Harris tweaks strategy to call out Trump as a threat

• Harris initially tacked away from Biden's strategy after she replaced him as the Democratic nominee in July, casting Trump as a buffoon — an "unserious" person whose presence in the Oval Office would have serious consequences.
• Instead, she focused the early days of her historically short campaign around freedom and change.

But recently Harris has countered Trump's increasingly dark, grievance-filled rhetoric with warnings of what could happen if he's elected — a move that some former Biden aides say sounds like their own strategy.

• As polls show the race tightening, Harris and her campaign are taking more risks than they did in her first two months as the nominee, when she largely avoided interviews and unscripted moments.
• She's venturing into Trump territory by sitting for an interview with Fox News' Bret Baier tonight, and could join Joe Rogan's podcast later in the week.
• It's all part of an effort to win over undecided voters, disaffected Republicans and men, as polls show a historic gender gap with women moving toward Democrats and men toward Republicans.

Zoom in: Harris' team has always said that she's the underdog in the race, but now she's campaigning like she's behind.

• Last week, her media schedule picked up noticeably.
• This week, it's a combination of offense and defense: Tonight's foray on Fox follows an appearance last night on the "Charlamagne Tha God" radio show, where she appealed directly to Black men at a time when polls suggest she's underperforming Biden's 2020 support.
• "I am going to win. I am going to win, but it's tight," she told Charlemagne last night. "I need to earn every vote, which is why I am here having this candid conversation with you and your listeners."

Zoom out: Harris is still scouring the swing states for undecided voters. She's also increasingly questioning Trump's mental and physical fitness.

• After a Trump town hall in Pennsylvania on Monday devolved into a dance party in which Trump danced stiffly on stage for more than a half-hour, Harris reposted her team's X post saying that he "appears lost, confused" with the comment: "Hope he's okay."

Trump, meanwhile, continues to rally his supporters and sit for TV interviews, including a confrontational one yesterday with Bloomberg News.

• Democrats are increasingly concerned that Harris is still neck-and-neck with Trump in public polls, with some swing state surveys giving Trump an edge and others putting Harris slightly ahead.
• Many senior Democratic leaders are still scarred by the public polling misses in the last two presidential contests. In 2016 and 2020, surveys had the Democratic candidate leading by a much greater percentage than they wound up receiving on Election Day.
• Biden, for example, was up by 10 points in an NBC survey in October 2020. He won the national vote by 4.5 points.
• "This thing's very close. It's a margin-of-error race," Harris adviser David Plouffe told "Pod Save America" over the weekend.

Go deeper: Speaking to Black voters on Charlemagne's show, Harris touted her record on reducing childhood poverty and reforming criminal justice.

• "I was the most progressive prosecutor in California on marijuana," Harris, a former San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general.
• "You have two choices," Harris said of herself and Trump. "Two very different visions."
• "I thought it was about fascism," Charlemagne interjected. "Why can't we just say that?"
• "Yes, we can say that," Harris said.
• "You know what he says he'll do? Terminate the Constitution," Harris added, a reference to Trump's past suggestions for dealing with his allegations of election fraud.