PublishedSeptember 7, 2024, 09:41
US Presidential Election“There is joy”: how Harris took Trump at his own game
By betting on emotion over reason, the candidate’s early campaign strategy proves effective.
Harris has closed the gap that Biden faced in polls against Trump.
AFP
By orchestrating her early campaign amidst an anthem to “joy,” Kamala Harris sought to outplay her opponent Donald Trump at his own game: prioritizing the emotion of a message over the explanation of a program.
Less than four months: that’s the time that the Vice President had before the presidential election on November 5 when President Joe Biden withdrew his candidacy. She had to hit the “fast forward” button in both speech and method: little to no press conferences, discussions or lengthy exchanges about her program, but rather a message of “joy” conveyed abundantly, which gave her crowning at the Democratic convention in late August in Chicago a festive air, reminiscent of a popular festival, a fair, and sometimes even a nightclub.
And it worked
Harris has closed the gap that Biden faced in the polls, and candidates are now neck and neck in six states that will be crucial for the election, according to polls. Experts say that this appeal to emotion over reason has proven to be an effective strategy.
“People believe they think like scientists, weighing the facts at their disposal, when in fact they think like lawyers trying to defend their preferences,” says Jennifer Mercieca, a communications professor at Texas A&M University. “And when speakers rely on affect, it’s harder to hold them accountable for something because it’s difficult to argue against an emotion,” she adds. The appeal to a sentiment that sounds “true,” even if not grounded in factual evidence, is powerful, she summarizes.
A different approach
The difference with Joe Biden’s campaign, which repeatedly harped on the argument of the threat to democracy that Trump would represent, is striking.
A New York Times/Siena poll states that “anger and resignation have decreased among voters on both sides” since Biden’s withdrawal. “Fear was not really motivating a large number of potential Democratic voters, many of whom were exhausted by the negativity that had taken over the news cycle, thinks Mashail Malik from Harvard University.
According to her, Harris’s message about “joy” gave them a positive “alternative,” while providing the Vice President a way to distinguish herself from her current boss. However, this may be less true on complex issues, such as American support for the war that Israel is waging in Gaza, which divides the Democratic Party. Harris has sought to appease critics by changing her tone regarding the massive death toll among Palestinians, without convincing them at this stage.
“A well-known story”
Donald Trump has been playing on the emotions of voters for years, with speeches often rich in rhetoric and light on facts, sometimes peppered with fictional elements. Like when he speaks of an “invasion” of migrants into the United States and large cities turned into “war zones.” He recently claimed that his rival would sow “chaos, destruction, and death.” The apocalyptic message may not approach the truth, but it evokes feelings that Trump supporters consider real.
According to Ms. Malik, Trump’s appeals to pride and resentment are “very similar to those of populist leaders around the world, from Europe to Latin America to South Asia.” “It’s a well-known story,” she notes. “And it usually doesn’t end well.”
(afp)