The Burden of Continuity versus the Power of Great Promise

The vice presidency, more than an advantage, works partly against Harris. He is simultaneously “blamed” for Biden’s decisions and for not delivering on what he is now promising during his administration, he explains to the publication. EFE Tammy Vigil is a professor of communications at Boston University.

Trump is trying to regain power with the intention of “fixing” the situation in the country after four years of Democratic rule. In his favor is the apparent obliviousness of some of his craziest ideas, such as treating the coronavirus with an injection of bleach, as well as the superior magnetism of his proposals, summed up in his slogan “Make America Great Again.”

The right base in the face of the need to convince people

The New York tycoon enjoys a loyal base that doesn’t punish him for mistakes or unfinished business. “He has developed a relationship with his followers that allows him to say and do almost anything without alienating them,” explains Vigil, for whom “his messages allow people to give in to their worst impulses, and many appreciate that.”

Harris will have to prove he can take charge. She has experience as a lawyer, California attorney general, senator and then vice president, as well as empathy for people different from herself, said Tom Hollihan, a communications professor at the USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism. .

Almost 20 years difference

Harris turned 60 in October and Trump turned 78 in June. When the 81-year-old Biden was the Democratic nominee, criticism of advancing age and its impact on the candidate’s physical and mental abilities was directed at the president, all but ignoring the fact that his Republican rival was only three years younger.

The former president makes “rambling, unruly speeches and often crazy comments,” but unlike Biden, the media doesn’t attribute these failures to age or cognitive decline, so they haven’t done him much harm, Hollihan said.

“Glass Ceilings” by Harris

Harris could become the first woman, the first African American and the first person of South Asian descent to reach the Oval Office. While in some ways this makes more people identify with her, they are also factors that hinder her candidacy.

“Although they may not admit it, a large portion of US voters (both men and women) still harbors misogynistic and racist beliefs. “These people will find excuses to vote for any man over a woman, especially a woman of color,” Vigil says.

Poles opposing voters

Trump leads Harris by 5 percentage points among men, while Harris leads him by 11 points among women. That latter difference widens to 40 points among voters ages 18 to 29, a recent network poll suggests. ABCNews.

Men, Hollihan said, seem to be responding to Trump’s “roughness,” his “macho style and his perceived ‘toughness.’ Those same qualities, as well as his hostility toward women and their right to control their reproductive health decisions, appear to be turning off female voters, especially younger ones.

That’s not the only difference. Trump, Vigil adds, “attracts voters who are amused by his antics. She expresses the grievances her followers feel but may feel need to be quelled,” while Harris is a viable option for citizens tired of Republican rhetoric and “the anger and divisiveness of modern politics.”

EFE