Analyze Labor Day in the USA

Trump and Harris fight for the middle

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are moderating their political demands. This makes the direct duel between the two, who have never faced each other before, even more important.

Published today at 06:07

Donald Trump dances with co-founder Tiffany Justice at the conservative women’s group Moms for Liberty in Washington.

Photo: Mark Schiefelbein (AP Photo)

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Capital cities are often not the best place to feel the pulse of a country. This is especially true of Washington. The federal capital forms a strange bubble, neither north nor south, and certainly not west or inland.

There is one exception. The souvenir stands on the tourist strip between the Capitol and the Abraham Lincoln Memorial provide insight into the state of the nation. They reflect the wishes of the 26 million visitors, a sample wider than the basis of any election poll.

Suddenly it’s “Yes We Kam”

Now, before Labor Day, which marks the end of the US summer and opens the final sprint before election day every four years, the souvenir stands are pointing to a change. Until now, Donald Trump was the undisputed hero of the range. The name of the Republican presidential candidate shines on red baseball caps, flags say “Trump 2024”, and T-shirts say “Fight” above Trump’s bloody face after the assassination attempt.

But now there are suddenly Kamala Harris merchandise hanging there: “For the People,” “Yes We Kam.” The Democrat is putting pressure on the Republican. Both have recently moved politically toward the center in order to woo the undecided, who are likely to make the difference. They are also trying to demotivate their opponents so that they stay at home on election day.

Trump suddenly made an effort to reach out to women

The election campaign is becoming even more confusing. Trump is doing his best to provoke, but he is suddenly also trying to appeal to women. He has recently spoken out against a ban on abortion after the sixth week, even though he made it possible with his judge appointments. He will even make artificial insemination free of charge, even though his party is demanding restrictions.

Harris, once a left-wing immigration politician, is now promoting stricter border protection, which Trump prevented, although he is calling for a tougher immigration policy. The Democrat will also build more houses with tax deductions for construction companies in order to defeat the real estate mogul Trump. And she wants open microphones at the TV debate against Trump, who supports this while his team is against it, although they had a different opinion during the debate against Joe Biden.

The general confusion benefits Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris is likely to benefit from the general confusion. The blurring of political dividing lines reinforces the tendency that this election is not about substance but about character. In the duel between a former prosecutor and a convicted criminal, Trump has lost the poll lead he held against Biden.

Harris is running a clever campaign, avoiding marketing herself as the first woman, the first black and Asian candidate in order to avoid triggering backlash. Although she has been part of the government for four years, she is managing to present herself as the candidate of change that so many are longing for. In doing so, she is mobilizing young people and women like no candidate since Barack Obama.

So far, Harris has managed to make Trump’s provocations fall flat and make him seem like a relic of the past. But she is far from winning. Next week will be the first debate between the two, who have never met face to face. This final spurt will be more exciting than any before.

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This continues until the US election

2 September: The hot phase of the election campaign begins on Labor Day. The highlights were traditionally the three TV debates between the presidential candidates. This year, only two are planned. The first took place before Labor Day, between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Biden’s appearance was a failure, he lost the support of his party and withdrew his candidacy.

10 September: The second presidential debate is scheduled to take place at ABC News’ studios in Philadelphia, which will be the first between Republican Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate.

October 1: Vice presidential candidates JD Vance of the Republicans and Tim Walz of the Democrats meet for a debate at CBS in New York.

5 November: On election day, traditionally a Tuesday, a total of 538 electoral votes are up for grabs. Whoever gets 270 of them becomes President of the United States. In addition to the President, all 435 members of the House of Representatives and 34 Senators, one third of the US Senate, are up for election. In addition, gubernatorial and other elections and votes are held in various states.

You can find our complete coverage of the US elections here.

Fabian Fellmann has been writing about political topics for more than 20 years. Since summer 2021, the political scientist has been reporting as a US correspondent from Washington, DC. Before that, he worked as a Brussels and Federal Parliament correspondent for various newspaper editorial offices.More info@fabian_fellmann

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topicnews · September 2, 2024

Analyze Labor Day in the USA

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