The Associated Press | Jacquelyn Martin and Frank Franklin II
Vice President Harris insists she’s the underdog in the presidential race. This week, she’s campaigning that way.
Underdogs, when hemmed in, take risks. And sitting for a Fox News interview Wednesday for the first time as a candidate is an offensive play by the Democratic nominee, who decided to be heard on former President Trump’s safe-place turf. Not long ago, Harris sidestepped major media interviews while trying to goad her opponent into another televised debate. Trump said no.
The Democratic nominee is heeding advice to do “more of everything” to try to persuade undecided voters who may lean Republican but don’t favor Trump, and independent voters who say they know more about the ex-president than the vice president.
Harris’s Fox appearance with anchor Bret Baier is a bit of counterprogramming because Trump also will be heard on Fox during a town hall event airing Wednesday, to be taped in swing state Georgia today with a female-only audience.
He’ll also appear Wednesday during a live Univision town hall event from Miami, where immigration, the economy and the federal response to natural disasters are expected to be issues Trump will raise to pummel his opponent. The former president is on track to defeat Harris in Florida, according to polls.
Battleground-state surveys are essentially tied but suggest Trump is weathering the Harris campaign’s warnings to voters that he’s unfit to return to the presidency. Each nominee is making aggressive plays to win in the Electoral College, especially in “blue wall” states Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
Monday’s Trump’s town hall event in Oaks, Pa., ended with 39 minutes of music and bopping on stage by the former president following interruptions because of medical emergencies involving attendees. “Who the hell wants to hear questions, right?” he said.
Harris will campaign in the state today.
▪ NPR: In Erie, Pa., Monday, Harris brought a bit of Trump into her rally to try to show him as “unhinged.”
▪ The Hill: Trump edges out Harris with early voters in battleground states, polling suggests. ▪ The Hill’s Niall Stanage, The Memo: Harris will campaign multiple times this week in Michigan, the epicenter of anger over Israel, Gaza and Lebanon.
