Donald Trump’s allies say his winning formula entering the final 80 days of the campaign is to break through a biased mainstream media and remind voters Vice President Kamala Harris served alongside President Biden and owns his biggest mishaps — namely on the economy.
Suddenly locked in a dogfight or trailing in battleground states, Mr. Trump is facing renewed pressure to rethink his approach and tamp down the bombastic, stream-of-consciousness style that has made him the king of the GOP and the nation’s most polarizing political figure.
Trump loyalists and GOP strategists maintain he does not need to do anything drastic. Indeed, they say a few tweaks around the edges will jog the electorate’s memory of Ms. Harris’ record as Biden’s co-pilot and stick a fork in her extended political honeymoon.
“The key to destroying Kamala is putting her in the hot seat for her unpopular policy views while pressuring her to defend those views to the media,” said a Trump world adviser. “The more voters hear from Kamala directly, the worse it will be for her because people will see with their own eyes the propaganda about who Kamala is doesn’t match the reality.”
Tip-toeing in that direction, Mr. Trump is picking up the pace on the campaign trail and zeroing in on the Biden-Harris economic record.
He warned voters at recent campaign stops that Ms. Harris’ push for higher taxes and more government controls would usher in a 1929-style economic crash. He also mocked the idea that Ms. Harris would prioritize the economy on Day One in office.
“Day One, really for Kamala, was really three and a half years ago,” Mr. Trump said. “Where has she been and why hasn’t it been done?”
On top of that, he is likening her to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, suggesting they are two socialist peas in a pod.
“She is running on the Maduro plan,” Mr. Trump said.
The refocused line of attack has been mixed in with familiar gripes about news outlets not giving him a fair shake and giving Ms. Harris a free pass on everything from immigration to crime to covering up Mr. Biden’s mental decline.
Mr. Trump is often his own worst enemy, his critics say.
They point to his seeming inability to avoid personal attacks, ranting on social media and delivering controversial headline-grabbing remarks that muddy his message.
That was on display this month after he questioned whether Ms. Harris was leaning into her Black heritage for political reasons and insisted his Jan. 6 rally, which preceded an attack on the U.S. Capitol, drew a larger crowd than Martin Luther King Jr.’s celebrated 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech.
The idea that Mr. Trump could be reverting to a more no-holds-barred approach surfaced again after he rehired Corey Lewandowski, the former campaign hand who popularized the “Let Trump be Trump” mantra in the runup to his shocking 2016 victory.
John McLaughlin, a pollster for Mr. Trump, said the campaign is still adjusting to the new reality of running against Ms. Harris and that most voters “have no clue where she stands on the issues”
“There is a lot about her that voters don’t know,” he said. “It is up to us to run a more aggressive contrast campaign with her positions on the issues versus President Trump’s record of success.”
Ms. Harris has made that task more difficult by steering clear of talking to the press. That has helped limit the chances of making an unforced error in the sort of unscripted moments that have haunted her in the past and allowed her to keep her policy plans close to the vest.
Republican strategists say she cannot run and hide forever.
Ford O’Connell, a GOP strategist, said Ms. Harris will continue to play “prevent defense” over the coming months, but said she will not be able to run away from Bidenomics if Mr. Trump relentlessly hammers home his “Make American Affordable Again” message.
“There is nothing the media and Harris can do about the fact this is a ’price of groceries’ election,” Mr. O’Connell said. “She is trying to make the case that she is not even in office right now.”
Scott Jennings, another GOP strategist, said Mr. Trump’s “best and most dramatic opportunity” to reset the race will come during his first debate showdown with Ms. Harris on Sept. 10.
“The press is not going to hold her accountable for her previous radicalism or for her role in Biden’s policy failures or anything else,” Mr. Jennings said. “So Trump has to do it himself and that’s the night it has to happen. He cannot miss.”
“If he runs against a ’generic Democrat,’ it’s going to be a tough road,” he said. “If he runs against a ’radical socialist Democrat,’ that’s the ticket.”
Others, though, say Mr. Trump doesn’t have to change a thing.
Bruce Levell, a longtime Trump ally, dismisses the idea Mr. Trump is on the wrong path or that Ms. Harris can win with the help of friendly news media and the old establishment playbook.
It is reminiscent of when Mr. Trump was left for dead around the time of his 2016 race against Hillary Clinton, he said.
“It was the same thing,” he said. “I think the advantage for us this time around is the new ways of information can flow.”
He highlighted Mr. Trump’s recent appearance on X with its owner Elon Musk, who has endorsed Mr. Trump and has used his popular platform to boost the former president’s image.
“There is an old saying as business people: ’If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,’” Mr. Levell said. “People love to Monday quarterback. People love to coach from the stands, but ultimately, Donald Trump is in charge.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.