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LA CROSSE, Wis. — Joy Olson wore her “Make America Joyful Again” button with pride on Thursday as she queued for a rally featuring Kamala Harris. However, the enthusiastic 70-year-old retiree is not just looking for pleasant remarks; she wants the Democratic nominee to confront Republican Donald Trump directly.
“I’m tired of her being so nice sometimes,” Olson expressed, deeming Trump “evil and scary.” She hopes that Harris will boldly challenge him during the campaign.
As the race reaches its final stretch, Harris is indeed intensifying her critiques of Trump. With less than three weeks remaining until Election Day, she aims to present a grim picture of America should Trump regain the presidency. Her campaign has incorporated video clips of Trump’s more troubling comments to emphasize her points at rallies.
“Donald Trump is increasingly unstable and unhinged and will stop at nothing to claim unchecked power for himself,” Harris asserted during her La Crosse appearance.
This approach diverges significantly from the earlier excitement that her nomination brought to the Democratic ticket over the summer. Now, with enthusiasm waning, Harris is relying on pointed attacks against Trump, attempting to galvanize her supporters and attract undecided voters in tightly contested battleground states.
During her rally in La Crosse, she addressed Trump’s recent claim that the insurrection on January 6, 2021, was “a day of love.” Harris highlighted the violence faced by law enforcement that day and the attempted obstruction of the electoral vote count confirming President Joe Biden’s victory. “The American people are exhausted with his gaslighting. Enough! We are ready to turn the page!” she declared.
Just a week earlier, Harris encouraged her rally audience to view footage of Trump calling for the identification of an “enemy within” the nation. In a town hall on the radio, she did not hesitate to state that Trump presents a threat of fascism in the country.
Since stepping into the lead role of the Democratic ticket in late July, Harris and her team have faced the challenge of both familiarizing voters with her and transforming the campaign into a referendum on the former president, particularly after a challenging debate left Democrats on the defensive.
In the early days of her campaign, she attempted to balance these goals by sharing her background as a prosecutor and her personal story, which laid out her vision for governance. While she has a history of criticizing Trump, her recent statements have taken on a heightened sense of urgency and intensity.
“He wants to send the military after American citizens. He wants to prevent women from making decisions about their own bodies,” Harris emphasized in La Crosse. “He threatens fundamental freedoms and rights like the freedom to vote, safety from gun violence, access to clean air and water, and the freedom to love who you love openly and proudly.”
This shift in strategy echoes advice given to Biden aides a year earlier, aimed at mobilizing support for his reelection campaign. Now, his chosen successor is following suit.
“People go negative because it works,” stated Republican strategist Brendan Buck, a former aide to GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan. “Harris needed to present herself as a viable alternative, but her coalition will likely lean more toward an anti-Trump sentiment than anything particularly pro-Harris.”
Some of her attacks on Trump also aim to attract Republican voters to switch allegiance, as demonstrated by her recent rally in Pennsylvania, where anti-Trump Republican figures were present. Her team sees an opportunity to broaden her support among voters who have previously rejected Trump.
Former Biden communications director Kate Bedingfield mentioned that criticizing Trump might resonate with independent and moderate Republican voters, allowing Harris to steer the conversation towards defending American democracy—a domain where she has greater advantage—while moving away from issues like immigration and the economy, where Republicans often excel.
“Highlighting the stakes of this election in these final weeks could motivate voters who are otherwise fatigued by the political process,” she noted.
At Harris’ rally in Green Bay, 76-year-old retired yacht builder Greg Swagel echoed the sentiment, affirming his approval of Harris adopting a more confrontational stance.
“She needs to put (Trump) in his place,” Swagel commented. “He tells lies and insults people. Just as long as she doesn’t lower herself to his level.”
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