truth that Biden is simply and unavoidably old. Nevermind the fact that Trump, at 78, is Biden’s junior by only three years.
Now, the tables have turned. With Biden taking a late yet lauded final bow, Vice-President Kamala Harris has taken over the Democratic nomination. Her jump into the race has caused an upset. She is two decades younger than Trump. Youth are rallying around her like never before, not least because of an incredibly successful social media team who rely on Chapell Roan and Charli XCX as the foundation of their strategy. Her running mate, Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota, has been affectionately dubbed “America’s Dad.” The polls suggest that she is gaining momentum and, even incrementally, edging out Trump in key states.
Meanwhile, and rather karmically, Trump has fallen victim to the very symptoms of aging that pushed Biden out of the presidential race. His recent speeches (or interviews with Elon Musk) verge on incomprehensible and often meet the 2-hour mark. He takes jabs at Kamala Harris’ name and intelligence but rarely makes the substantive points that his team hopes for. At a recent rally in North Carolina, Trump failed to present his plan for the economy and fell back on his oldest jabs (saying, for example, that Harris has “the laugh of a crazy person”).
Time will tell on how this strategy will play out for Trump; however, his current incoherence can’t be a good sign for winning over a more moderate demographic. And while Harris has the momentum now, if this election has taught us one thing: everything can change in an instant.
Now a summary of this past week in politics:
Some key dates for the Presidential Election
The Democratic National Convention is from August 19-22
The Trump vs. Harris debate is set for September 10th on ABC News
The Walz vs. Vance debate is set for October 1st on CBS
Earlier today, Kamala Harris had a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina. She mainly covered questions about the economy and what her plans were with it. She wants to create an “opportunity economy.”
Earlier this week, Donald Trump also had a rally in North Carolina but in Asheville. He also talked about the economy and the US-Mexico border. Trump stated that he wanted to cut energy prices and “unleash economic abundance.”
Today, we posted an interview with Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD) on our Instagram, so if you haven’t checked that out go do so! It was a fantastic experience being able to interview and learn all about him.
*Definition of the Week (Stagflation): Stagflation is an economic term that refers to when inflation is increasing, growth is slow, and unemployment is high.
