US presidential candidate Kamala Harris appears to be taking inspiration from her rival Donald Trump and focusing on evoking emotions rather than explaining policy during her election campaign – and hopes her appeal to “joy” will help beat Republicans at their own game.
Since taking over the top job on the Democratic ticket from President Joe Biden in July, Harris has had to ramp up her campaign with just months until the November election.
With a few exceptions, he has avoided press conferences, interviews and lengthy discussions on policy. Instead, his official coronation at the Democratic National Convention focused on one broad theme: “happiness.”
And it appears this vibe-heavy approach is working.
According to the latest polls, while Biden is trailing Trump, Harris has rejoined the race, and both candidates are giving a tough fight in six key electoral states.
Experts say the shift toward a primarily emotional message is an effective political strategy.
“We like to think we think like scientists, carefully and objectively evaluating the evidence and facts in front of us,” said Jennifer Mercieca, a communications professor at Texas A&M University.
“But we really think like lawyers, and build a case for our preferred position.”
He said the appeal to so-called emotional truths — things that “feel true,” even if they aren’t based on empirical evidence — is powerful.
“When speakers try to persuade based on emotional truths, it becomes harder to hold them accountable, because it is hard to argue against emotion.”
Moving Away From Biden
The shift in Biden’s campaign — which presented an argument based on portraying Trump as a “threat to democracy” — is striking.
After his unelection, a New York Times/Siena poll found that “anger and frustration are declining among voters in both parties, while happiness has risen.”
Mashael Malik, an assistant professor of government at Harvard University, said Harris’s shift could be explained by “exhaustion” caused by negative emotions.
“I think fear has completely failed to motivate a wide range of potential Democratic voters, many of whom are tired of the negativity that pervades the news cycle,” he said.
“Messages about happiness seem designed to alleviate this exhaustion and offer an alternative to fear.”
Furthermore, they argue, it would give Harris a way to differentiate herself from her current boss, Biden.
This becomes even more difficult when we look deeper into the issues rather than the environment.
On US support for Israel’s war in Gaza, for example, Harris has mostly tried to satisfy Democratic critics through a change in tone over the massive loss of civilian Palestinian life. However, this is unlikely to heal small but significant rifts in the party.
Trump’s appeal
Republican candidate Trump has for years experimented with whipping up emotions, with his speeches often heavy on rhetoric and short on facts — or filled with outright fantasy.
In this campaign, the former president has focused on an “invasion” of immigrants into the US. He has called American cities “war zones.”
In a recent election speech in Michigan, he said, “Kamala Harris will bring crime, chaos, destruction and death.”
In an Aug. 27 interview with talk show host Phil McGraw, Trump repeated a line from his speech: “If she wins, they will destroy our country.”
The apocalyptic message may be confusing, but it reflects sentiments that Trump’s supporters believe to be true.
Malik said Trump’s appeal to pride and resentment “is very similar to that of populist leaders around the world, including not just in Europe but also in Latin America and South Asia.”
“It’s a familiar story,” she said. “And it usually doesn’t end well.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
