Why Kamala Harris' "joy" works: "The Democrats quit fretting, now Trump looks like the fretter"

For decades, so-called conservatives have branded the Democratic Party and “liberals” as un-American, weak, bad for the economy and as the enemy of “freedom” and “liberty.” Instead of consistently fighting back and taking control of their own political brand, Democrats have engaged in a defensive struggle, forced to react and rebut. The Republican Party, therefore, has been very good at winning the argument while the Democrats remain smug and self-satisfied that they have “the facts” on their side. Decades of research by political scientists and other experts have repeatedly shown that emotions and compelling stories win the fight, not the facts alone.

The “conservative” movement thinks in terms of decades. By comparison, the Democratic Party thinks in terms of election cycles. In the face of an existential challenge to the country’s democracy and future from the right wing, Democrats and other pro-democracy Americans must radically reframe their thinking and approach to politics. Thankfully, last week’s Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago was a deviation from the norm, and perhaps even a sign that the Democrats with Kamala Harris as the presidential nominee have finally realized that to defeat Donald Trump, the MAGA movement, and the other neofascists will require winning both the hearts and minds of voters.

The DNC was a political celebration of the changing of the guard. The Democrats hosted a party with celebrities and popular music and used humor to mock Donald Trump and the MAGAfied Republicans as being out of step (“weird”) with the American people. Harris and her vice-presidential running mate, Tim Walz, presented themselves and by extension their version of the Democratic Party, as being “happy warriors” who are looking to the future in the battle to save American democracy and to improve the country more broadly. And perhaps most importantly, the Democrats finally decided to make freedom, democracy, and rights central to their brand with the goal of breaking the stranglehold that the Republicans and “conservatives” have on those core American values.  

Will this new approach be enough for the Democrats to defeat Donald Trump and his MAGAfied Republicans and the larger antidemocracy movement on Election Day and beyond? In some 70 days, the American people and the world will soon find out. To make better sense of last week’s Democratic National Convention, the political terrain and momentum going forward, our emotions in this tumultuous time, and what may happen next with the 2024 election, I recently spoke to a range of experts. Read parts one and two here.

M. Steven Fish is a professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley. His new book is “Comeback: Routing Trumpism, Reclaiming the Nation, and Restoring Democracy's Edge.”

In my new book, I argued that the Democrats’ main problem was not that voters were disenchanted with their policies or mired in desperation and bigotry. Instead, the Democrats were losing half the time to a party that should never even have had a shot because voters saw liberals as wimps and weak patriots.

Donald Trump was always on the offensive; the Democrats were ever on defense. Trump exulted; the Democrats fretted. Trump ridiculed the Democrats; the Democrats recoiled in wounded umbrage. The Republicans ruled the arena of cultural politics; the Democrats shrank from the culture wars on everything but abortion. Trump entertained with transgressive language; the Democrats adhered to the “norms of civility.” The Republicans claimed the flag, even as they betrayed America’s democracy, immigrant tradition, and support for democratic allies. Democrats treated patriotism as an unpleasant atavism that we need to get over. Trump had an emotionally appealing national story, however cramped and un-American. The Democrats had no national story.

Over the past five weeks, the Democrats have flipped the script, and the DNC showcased the transformation. The Republicans were no longer owning the libs; the Democrats were owning them. Rather than dwell on how scary Trump is and leave it at that, they laid out the threats Trump poses and followed that with a big “No!” Instead of their usual “Isn’t Trump terrifying?!” the Democrats’ message was “Bring it on MAGA!” They quit shrinking from the culture wars and aggressively pressed their case on guns, immigration, and racial justice, not just abortion. They peppered their speeches with colorful language. They also embraced the flag and wrapped their program in a stirring national story. Speaker after speaker laid out a vision of a glorious America made stronger by its past struggles and current challenges as it reached for still greater heights. Party leaders framed their aspirations in terms of freedom, not just fairness. The Democrats had a ball trolling Trump and reclaiming the nation for decency, democracy, and the American way. They made people feel like they were part of a revolutionary movement that was sure to crush the MAGA counterrevolution. Kamala Harris’ speech was almost picture-perfect.

I’m optimistic the Democrats will stay the course since it’s working so well. In fact, what we see here is proof of the concept I presented in "Comeback": Adopting a high-dominance style, embracing patriotism, and offering a compelling, optimistic story of the nation are the keys to whipping MAGA. At last, the Democrats are all fight and no funk. The key now is for the Democrats not to revert to low-dominance, patriotism-squeamish politics. The ultimate evidence of the effectiveness of high-dominance, patriotic politics is the change in public perceptions of Trump — and even Trump’s own behavior — over the past five weeks. The Democrats quit fretting; now Trump looks like the fretter. Now that the Democrats are projecting exuberance and confidence, Trump’s brand of self-assurance looks like farcical fake swag. Since the Democrats started claiming the nation with a gripping narrative of strength, hope, and unabashed love of country, Trump’s national story looks as pathetic, pessimistic, and treasonous as it is. And Trump’s behavior even seems to have changed in the face of the Democrats’ onslaught. Trump’s always been a whiner, but now whining is all he does. It’s so unfair that the Democrats replaced Biden, how could they do that to me?! They’re making personal attacks on me! Once you stand up to the bully, he wilts. The Democrats didn’t seem to even think of this until about five weeks ago. Now, nothing could seem more obvious.

