Harris Aides Hopeful That Casting Trump as a Fascist Could Shift Election
www.nytimes.com
While still cautious, advisers and allies believe that casting Donald Trump as a fascist is working, and that their expansive ground game and appeals on abortion rights may carry the day.

While still cautious, advisers and allies believe that casting Donald Trump as a fascist is working, and that their expansive ground game and appeals on abortion rights may carry the day.

As the presidential contest enters the final sprint, campaign aides and allies close to Vice President Kamala Harris are growing cautiously optimistic about her chances of victory, saying the race is shifting in her favor.

Top Democratic strategists are increasingly hopeful that the campaign’s attempts to cast former President Donald J. Trump as a fascist — paired with an expansive battleground-state operation and strength among female voters still energized by the end of federal abortion rights — will carry Ms. Harris to a narrow triumph. Even some close to Mr. Trump worry that the push to label him a budding dictator who has praised Hitler could move small but potentially meaningful numbers of persuadable voters.

. . .

This article is based on interviews with more than two dozen political strategists, campaign aides, pollsters and others close to the two campaigns and candidates, many of whom insisted on anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

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    • Zaktor@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      13·
      2 months ago

      And these aids shouldn’t be putting this message out a week before the election. You’re perpetually in a game of inches where every vote could make the difference until the votes are counted and you’ve won. People can deal with being anxious for another week if it gets them to the polls.

      • Makeitstop@lemmy.worldEnglish
        16·
        2 months ago

        In general, people are more likely to vote when they perceive their side as being in the lead or more popular. It’s why there’s a long history of partisan polling, and why campaigns are eager to be seen as having momentum. It’s much better for them to say they are cautiously optimistic than it would be to say nothing and leave their supporters feeling demoralized by all the people saying the opposite.

        • Samvega@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
          4·
          2 months ago

          In general, people are more likely to vote when they perceive their side as being in the lead or more popular

          Ah, so voting really is a popularity contest. Sadly, bigotry seems to be at least somewhat popular.

        • Zaktor@sopuli.xyzEnglish
          4·
          2 months ago

          That’s kind of a circular hypothesis. People perceiving their side having more support could lead to them showing up and their side actually winning, or their side could have already had more support and been on the way to victory and people were simply able to observe reality.

          You don’t want to say “we’re fucked”, but you also don’t want to portray that everything’s going great so let’s focus on how we’re going to decorate the victory party. There’s a reason donation emails don’t highlight the polls where they’re up by 5 and instead find news that looks like effort is needed. Complacent people stop donating, stop volunteering, and may possibly think they don’t need to go through the hassle of standing in a long line to vote. People need to think it’s winnable, not that it’s won and ‘offficials within the Harris campaign … believe she remains in a solid position in the Northern “blue wall” states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin’ sounds concerningly safe for states that absolutely shouldn’t have any smidgen of complacency.

          • errer@lemmy.worldEnglish
            6·
            2 months ago

            I think this election is likely to be so close that a lot of the common sense logic goes out the window. Who knows what will motivate the 10,000 or so voters who will make the difference in the swing states that decide the election?

            • dragontamer@lemmy.worldEnglish
              2·
              2 months ago

              J Lo and Bad Bunny?

              At least I hope they helped. The Latino vote is stubbornly in the middle right now. Encouraging their vote looks like it’d help…

      • Samvega@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
        1·
        2 months ago

        And these aids shouldn’t be putting this message out a week before the election.

        I’m honestly shocked by this headline. Why the fuck would anyone communicate this?

        • Zaktor@sopuli.xyzEnglish
          3·
          2 months ago

          It really feels like people high up in political organizations are just uncontrollably gossipy and simply can’t restrain themselves even if it’s dangerously counterproductive. It’s all just a fun game.

    • Rogers
      10·
      2 months ago

      Most Trump voters I have come across don’t actually know what fascism is, so the insult dosnt work. They still believe they are voting for small government and lower taxes, they are in a delusion and they can’t believe otherwise regardless of what I would call facts.

      Trump voters are quite practiced at mentally cherry picking what their dogma is in their religion, so for them it’s not as much of a stretch.

  • kandoh@reddthat.com
    14·
    2 months ago

    I’m cautious and optimistic.

    The scary part is that if it is anything but a blow out for Harris there will absolutely be violence

    • Maxnmy's@lemmy.worldEnglish
      10·
      2 months ago

      Seeing how hard Trump’s campaign has been riling up supporters this final week, I think it’s fair to expect violence no matter how Harris wins. They are intentionally crafting a vibrant narrative that if they lose it’s because of illegal immigrants voting and destroyed ballots.