Kamala Harris must improve transparency in her election campaign

For more than a year, Democratic party bigwigs and strategists have concealed and suppressed President Biden’s true health from the public. A main reason for this was the fear that if Biden withdrew his candidacy, the nomination of Vice President Kamala Harris would be inevitable. They saw that as a greater risk to the election victory on November 5th than a decrepit Joe Biden who could no longer put his sentences together.

Brilliant start by the Vice President

It has now been almost ten weeks since Biden withdrew from the race for the White House, and Harris has impressively silenced her skeptics. She got started straight away with self-confidence, energy and surprising rhetorical and tactical skills. She said goodbye to Biden’s eternally dire warnings about a democracy-destroying Donald Trump. Instead, she relied on confidence, cheerfulness and teasing mockery. Thanks to strong campaign performances and a clear victory in the only television debate between the two candidates, she quickly made up for Joe Biden’s seemingly hopeless deficit.

But suddenly Harris can’t make any progress. Trump does make mistakes. He ignores the advice of his party strategists. He is not reaching out to the swing voters who are urgently needed. He does not act statesmanlike like a former president, but instead attacks his opponent with crude attacks and a concentrated load of sexist and racist sayings and lies. Trump remains the Trump who, after his triumph in 2016, only disappointed in all national elections.

And yet that doesn’t seem to be doing him any harm or benefiting Harris. In national polls, Trump’s approval rating remained unchanged at 46 and 48 percent. Harris, nineteen years his junior, overtook him, but so narrowly that that doesn’t mean much. The two are neck and neck in the crucial swing states. The race remains open – for weeks, without any significant change.

Harris’ campaign appears to have hit an invisible wall. Victory is within reach, but the vice president cannot break away decisively. This can’t just be Harris’ opponents. It would be high time for them to review their own strategy.

A core element of their communication strategy is to speak eloquently but say little. Kamala Harris is certainly not alone in this; the strategy is part of the repertoire of professional politicians. Donald Trump is also a master at simply asserting facts without justifying or elaborating on them. But Harris can afford this negligence less than her opponent.

Trump was president for four years. He has been dancing at the forefront of major national politics for eight years now. Like no other, he knows how to captivate the media. If he claims without justification that he will end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours or halve energy prices within 12 months, then that doesn’t bother his supporters. You have a picture of him. They draw this more from his first presidency than from his quick sayings in the current election campaign.

Harris remains the great unknown

Not so Harris. For millions of Americans, she is the great unknown who has only just emerged from President Biden’s shadow. She has skillfully created an image as a dynamic, optimistic candidate. But that’s not enough. How will a President Harris strengthen economic growth despite planned higher corporate taxes? How will she finance the promised higher social spending if a Republican-dominated Congress blocks the tax increases she is planning? How does it plan to force President Putin to the negotiating table or push back Iran’s murderous influence in the Middle East?

Harris has avoided press conferences and interviews since her hasty nomination. While Trump and J. D. Vance together answered questions from journalists at 70 interviews and press conferences, Harris and Walz together had 7. This week, the candidate Harris completed only her second television interview, and this one with a journalist who was well-disposed towards her on a left-liberal channel . Once again she left critical questions unanswered. She covered up gaps in her economic program with vague formulations such as the “dreams” of Americans, an “opportunity economy” or “fair contributions” to the tax burden.

Not only do voters have a right to know what Kamala Harris plans to do as president in key policy areas. This knowledge is a central part of every democracy. Harris is also taking a big risk. Ultimately, she doesn’t take voters seriously. This could cost them much-needed votes. Until election day, many Americans will not be sure whether their vote for a president who remains a mystery to them really corresponds to their interests. Some are likely to choose the better-known Trump and many will forego voting altogether. Harris cannot afford either in her narrow race to catch up.