My only concern is that the Democrats won’t grasp what has enabled them to suddenly change the game. If they think it’s just because Harris is younger than Biden, that Trump is undermining himself, or that voters are only responding because of abortion bans, there’s a danger they’ll fall back on their usual risk-averse, policy-and-polls-obsessed politics that gave us Trump. They must make their newfound winning style the party’s modus operandi. The Democrats will have to win the next two or three national elections to force the Republicans to come to their senses. Until the Democrats do so, the Republicans will remain, as Harris said of them during her magnificent speech, “out of their minds”—and a mortal threat to democracy.

Dr. Justin Frank is a former clinical professor of psychiatry at the George Washington University Medical Center and the author of "Trump on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President."

As Kamala Harris ended her acceptance speech on Thursday night, I felt this was the finest DNC Convention I’d ever witnessed on TV or in person since the first one I attended just after graduating high school in 1960. That was in Los Angeles and the nominee was John F. Kennedy, who I didn’t get to meet. And despite meeting people like Adlai Stevenson, Eleanor Roosevelt, and others, 2024 was the best. It was full of joy and hope with a serious undertone of purpose and strength.

As a psychoanalyst, I’ve been influenced by the teaching of Elvin Semrad who said “Sorrow is the vitamin of growth.” I added “and strength” after growth. Michelle Obama began her powerful speech on Tuesday with just that understanding. She spoke of recently burying her beloved mother who had been the source of her strength. She wasn’t even sure she’d have the strength to speak that Tuesday, she said, but found that force deep inside. Her mother made her a stronger person throughout her life, but she internalized others’ strength as she grieved. And so did Harris internalize her mother’s strength with her own grief. Both these women face challenges head-on with strength and integrity. Her speech, for me, contained the entire convention. Hope and strength; of moving forward with force and clarity about the opposition; of being direct rather than thinking about going “high” or “low.”

For years — since Joe McCarthy in the 1950s — the Democrats have been generally cautious when criticizing Republicans, preferring to counterpunch when they punch at all. This year was different. Donald Trump scares members of his own party less than he does the Democrats. In fact, many members of his own party left to speak at the DNC Convention. This was unheard of and personally swept me away. I was deeply impressed.

Joy and health are different from the “manic defense” which involves triumph over feeling helpless. Triumph involves denial of the former conflict. Those who left Trump explained why they left, and while the Democrats did mock him at times, they also took seriously the damage he could do if elected in 2024.

This felt like a different party, not simply defensive or grandiose, but seriously hopeful and energetic without being psychologically manic.

I was thrilled by the energy that was about feeling strong enough to face reality rather than deny it as they did in 2016 when so many felt Hillary Clinton was a sure thing and they treated Donald Trump with contempt. I get the contempt on one level, but at a deeper level, contempt becomes a defensive denial of vulnerability and potential danger. That is the kind of manic behavior I saw in the MSNBC and CNN commentators with their giggling and at times celebratory behavior. I felt that the expression of pure joy started to drive Trump crazy. The Democrats are ready to fight the good fight and they're not afraid of fighting it. They know Trump is nothing more than a “bone spur guy” who is afraid of fighting, period. He has a defensive use of contempt for those who are braver than he is and calls them “suckers” because he is himself a coward.

Marcel Danesi is professor emeritus of linguistic anthropology and semiotics at the University of Toronto. His new book is "Politics, Lies and Conspiracy Theories: A Cognitive Linguistic Perspective."

What struck me in particular was the contrast between the Democratic National Convention and the Republican National Convention. The difference was not just one of opposing political ideologies but of vastly different cultural and human emphases. The major Republican speeches were replete with untruths, fear narratives about the cultural destruction that those who were unlike themselves would bring about, and, in the case of Trump, outright lies designed for self-promotion, with the same old tropes of liberal operatives who are working to defeat him behind the scenes.

The DNC speeches were forward-looking, inclusive, and compassionate, even if at times aggressively portentous (and rightly so) of the dangers posed by Trump and MAGA. The music used at the RNC was “harsh” in every sense — aggressive, confrontational, hard-hitting. The music at the DNC was softer, and hopeful, alluding to a need for kindness and inclusion. This “war of musical styles” reflected vastly different views of America. Like the music, the DNC events emphasized human stories of pain, suffering, and hardship, while the RNC emphasized the dangers of cultural incursions into the “real America” from the inside, fueled by liberal policies about race, gender, civil rights, and freedoms.

