Exclusive: Top Harris adviser mocks Trump’s “really lazy schedule"
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photo: Tierney L. Cross/Getty Images
David Plouffe, a senior adviser for Kamala Harris' presidential campaign, said during an Axios House event on Tuesday that the vice president will campaign "much more vigorously" than former President Trump.
Why it matters: Plouffe, who served as former President Obama's campaign manager in 2008, told Axios' Mike Allen that Trump "campaigned hard" in 2016 and "was out there a lot" in 2020, but he's got a "really lazy schedule" in 2024.
Driving the news: Plouffe said that Harris and Gov. Tim Walz are going to campaign aggressively in the key battlegrounds during the crucial stretch of the election. He told Axios on Tuesday that the Sun Belt battlegrounds are back in play for Democrats.
- "I think candidate-wise Kamala Harris is reaching people, she's communicating with them in a way that clearly they are finding to be effective, and Donald Trump's not," he said.
- "A campaign, yes it's ads, yes it's field operation, all important, but the most important thing in a presidential campaign is the candidate."
- "We talk about [Trump] like a child," Plouffe said.
The other side: "David Plouffe is a has-been that nobody should ever listen to because he has some of the worst instincts in politics," Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement.
- "The fact is that President Trump has outworked every single person throughout this election cycle, and has held more rallies, fundraisers, and political events than anyone else."
The big picture: Democrats throughout the 2024 cycle have aggressively tried to contrast their platform with Trump, particularly on issues like democracy and protecting reproductive rights.
Go deeper: Exclusive: Top Harris adviser says Sun Belt's back in play
Editor's note: This article has been updated to include a statement by the Trump campaign.
