In the wake of her sudden coronation by the Democratic Party, Kamala Harris has been viewed as something of a political juggernaut, aided by friendly journalists and uncritical commentators.
However, now that Labor Day is in the rearview mirror, and Americans are turning their attention more seriously toward the election, Harris is seeking to paint herself as an underdog in the fight against former President Donald Trump, as NBC News reports.
Despite her prior stated conviction of an all but certain Joe Biden victory in November, Harris campaign chief Jen O'Malley Dillon is taking a new tack with regard to the new Democratic Party standard-bearer by painting Harris as the underdog.
To some, who have seen the fawning coverage and successful influx of campaign donations Harris has continued to receive, the characterization seems rather inept.
Among those who share that view is Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, who forcefully took issue what that assertion.
“Kamala Harris is not the underdog, nor is she the candidate of the future,” Leavitt declared.
She went on, “Kamala Harris is the vice president of the United States right now,” alluding to the built-in advantage someone in the Democrat's position naturally brings to bear.
For his part, Trump has put a largely positive spin on his standing in the race to date, telling a recent crowd in Pennsylvania that things are looking good for a win.
“We don't need votes. We've got more votes than anybody's ever had,” he stated.
Trump went on, “We should win in a blowout. We should blow them out. You know, we win the state, we win the whole thing,” the former president claimed.
With that said, Leavitt noted that nothing will be left to chance in the run-up to November, saying, “We are confident President Trump has the momentum in this race, but no one is sitting back at Trump headquarters and chillin' right now. We are working around the clock to win this election.”
Some view Harris' eagerness to portray herself as something of an underdog as a way to lower – and then perhaps exceed -- expectations for her performance in Tuesday's debate against Trump.
The vice president's history of verbal gaffes, word salad responses, and a general unwillingness to answer substantive questions on policy has set the bar fairly low in terms of what voters expect to see from her on the debate stage.
Even so, a strong showing for Harris is crucial if she is to reclaim the momentum she saw in the early days of her campaign, particularly considering that noted political prognosticator Nate Silver recently suggested that the vice president's chances of winning the all-important Electoral College vote appear to be dwindling by the day, indicating that perhaps there really is something to the “underdog” talk after all.
