Kamala Harris can win the US Presidential elections on vibes — and Donald Trump knows it
Republicans who see Vice President Kamala Harris’ rise in the polls have a simple message for former President Donald Trump — stick to policy and you can win. The problem is their candidate is Donald Trump, and Trump, who beat policy wonk Hillary Clinton in 2016, knows that in a contest between white papers and vibes — which is really just cooler shorthand for emotion and feeling — vibes usually carry the day. (Clinton also famously lost to Barack Obama in 2008 in a contest not over minuscule policy differences but over vibes.)
This exchange between the former president and South Carolina Senator and Trump superfan Lindsey Graham was telling: “President Trump can win this election. His policies are good for America, and if you have a policy debate for president, he wins.” Graham told Kristen Welker last week on NBC’s Meet the Press. “Donald Trump the provocateur, the showman, may not win this election.”
(Trump, in a policy debate, LOL).
Trump’s response to Graham was this: “Look, I like Lindsey. I don’t care what he says, OK?” Trump said during an exclusive CBS interview.
Trump doesn’t care because he knows vibes, not policy, can get you big ratings for your party’s convention, $540 million in campaign donations, and tens of thousands of volunteers who will knock on doors or create posts on TikTok, just because they are feeling it.
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Still, Trump has been trying to shift gears and highlight policy as
