At this point, we don’t know who will win on November 5, but there are also questions about the direction and strategy of the campaigns. The debate a week ago between the vice president and the former president was probably the most “normal” 90 minutes that the electoral process has had in the last two months since President Joe Biden gave up his intentions to seek reelection.
And yes, during the debate, there were moments where, at least candidate Harris, presented some ideas and proposals, but above all she took advantage of the opportunity to present herself now as the possible future president of the United States. She also launched a series of attacks against the former president that clearly made him uncomfortable, including the criminal accusations against him, the role that Trump played in the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and she even questioned the size of the rallies with his followers, assuring that the few who participate get bored and abandon him.
And although most analysts declared that Kamala Harris had won the debate, she did not emerge in the polls as strongly as expected. In fact, in the six “swing” states the advantage is minuscule or basically still tied. And given the reality of Trump’s refusal to submit to a second debate, the question now is, how to identify which factors will define the vote of independent voters who are found in states like Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, and Arizona?
But in the past 72 hours, the US presidential race has once again taken a strange and dangerous turn. Instead of discussing differences in policies to promote growth in the US – in fact, on energy policy and international trade, or the right to safe and legal abortion, or the rights of transgender children – Trump insists on calling “comrade” Kamala a communist.
One of the most important challenges for the Democrats, and one that Kamala Harris was unable to present a satisfactory strategy for during the debate, is the problem of illegal immigration. And it is the fear of foreigners entering illegally and the insecurity at the border that Donald Trump has taken advantage of the most to strengthen MAGA. Despite the seriousness of the problem, the former president and his running mate JD Vance have promoted fake news about Haitian migrants in Ohio consuming dogs and cats. Since the debate, the issue has been reduced to memes about dogs, cats and ducks being rescued by the “superhero” Donald Trump.
“They are eating the dogs they are eating the cats they are eating the pets of the people that live there”. This phrase has gone viral and is motivating voters, even though Ohio officials themselves claim that the information is false. But Trump continues to insist that Democrats want open borders, there is a new and dangerous wave of migrants and Democrats want to make it easier for them to vote in order to steal the election. This issue could also be the hook that secures his reelection and Trump knows it.
But particularly in the last 72 hours, the conversation on social media and the media has taken a dramatic turn, where now the focus of the discussion is the second attack against Trump, his security failures and political violence in the United States. Donald Trump made serious accusations blaming Biden and Harris for the possible attack against him because of the “rhetoric” that the Democrats used against him during the campaign. Even Elon Musk himself participated in further promoting polarization on this issue, questioning “why no one is even trying to assassinate Harris and Biden” he wrote in a message from X, which he would later delete, claiming that it was a “joke.”
And even though authorities insist that migrants in Ohio do not eat pets, Trump has undoubtedly created a doubt and fear that his followers share. And so he strengthens that fear and paranoia with memes on TikTok, X and Facebook. And the questions on social media about the authorship of the attacks against Trump will continue to circulate and be promoted by MAGA.
In the absence of another debate between the two, Harris will have to look for alternatives to break away from Trump’s campaign rhetoric and shift the discussion to the issues that most impact the undecided and independent electorate. Will she have enough time?