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I have been around a long time, starting out as a professor at Rutgers University in 1972 during the Watergate hearings. After Nixon resigned, I felt a sense of relief that democracy was restored. When Trump came onto the scene, the fear and cynicism that I felt in 1972 came back to me. However, the Democrats’ convention in Chicago has rekindled a sense of hope that democracy will again survive. Maybe it was the vibrant atmosphere and energetic mood of the people at the gathering. Maybe it was the power of the speeches that emphasized what kindness and inclusivity can do to people—unite them no matter who they are and what views they possess of the world. Maybe it was the brilliant performances of the artists. But the danger remains — Trump is still lurking in the background, a weakened but still resilient feral person, ready to spew lies constantly, aware that many of these will stick with his fervent followers.

Thoughts about the future?

Kamala Harris’ hope, and happiness, emblemized by her wonderful smile, gives me great hope. Like any historically symbolic smile, from the Mona Lisa’s suggestive smile to Louis Armstrong’s bittersweet smile, exuding sadness and hope at once, Harris’ beaming, overwhelming smile penetrates the unconscious where it reverberates with the delight, sociability, happiness, joy, and hope that she talks about in her speeches. In comparison, Donald Trump’s smile is a grimace, a satirical grin.

I am cautiously hopeful that Trumpism will be given a fatal blow on November 5. On the other hand, the bully is always most dangerous when he is on the ropes. No one knows what dirty tricks Trump has up his sleeve. Hopefully, they will be seen as wearisome, and that it is time to move on — the Trump circus has come and is on its way out.

Matthew Sheffield is the founder of Flux, a progressive podcasting platform. A former right-wing activist and Salon writer, he is also the host of Theory of Change, a podcast about larger trends in politics, media, and culture.

President Joe Biden will go down in history as one of America's most significant presidents, despite serving only a single term, and he's continuing to rack up achievements since announcing he would withdraw as the Democratic Party standard-bearer, including a possible ceasefire between Israel and Gaza. Unfortunately, however, he was not able to maintain the hard-charging campaign that was necessary to defeat Donald Trump, even before his poor debate performance this past June. Before Biden decided to end his re-election bid, I had started to wonder whether Democrats actually believed their rhetoric about democracy being at stake in the 2024 election. The president's historic and selfless choice to sacrifice for the good of the nation is a significant indicator that at least he does. Biden's decision to lead from behind was a rare, positive shock to our national system and it completely reset the race, making millions of Americans more willing to give Vice President Kamala Harris, the beneficiary of Biden's incredibly unusual gesture, a second look.

As many people have observed, the much younger Harris becoming the Democratic candidate has reversed the stamina issue in the contest with Trump. But it's also the case that his strange sense of style and overweight appearance also put him at a disadvantage to the glamorous and joyful Harris. The social science data is overwhelming that people who are more attractive do better in elections. Trump instinctively knows this, which is why he has lately been pushing the absolutely ludicrous idea that he is somehow better-looking than Harris. For her part, Harris has handled the moment with alacrity and verve, particularly her refusal to get bogged down writing unnecessary policy papers, which not only consume time she utterly lacks but also create opportunities for Republicans to divide and conquer.

She has also had the good sense to realize that while Republicans are horrible at governance, they have great skill at campaigning. With that insight in mind, she has cribbed an essential Republican realization that the mainstream media are in it for themselves — and that as such, they do not need to be indulged. Harris' communications shop refused to make her available for an extended interview ahead of her convention introduction to the public. They also made it a point to invite independent, progressive content creators to cover the event, something that Republicans have been doing for years.

I have been repeatedly and pleasantly surprised since Harris stepped in, for the reasons stated above, but also because she and her advisors also seem to have at least some understanding that the Republican Party is dominated by a cadre of reactionary extremists whose viewpoints are fundamentally bizarre and anti-American. Special credit for pushing this insight within the Harris campaign goes to her running-mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who used the word “weird” to describe the tyrannical and busybody policies of Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance.

As someone who has been trying for years to draw attention to the deep-seated hatred of their fellow Americans that animates Republican elites, it's been immensely gratifying to see some of those messages finally being presented to the general public. I know many other journalists, commentators, and researchers who feel the same way. The most effective attack you can launch against the radical right is to quote them accurately. The successful effort to accurately tie Trump to right-wing authoritarianism also paved the way for the freedom theme that Harris persuasively utilized during the Democratic National Convention, reclaiming not just that value from the Republicans, but patriotism as well.

While the race is certainly looking good for Harris at present, there are several wildcards that present cause for concern: The September 10 debate with Trump is almost certain to be one of the most pivotal events of this election cycle. Trump will come loaded for bear and aim to do what he did in his earlier debate against Biden, lie and obfuscate to such an immense degree that viewers will only be aware of his messages. Harris faced a much tamer version of what Trump will do in her 2020 vice presidential debate with Mike Pence and her earlier, now-famous refusal to countenance deceitful interruption remains an effective strategy to push back against the firehose of falsehoods that the disgraced ex-president is sure to open up.

It's also very possible that one of the various foreign leaders Trump has established an alliance with might try to take action to help his candidacy as well. As Harris herself noted in her Thursday address, “the dictators of the world are rooting for Trump.” We should remain vigilant about what they may try to do, as in the case of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and Russian authoritarian Vladimir Putin, or what they may not do, as in the case of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.