Prosecutor vs. criminal, Harris’ strategy to challenge a Trump who wants to debate now

Vice President and Democratic candidate, Kamala Harriswho has been a prosecutor for much of his life, became the first former president in US history to be convicted of a crime less than two months ago.

It’s the contrast Harris’ campaign is seeking to highlight to put Trump on the defensive and redirect attention to his legal troubles, which came to a head in May when he was convicted of 34 criminal counts of falsifying business records to conceal an alleged relationship with actress Stormy Daniels.

Analyst José Parra, in statements to EFE, described this strategy as “very smart”, arguing that the key to any campaign is to establish differences with the opponent, the dichotomy being “prosecutor vs criminal“one of the most significant between Harris and Trump.

Another notable contrast is age. Republicans had used this factor to attack Joe Biden, who at 81 is the oldest president in American history. However, this tactic could now backfire on Trump, who at 78 has become the oldest candidate, compared to Harris, who is 59.

For now, the Democratic campaign has made clear that its plan is to make the most of Harris’ experience as a prosecutor.

Harris herself has already shown that this will be her strategy during the speeches she has given in recent days, the first on Monday at what until recently was Biden’s campaign headquarters in Wilmington (Delaware) and, the following day, at a high school in the key state of Wisconsin, which was attended by more than 3,000 people.

On both occasions, Harris recalled her more than two-decade career as a prosecutor, taking on abusers, scammers and cheaters, to harshly attack Trump.

Harris began her career as a prosecutor in 1990 in Alameda County, California, and was later selected to work in the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, where she handled cases including child sexual assault, homicide and robbery.

She was later appointed California attorney general, a position she held for six years, before being elected to the Senate in 2016, the same election that brought Trump to the White House.

In the Senate, Harris quickly distinguished herself with her pointed questioning of members of the Trump administration. One of the most notable exchanges was when she grilled then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions during a congressional hearing, rapidly firing off question after question.

“I can’t answer that fast. It makes me nervous.“A bewildered Sessions said then.

Trump, by contrast, is embroiled in several lawsuits, including charges in Georgia and Washington DC that he tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election in which he lost to Biden and another case in Florida over mishandling of classified documents, although a judge recently ruled that it should be shelved.

Trump has made it clear that one of his main lines of attack against Harris will be to portray her as too progressive or argue that she has been “soft” on criminals during her career, using the Republican narrative that crime has increased in recent years, even though FBI data shows otherwise.

Specifically, official FBI statistics show that, on average, violent crime decreased significantly in the United States in 2023 and in the first quarter of 2024, although there were increases in some specific communities.

Anticipating those attacks, Harris’s narrative “fiscal” and Trump “criminal“could be especially effective in attracting centrist, independent and moderate voters who are concerned about crime,” said Parra, who was an adviser to the late Harry Reid, former Senate Democratic leader.

Ironically, Harris’s profile as a prosecutor was one of her biggest weaknesses in the Democratic primaries for the 2020 elections, in which Biden was selected as the candidate. At that time, the progressive sectors of the party, which advocated for important reforms to the criminal justice system, were not willing to support a former prosecutor.

Now, the landscape is completely different, and with an opponent mired in legal trouble, Harris’s experience in the judicial field could be one of her greatest strengths.

Trump willing to debate Harris (more than once)

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said he is open to debating his likely Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris, but suggested he wanted a network other than ABC News to host the forum.

“I would like to do it. I think it is important.“Trump said on a call with reporters Tuesday.“Actually, I would be willing to participate in more than one debate.”

Trump was scheduled to debate President Joe Biden — before Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris — at a September event hosted by ABC News.

A representative for Harris’ campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump said that “is not enthusiastic” with ABC hosting the event, calling the media “fake news” but stopped short of saying he would not participate. Trump has previously indicated he would prefer the conservative television network Fox News to host the event.

The June 27 debate between Biden, 81, and Trump, 78, was one of the most pivotal events of the 2024 presidential campaign. Biden’s shaky performance fueled party-wide concerns about his age and mental acuity, leading to a weekslong pressure campaign to get him to step down as the Democratic nominee. Biden dropped out of the race on Sunday.

The rules for the June debate were also a source of tension. The Biden campaign outlined strict terms for answering questions, including firm time limits and microphones being turned off after the candidate’s speaking period is over to avoid interruptions.

For decades, the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates has controlled affairs. Both campaigns objected to its scheduling, which had timed events much closer to the Nov. 5 election. Instead, the candidates agreed to participate in audience-less debates organized by networks.

With information from EFE and Bloomberg