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Republicans are becoming increasingly concerned that Donald Trump is spending more time airing personal grievances and obsessions than talking about Kamala Harris’s policies.
Polling suggests that Trump has an advantage over Harris in many key policy areas, such as the economy, but Marc Short, former chief of staff to Mike Pence during his time as vice president, said he needs to remind voters of his positions.
“[Trump] can make an appeal that gets away from personality and appeals to people who may not like him but do like his policies,” he told the Washington Post.
“Staying focused on the issues does that; if you’re commenting on other things, it I think can remind reluctant voters why they have concerns.”
Trump had an opportunity to do just that during a town hall event in Oaks, Pennsylvania on Monday night. Instead, after taking a few softball questions, the Republican presidential nominee spent almost 40 minutes swaying to music on the stage.
Former New Hampshire Republican Senator Judd Gregg told the paper that voters view Trump as an “unpredictable individual” and as someone who “says things that are sometimes disingenuous and often inaccurate.”
“It’s an accepted fact of his personality,” he added. “And people that like him, for other reasons, are going to vote for him, and people who dislike him because of that aren’t going to vote for him.”
On Tuesday, Trump declined to say directly during an interview if he would facilitate a peaceful transfer of power. This came after he bragged online about his score on cognitive tests that have never been shared publically.
Trump is insulting and threatening a wide array of people and institutions as he spends some of his time campaigning in blue states he’s unlikely to win. His personal attacks on Harris and ever-darkening rhetoric about immigrants are mixed in with suggestions that a heckler at one of his events in California, a deep blue state, “get the hell knocked out of her.”
Speaking in Colorado, he falsely suggested that Venezuelan gangs have taken over apartment buildings and, during an interview, he referred to some Americans as “the enemy from within” and indicated that he may use the US military against them.
While Democrats argue that the former president’s bizarre and aggressive behavior is evidence that he must be kept out of the White House, many Republicans simply wish that he would spend more time speaking about the issues that matter to voters.
But even so, Trump is in a historically tight race with Harris and has created a loyal base of supporters.
A Republican strategist leading a group backing the former president, David Carney, told The Post that “the elite need to take a stick out of their a**” and that “they have zero sense of humor.”
Since news networks are no longer carrying Trump’s rallies live in the same way they used to, the Harris campaign has taken action to show voters what the events are like. On Monday in Erie, Pennsylvania, Harris called Trump “increasingly unstable and unhinged” and suggested that the 2024 election is more important than the previous two Trump ran in because of the Supreme Court ruling that presidents have broad immunity for “official acts.”
“There are people that like for their candidate to look strong and to look like they are in command,” Hawaii Democratic Senator Brian Schatz told the paper.
“This guy looks like he’s the last guy to leave the karaoke bar,” he added. “He’s gone from tough guy to elderly man saying random things.”
A spokesperson for the Trump campaign, Brian Hughes, told the paper that Trump’s events and interviews showcase his “health, wisdom and strength.”
“What you call ‘unorthodox’ is a man running for office who speaks unambiguously to the hopes and dreams of Americans,” Hughes told The Post. “He also speaks bluntly and accurately about the terrible failures of Kamala Harris and her dangerously liberal policies that imperil the nation.”
