Obamas anointed Harris as their political heir at DNC and flipped 'the script on Trump', says ex aide
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Barack and Michelle Obama have officially anointed Kamala Harris as the torchbearer of their political legacy, sending a powerful message from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Former Obama adviser David Axelrod revealed on Wednesday, August 21, that there was “no doubt” that the Obamas are positioning Harris as their heir as "they flipped the script" on Donald Trump's divisive rhetoric.
“I think they feel very much a kinship with Harris and they see her as carrying that torch forward of what America really is about: the time-honored values of community and selflessness and hard work and all the things that we like to associate with what it means to be an American," he said. "She is out there talking about that and it’s one of the reasons why she is right in the middle of this race."
Harris follows in Obama's footsteps to counter Trump
The convention was set ablaze by the Obamas' stirring speeches. The former president drew a parallel between his own rise and Harris’, saying, “I’m feeling hopeful because this convention has always been pretty good to kids with funny names who believe in a country where anything is possible.”
Former first lady Michelle tapped into the emotional core of her husband's hope-and-change campaign, declaring, “Something wonderfully magical is in the air, isn’t it?… A familiar feeling that’s been buried too deep for too long. You know what I’m talking about? It’s the contagious power of hope.”
Axelrod praised the Obamas’ remarks as masterful and impactful. “When Barack Obama got the call in 2004 that he was going to give the keynote speech at the Democratic convention, he said immediately, I know what I want to say, I want to talk about my story as part of the larger American story,” Axelrod noted. “You heard it last night and Kamala Harris is very much rolling down those same tracks. They flipped the script on Trump,” per The Guardian.
Axelrod criticizes Trump’s bile attacks on Harris
Donald Trump, whose campaign has struggled to counter Kamala Harris’s rising profile, has attempted to undermine her through attacks on her racial identity and intelligence, coining derisive nicknames like “Laffin’ Kamala” and “Lyin’ Kamala.”
Axelrod observed that Trump’s approach is floundering. “He’s a jazz man when it comes to all of this and he gets in front of a crowd and he tries to find the groove and he throws everything against the wall. It’s generally bile, it’s personal and it’s negative,” Axelrod said. “The campaign seems more rational than the candidate and that’s been true from the beginning.”
Harris' presidential potential hinges on upcoming debate
Further, the mood in Chicago is buoyant, with the convention marking a sharp departure from the chaos of 1968. Opinion polls indicate that Harris is gaining momentum, even showing a slight lead over Trump in crucial swing states.
Axelrod is cautious but optimistic, suggesting that Harris’s recent success may signal not just a fleeting "honeymoon" but a solidification of support. “If she does reasonably well in the debate, that takes you into late September and people are already voting,” he explained.
Despite this surge, Axelrod acknowledged the race’s uncertainty, stating, “That’s not to say this isn’t a really close race and I’m not sure, if the race were today, that Trump wouldn’t win. But the motion is certainly in her direction.”
