Will Trump change his campaign strategy with Harris in the final stretch?

VOV.VN - According to many observers, personal attacks have become Mr. Trump's "trademark" throughout his three presidential campaigns. However, those attacks have lost their effectiveness after the Democratic Party replaced its leader, forcing Mr. Trump to change his tactics in confronting Ms. Harris.

Next week, Mr. Trump's campaign schedule is packed with events in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin - important "blue states" that hold the key to the November election. According to CNN, this is considered an effort by the Republican Party to turn the tide when the race is almost at the finish line and Ms. Kamala Harris is still in the "upper hand" in most rankings. Mr. Trump's campaign schedule has been adjusted after the success of the Democratic National Convention last week. Many observers say that Ms. Harris's continuously increasing position and influence after this event is threatening Mr. Trump's ability to return to the White House. Of course, the former President needs to increase his public presence to regain attention; but the bigger question is: Will Mr. Trump change his approach to voters to suit the times?

Mr. Donald Trump (left) and Ms. Kamala Harris (right). Photo: Getty

Trump forced to change?

Mr Trump's campaign team and loyal supporters are trying to persuade him to pursue a more serious campaign in the coming period.

Last weekend, on CNN's "State of the Union," Sen. Lindsey Graham suggested that the Democrats' message of optimism and hope from the recent National Convention had opened up an opportunity for Trump to change. "The Democrats talk about hope and optimism, but they don't know that it doesn't exist in the real world. The world is in a difficult situation. Your utility bills and housing costs are going to continue to go up until you have a leader who is more realistic," Graham told CNN's Jake Tapper. Graham's comments were seen as an implicit comparison between the two bipartisan agendas, while also highlighting the former president's pragmatic approach. This approach helped Trump win the 2016 election by tapping into voters’ anger at the political elite, the media, and the hot button issues at home. According to many analysts, Trump’s controversial statements often work because “they feel genuine and not as politically charged” as other traditional candidates. However, against his new Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris, Trump’s tactics seem to have lost their effectiveness, and many people think he is just “rambling and unfocused.” “Trump has built his political career around his image of white masculinity. In the past, this was considered a strength, but it is unclear whether that image still works,” said Professor Dan Cassino of Fairleigh Dickinson University, adding that Trump should be “more subtle and skillful in his campaign.” Trump campaign experts point out that Harris’s campaign strategy is clear: a black woman championing issues that voters care about most, including rising food prices and tensions at the southern border. Meanwhile, the former White House boss’s agenda has many bright spots, but they have been “overshadowed” by “controversial statements on social platforms, many of which are personal attacks.”

Mr. Trump continues to "gloss over" the past

Former President Trump did not seem convinced by his advisers' demands to change his campaign tactics. At a press conference on August 15, when asked about criticism from some Republicans that he needed to be more disciplined and stop personally attacking his opponent, Mr. Trump said: "In terms of personal attacks, I'm very angry with her for what she's done to the country. I think I have the right to make personal attacks," The Hill quoted Mr. Trump as saying.

Americans go to the polls in 2016. Photo: AP

In front of the media, the former White House boss said he would run the election campaign "his way"; thereby emphasizing the achievements during his presidency based on comparisons with the current administration. Mr. Trump repeatedly said that the war in Ukraine would not have had a chance to happen if he were still the US President, and declared that he would end the war within 24 hours of his re-election. At the previous debate night with his opponent Joe Biden, Mr. Trump declared that the US had the strongest economy in the world during his 4 years in power. However, CNN provided specific figures showing that the former President's statement was just "empty statements" due to high inflation due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ms. Harris looks to the future

“We will not go back to Trump,” Harris declared in her 37-minute speech at the Democratic National Convention. The shortest speech in convention history focused on clarifying her priorities and plans if she became president, drawing a contrast with Trump. Contrary to Graham’s argument that America was “not ready for joy,” Harris expressed her desire for her term to bring hope to voters and that hope was not frivolous. The vice president said that “the opponents in this race are trying to make things worse,” but that “freedom, compassion, dignity, fairness and endless possibilities” would make America better. CNN political analyst Stephen Collinson said Harris’s forward-looking strategy was an attempt to extend the political honeymoon. That will be much more difficult as the vice president puts herself in a position of improvisation in her debate with Trump in early September, a far cry from the scripted campaign events she has held so far. The confrontation between Trump and Harris is focused on the goal of winning every vote in important battleground states. The Hill newspaper cited data from a survey released by Fairleigh Dickinson University last week showing that Democratic candidate Kamala Harris received 50% support from survey participants nationwide. Meanwhile, her opponent, former US President Donald Trump, received only 43%. "The statistics are showing that Ms. Harris's strategy is more effective than her opponent Trump. The outcome of the election is often decided in the final months, and this is also a short period of time for Mr. Trump to change his choice," Mr. Collinson said.

VOV.VN

Source: https://vov.vn/the-gioi/quan-sat/ong-trump-se-thay-doi-chien-thuat-tranh-cu-voi-ba-harris-vao-giai-doan-nuoc-rut-post1116891.vov