WASHINGTON — At the top his first speech as her running mate, the governor of Minnesota. Tim Walz turned to the vice president Kamala Harris and declared, “Thank you for bringing back the joy.” The next day, Harris went a step further, calling the Democratic ticket “joyful warriors.”
Compare that to the former president Donald TrumpWHO opened a press conference a few days later at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, saying, “There are many bad things to come” and predicting that the U.S. could plunge into an economic depression not seen since the dark days of 1929, or even another world war.
“I think our country is in the most dangerous position it has ever been in, both economically and security-wise,” Trump said Thursday.
Democrats are playing up their brighter outlook, promoting the idea that voters can be inspired to support someone, not just cast their ballots against the other side. Trump’s campaign claims that their candidate reflects the bleak mood of the country, and rejects the idea that a growing contrast in tone and optimism will define the presidency.
According to a US government report, two-thirds of Americans said they feel very or somewhat pessimistic about the state of politics. poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research last month. About 7 in 10 said things in the country are going in the wrong direction.
Jason Miller, a senior adviser to the former president, said people don’t care about “vibe checks.”
“That doesn’t mean gas, food or housing will get cheaper,” Miller said.
Yet Harris’s commitment to the opposite approach is evident in her decision to choose Walz. Her personal story revolves around her role as coach of a high school football team that had gone winless a few years earlier but secured a state championship in 1999.
The Minnesota governor’s tireless positivity should give his supporters a new boost of energy and maintain the momentum Harris has built since President Harris’ death. Joe Biden — facing mounting pressure from within his own party and increasingly pessimistic views about his chances in November — stepped aside and signed his vice president.
Walz spent his first week as Harris’s running mate traveling to swing states with Harris and underscored that point during a meeting in Eau Claire, Wisconsincelebrating what he described as “the ability to talk about what can be good.”
“This idea of caring for our neighbor and kindness, and a helping hand if someone needs it. And just the sense that people are going through things and being there for them if they need it, that’s who we are,” he said. “It’s not about mocking. It’s not about name calling.”
Biden often ended his speeches by saying he had never been more optimistic. But he built his now-stalled reelection bid around branding Trump as existential threat to democracyThe president made dire predictions about the former president, suggesting he would dismantle the country’s founding principles if he were to retake the White House.
Harris’ campaign continues to build on many of the same themes, portraying Trump as a threat to democracy and warning that he will take action draconian limits on abortion and votes and that he will follow Project2025a plan championed by leading conservatives to reform large parts of the federal government.
And despite Walz’s insistence that smiles were more powerful than insults, he and Harris have continued their side of the charges, criticizing Trump’s conviction in New York on 34 felony counts in hush money case and that he was found liable for fraudulent trading practices And sexual abuse before the civil court.
Yet, even before naming Walz as her running mate, Harris suggested that she help make politics fun again.
“We love our country. And I believe that the highest form of patriotism is to fight for the ideals of our country,” Harris declared in campaign speeches before choosing Walz. She now tells the crowd that she and her running mate “both believe in lifting people up, not tearing people down.”
Paula Montagna, who visited Harris and Walz at a rally outside Detroit last week, emphasized the change in message since Harris took over from Biden.
“Kamala is so positive, and it’s nice to hear positive instead of negative,” Montagna said.
Trump’s senior campaign advisers counter that the mood in the country is currently sour over the economy, the state of the U.S.-Mexico border and unrest in the Middle East and beyond. They see their candidate as a reflection of that reality, rather than what they see as a temporary exuberance galvanizing the Democratic base after months of discouragement about their ticket.
Trump has tried to exploit that with his repeated predictions of stock market crashes and war. His campaign appearances have included a long list of other warnings that have verged on the apocalyptic, saying that if he is not elected, “we will not have a country anymore,” that “the only thing standing between you and its destruction is me,” and that under a Harris administration “Social Security will buckle and collapse” and “the suburbs will be overrun with violent crime and barbaric foreign gangs.”
During his speech at the Republican Party convention last month, in which his advisers said Trump would look changed and more personable after survive an attempted murderThe former president initially struck a different tone.
He said early on that he had “a message of confidence, strength and hope” and that he wanted to “usher in a new era of security, prosperity and freedom for citizens of every race, religion, color and creed.”
But by the end of the ride, Trump was back to predicting doom, twice warning: “Bad things are going to happen.”
Senator from Ohio JD VanceTrump’s running mate, Vance, has been cheered on the right for being an aggressive fighter on the former president’s behalf, particularly in dealing with reporters.
“Right now, I’m angry about what Kamala Harris has done to this country and to America’s southern border,” Vance said at a campaign rally in Michigan. “And I think most people in our country can sometimes be carefree, sometimes enjoy things and turn on the news and recognize that what’s happening in this country is a disgrace.”
Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnellwho is not exactly known for his sunny disposition, expressed much the same opinion on Friday at a conservative conference in Atlanta, hosted by radio host Erick Erickson.
“The country is clearly in a bad mood,” McConnell said.
Trump supporters wait to see him at a meeting in Bozeman, Montanasaid they felt the former president’s campaign left them feeling positive, even though his message often did not.
“Just looking at the current state of the country, I don’t think Kamala Harris’ campaign is one of joy and hope. I think Trump’s campaign is,” said Alex Lustig, a 23-year-old from Billings, Montana.
Fred Scarlett, a 63-year-old retiree from Condon, Montana, said that “everyone understands that we should be here to support Trump because he has never let us down.”
“They’re shooting at him,” Scarlett said, “and he keeps shooting back.”
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Price reported from Palm Beach, Fla. Associated Press writers Bill Barrow in Atlanta, Matthew Brown in Bozeman, Montana, Joey Cappelletti in Detroit, Haven Daley in Glendale, Ariz., Linley Sanders in Washington and Mark Vancleave in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, contributed to this report.
