David Axelrod, an adviser to former President Barack Obama, argued that Vice President Kamala Harris is positioning herself as a change candidate in her campaign to win the support of voters who are “fed up” with President Donald Trump's reelection.
Axelrod and CNN host John Berman discussed each side's efforts to appeal to voters in the tight race on their Tuesday morning show, with Axelrod saying Harris is trying to reposition herself while portraying her opponent, former President Trump, as “more of an incumbent.”
“Well, I think that's been the case from the moment she emerged as a candidate, John, she's the turning point candidate in this campaign, at least so far,” he argued.
“There's a fatigue with Trump and Trumpism and a desire to bring an end to this whole era, quite frankly, and she has pitched herself as a way to do that, a vehicle to do that,” he continued.
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA – AUGUST 29: Democratic presidential candidate and US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at EnMarket Arena on August 29, 2024 in Savannah, Georgia. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Ben Stiller calls Kamala Harris the 'change' candidate: 'It's literally a Biden-Harris administration'
“I think that was a powerful driver of momentum that carried her into the campaign,” he said.
A new poll suggests the vice president has managed to close an enthusiasm gap that plagued Democrats when Biden was the front-runner.
A USA Today/Suffolk University poll showed Harris leading Trump among likely voters 48% to 43%, within the poll's margin of error.
A recent Fox News poll also found that Sun Belt voters rate Harris on par with Trump in “bringing needed change” (49% for Harris, 48% for Trump).
Democratic presidential candidates Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden arrive at a campaign event at the IBEW Local 5 union hall in Pittsburgh on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin) (AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin)
“I think Trump changed during the race with Biden, and then all of a sudden, Trump isn't a change,” Axelrod argued on CNN.
“When people start yelling, 'We're not turning back,' they're talking about Trump, so this is a problem for them,” he said of the Trump campaign.
Harris reiterated that message in her first interview with CNN's Dana Bash last week, saying she wanted to “put an end to the last decade that I believe has been antithetical to the spirit of our country.”
When Bash pointed out that Harris served as vice president for three and a half years of those years, Harris countered that she meant moving away from this “era,” seemingly referring to the political rise of Donald Trump that began in 2015.
Trump Spocks Challenge CNN Host to “Change” Candidate: Harris is in the White House “Right Now”
LA CROSSE, WISCONSIN – AUGUST 29: Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump greets supporters after a town hall campaign event on August 29, 2024 in La Crosse, Wisconsin. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Axelrod argued that Harris had effectively rejected attempts by the Trump campaign to further tie her to Biden.
“They've tried to link her to Biden. I think it was a reasonable strategy to try to make her a surrogate for Biden, but she's created her own identity in this race and that's a problem for the Trump campaign,” he told CNN.
Caroline Leavitt, national spokesperson for Trump 2024, told CNN last week that the campaign's goal is to make voters aware of Harris' role in the failure of the Biden administration.
“In the weeks leading up to Election Day, our goal is to make sure voters understand that Kamala Harris is not the candidate of change or the candidate of the future,” Trump 2024 national spokesperson told CNN's Berman. “Kamala Harris is now the vice president of the United States, and she bears all the responsibility for the failures of the last four years.”
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The campaign also argues that Trump has a history of doing well in the polls.
“At this point in the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump was trailing Hillary Clinton by an average of 5.9 points. At this point in the 2020 campaign, he was trailing Joe Biden by 6.9 points,” senior adviser Corey Lewandowski noted in an interview on “Fox News Sunday” this weekend.
Fox News' Anders Hagstrom, Brian Flood and David Latz contributed to this report.
