After the show These are Harris' problems on the way to the White House now
The Democrats celebrated Kamala Harris for four days at the party convention in Chicago.
Image: dpa
But the show should not obscure the challenges and problems she will face on her way to the White House.
Image: dpa
In the near future, Harris will have to prove herself in situations that are not completely staged like the party convention.
Image: dpa
The Democrats celebrated Kamala Harris for four days at the party convention in Chicago.
Image: dpa
But the show should not obscure the challenges and problems she will face on her way to the White House.
Image: dpa
In the near future, Harris will have to prove herself in situations that are not completely staged like the party convention.
Image: dpa
The hype surrounding Kamala Harris should not obscure the fact that it is likely to be difficult for her to prevail against Donald Trump. What could be the Democrat's downfall?
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- After the show is before the decision in the US election on November 5.
- The Democrats' jubilation should not obscure the fact that it will be difficult for Harris to prevail against Trump in the election.
- These are the biggest problems for Harris.
In the end, Kamala Harris stands radiant in a sea of white, red and blue balloons. The Democrat is surrounded on stage by her family. Confetti rains down, music blares from loudspeakers, thousands of delegates hoot and cheer. It is the end of four days of a party convention in Chicago full of shows with stars and artists, with various declarations of love and big emotions to celebrate the new frontwoman and presidential candidate of the Democrats. And to stage her as a fighter for the good, as a protector of the weak, even as the savior of America.
However, the great spectacle and the choreographed jubilation of the Democrats should not obscure the fact that it is likely to be difficult for Harris to prevail against her Republican opponent Donald Trump in the election in November. The former First Lady, Michelle Obama, warned in Chicago that the party should not be too confident of victory in its exuberance: "No matter how good we feel tonight or tomorrow or the day after, it's going to be a tough fight."
These are the biggest problems for Harris:
The content
The 59-year-old has been part of Joe Biden's administration as Vice President for a good three and a half years and is partly responsible for everything that is currently going wrong politically. "There are indeed unresolved problems, such as uncontrolled immigration," says the German government's Transatlantic Coordinator Michael Link. In recent years, Harris has been responsible for migration - or more precisely, for combating the causes of flight - and it is an important campaign issue on which Trump is pushing his rival.
Although the situation is not bad when it comes to other important issues such as the economy, the labor market and inflation, this is not reflected in people's mood. This is also a major problem for Harris. She must now "find ways to score points with credible proposals on the issues of security, migration and the cost of living", says Link. Harris, on the other hand, has found her flagship issue in the election campaign with the fight for abortion rights, which she can defend much better as a woman than Biden ever could.
The performance
As a public prosecutor and senator, Harris has performed confidently and assuredly in the past. However, she never really settled into her role as Vice President. In recent years, she was not very visible in the - admittedly not entirely easy - post, was unable to score points in terms of content, made mistakes and often came across as insecure and tense. Until a few weeks ago, she was seen as additional ballast for Biden in his election campaign and, like him, had to contend with dramatically poor popularity ratings.
Since the Democrats chose Harris as their new frontwoman, her popularity in the country has improved rapidly. She is now just ahead of Trump in the polls - another major success. However, in the past few weeks since Biden dropped out of the race and she was catapulted to the top, Harris has operated exclusively in a protected space made up of choreographed and staged appearances down to the last detail. No interviews, no press conferences, no visits to politically sensitive places, no movements in unfamiliar territory.
The party conference show is the highlight of this production for the time being. In the coming weeks, Harris will have to prove herself in situations that are not completely under the control of her campaign team.
The problematic "swing states"
In most of the 50 US states, the race for president is already over before election day because voters there reliably vote for either the Republicans or the Democrats. However, a few states are politically fiercely contested. In these "swing states", the election results are expected to be extremely close in some cases: Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.
Harris and Trump are focusing their election campaign almost exclusively on these regions. In these few states, a very small number of votes are likely to decide the election in the end. Biden's victory in Georgia, for example, was decided by less than 12,000 votes in the most recent election in 2020.
The third candidate
Non-party presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy announced on Friday that he would drop out of the presidential race in the most contested states and have his name removed from the ballot. At the same time, he backed Trump. The move hurts Harris.
The nephew of legendary former president John F. Kennedy has no chance in the presidential election - polls put him at an average of only around five percent. However, as Harris and Trump are neck-and-neck in the polls, his withdrawal is likely to benefit Trump in the so-called swing states and provide him with decisive votes. As this dampener comes immediately after the Democrats' big coronation mass in Chicago, it also takes away some of the momentum Harris gained there.
dpa
