Behind the Curtain: The Harris plan to redefine herself

Harris won't say it this bluntly in public, but her advisers do so privately: She wants to break with Biden on issues on which he's unpopular. First up: rising prices. This is part of a highly choreographed effort to define herself — in some cases, redefine herself — as a different kind of Democrat.

• On Friday in Raleigh, she'll outline plans to lower costs of health care, housing and food for middle-class consumers, and tell how she'll "take on corporate price-gouging."

Harris was jazzed by a Financial Times poll this week showing her more trusted than former President Trump on the economy.

• Now, she wants to be not-Biden on inflation — arguably the biggest domestic topic of this campaign — by proposing clearer, more urgent solutions.

The big picture: Harris doesn't want to be completely defined by the Biden-Harris record, advisers tell us. And she needs some distance: 80% of U.S. adults in Gallup polling say they're dissatisfied with the country's direction.

• She also wants a clean break from Biden's often-backward-looking lens on democracy and other issues. Harris, a California native who came up through Golden State politics, wants to carve out her own innovation agenda and will brand it with a generic, look-ahead spin: "Win the future."
• Tomorrow afternoon, Harris will appear with Biden in Prince George's County, Md., at an event on lowering costs for Americans — their first joint trip since he bowed out of the race 24 days ago.

A big part of the Harris plan is to unapologetically change some of her more liberal positions, and claim her White House experience helped change her mind. Yes, when she was running for president in 2019, she was against fracking, for decriminalizing illegal border crossings, and for single-payer health care (Medicare for All).

• No more. She has backed off all three.
• She's also fine plucking popular Trump ideas, notably "no tax on tips" for service and hospitality workers — popular in Nevada, one of the biggest swing states.

A big and fair question is: What does Harris really believe?

• Her bet: whatever she says in the small, three-month window of her snap campaign will be what sticks. Harris knows most people know little about her. So she believes she can define herself, even if it includes flip-flops and co-opts.
• "She can't break the glass ceiling with a weak foundation," Donna Brazile, a former Democratic National Committee chairwoman who has known Harris since the vice president was an up-and-coming D.A. in San Francisco. "She knows she has to be tough."

What we're hearing: We're told Harris wants to be seen as the change agent in the race.

• Her emphasis on the cost of groceries is meant to signal she can better relate to typical households than Trump.

Look for Harris to emphasize her record as a prosecutor, including settlements she won in price-fixing cases when she was California attorney general.

• In a later installment of her economic agenda, she'll present plans to help entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Context: Harris has said at rallies that fighting inflation will be a Day 1 priority, and that strengthening the middle class would be a defining goal of her presidency.

• She often says prices are too high. Biden has taken on shrinkflation and hidden "junk fees" that plague consumers and travelers. Just this week, the White House unveiled plans to "Lower Costs for Families and Fight Corporate Rip-Offs."

The backstory: In ads and her stump speeches, Harris emphasizes her middle-class roots — the daughter of a working mother who didn't own a home until Harris was in high school.

• A new Harris video notes she worked at a McDonald's while she attended Howard University.

Ashley Etienne, Harris' first communications director as vice president, said Harris was the first person she heard talking about the sandwich generation — younger adults caring for both kids and aging parents.

• "I realized that was me," Etienne said. "She has the ability to see people who've been lost by the system."

Reality check: The knock on Harris by some former staffers is she can overthink things to the point of exhaustion — and confusion.

• So it's not always clear what core, unbendable beliefs animate her. No doubt, she was a liberal in the Senate and during her failed 2019 presidential campaign. But her new persona and policy shifts suggest a repositioning to the center of the modern Democratic Party. Basically, she's a Biden Democrat — even if she hopes to downplay that in some areas.

Go deeper: The Harris cabinet.