Taunting Trump: Harris campaign's sneer tactics
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When former President Trump suggested he might back out of the Sept. 10 debate, the Harris campaign posted sound effects of squawking, whining chickens, layered over video of Trump speaking.
- Another tweet featured a flock of chicken emojis.
Why it matters: The same Democratic digital team in Wilmington, Delaware, has pivoted from the stuffier, decorous Biden for President campaign to a saucier, more ruthless Harris for President campaign.
The big picture: Trump has always been the taunter — "Sleepy Joe," "Crooked Hillary," "Little Marco," "Low-Energy Jeb," "Meatball Ron." Now he's the taunted.
- It's another dimension of Vice President Harris' "happy warrior" approach to a campaign that's sure to get uglier this fall.
Between the lines: Top Trump advisers tell me they expect he'll debate — both because neither side can afford to be seen as hiding, and because Trump will relish the stage.
- But Monday's widespread coverage of the backstage fight over the "muted mics" issue meant Harris was continuing to control the campaign conversation as she roared out of Chicago into her first post-convention week.
The other side: When I asked the Trump campaign about Harris' mocking posts, communications director Steven Cheung replied:
"Acting like whiny schoolchildren is not a political strategy, but it is a coping mechanism for the Kamala campaign who knows they have a weak candidate incapable of being authentic. If anyone thinks that using emojis is some cutting-edge message technique, they are severely out of touch with reality and the seriousness of the challenges Americans face after a disastrous Harris-Biden administration."
