Biden’s Emotional Speech Hints at a Bigger Takedown of Trump to Come

That’s not the only question that will decide this election: Harris has more rebuilding to do among straying young and nonwhite voters, and countless other strategic decisions will also matter. But as Ron Brownstein said on our podcast, Trump’s most likely path is to deny her victory in enough of the Blue Wall states (while holding Georgia), so his campaign will pour gazillions into persuading just enough blue collar and older whites in them that “she will allow people who don’t like you to come and kill you.”

If you watch Republican ads painting her as a dangerous radical who will allow criminals to burn down our cities and let swarthy hordes overrun the border, you’ll see the point is basically correct.

The logic of this is straightforward: Trump is an extremely well-known quantity, and he’s widely unpopular. Harris is a far less well-known quantity, and partly as a result, she’s viewed somewhat more favorably: There’s lots of optimistic, open-minded curiosity out there about who she is, about whether she really is the one to get us beyond the Trump era. This is one thing people mean when they talk about her “good vibes.” And so, Trump needs to get just enough voters who aren’t committed to him to decide Harris is an alien, dangerous, untrustworthy alternative.