Kamala Harris is a "communist," a "Marxist," says Donald Trump. Who knew he was such an expert in political philosophy? Outrageousness is his trademark, of course, but it's also his refuge, for lack of arguments. Is the Democratic candidate in the November 5 presidential election a pasionara in the service of the collectivization of the American economy? Nonsense. On the American political spectrum, Joe Biden's vice president has chosen her position: center or center-left, as you prefer.
The break with the past is marked by who she is, but her policy platform, meanwhile, is resolutely centrist. For now, Harris is keeping her promise. Usually a dysfunctional family, Democrats are united behind her candidacy. Trump has been helping a lot. The goal of preventing the performer from Mar-a-Lago from taking up residence in the White House for a second time has brought together the Democratic Party.
But that's not all. The center has policy nobility and undeniable historical legitimacy. After all, Democrats Bill Clinton (1992-2000) and Barack Obama (2008-2016), who both looked for a central way, were presidents who left a mark.
Biden's vice president sails from one side of the Democratic camp to the other. She concedes here, holds her line there, and sees in compromise neither betrayal nor surrender, but "the art of the possible," as the New York Times headlined at the end of August, commenting on her nomination speech at the Democratic convention in Chicago.
Harris has abandoned some of the positions perceived as left-wing she defended during her participation in the 2020 Democratic primaries (won by Biden), reported the newspaper. She has shifted toward the center – or the right, say her critics.
Same course as Biden on Ukraine
At the heart of this presidential election, the issue of immigration is the primary concern of voters along with inflation. Vice President Harris was in charge of the situation on the border with Mexico, where chaos reigned for three years due to an unprecedented wave of immigration. The Biden administration totally underestimated the impact of the uncontrolled flow of immigrants that has reached the country's major cities since 2021.
Harris, a daughter of immigrants, was almost knocked over by this issue. Where is the right balance between loyalty to the country's origins and the need to control its borders? Between tense public opinion and the needs of the American economy?
In a turn to the right, in February she supported the bipartisan bill drawn up in the Senate. More cynical and irresponsible than ever, Trump then ordered Republican members of the House to torpedo the senators' agreement – and maintain a dramatic situation at the border. Stigmatized by the Democratic left, the Senate proposal represented a very hard line on immigration.
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