2020 Is Back on the 2024 Campaign Trail - Business Insider
By: Brent D. Griffiths (Business Insider)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
- Former President Donald Trump's actions on January 6, 2021, are back in the news.
- Vice President Kamala Harris is also elevating one of Trump's biggest critics, former Rep. Liz Cheney.
- It means that in the closing weeks of the 2024 election, the focus is once again on what happened four years ago.
With roughly 30 days left before Election Day, Vice President Kamala Harris and her allies are amplifying their focus on the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot and former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Trump, for his part, has really never stopped talking about the 2020 election. He brings it up at almost every rally. But Harris' final rebuttal is shaping up in the form of a closing argument delivered by former Congresswoman Liz Cheney and top Trump aides.
"Our republic faces a threat unlike any we have faced before — a former president who attempted to stay in power by unraveling the foundations of our republic, by refusing to accept the lawful results confirmed by dozens of courts of the 2020 election," Cheney said Thursday night in Ripon, Wisconsin, the birthplace of the Republican Party.
The Harris campaign's effortsto remind voters of Trump's final days in office will get a boost next week when an outside group will host Cassidy Hutchinson, the former Trump aide whose searing testimony was at the forefront of the House January 6 committee, Cheney, and two other former Trump aides at an event in Pennsylvania. While that is not an official Harris rally, her campaign has already made waves in the key battleground by airing an ad featuring a local couple who previously supported Trump.
"I voted for him twice, I won't vote for him again," Bob Lange says in the ad entitled "Not Again." "January 6 was a wake-up call for me."
I have sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution six times in my career, and have always upheld it without reservation.
Therein lies the profound difference between Donald Trump and me. He violated that oath, and, make no mistake: if given the chance, he would violate it again. pic.twitter.com/mcgmR3q0SU
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) October 4, 2024
Former Trump 2020 staffer Matt Wolking said the Harris' campaign focus on January 6 illustrates a return to the core of what made Biden's campaign struggle.
"What happens when you run a vibes campaign like Kamala has, devoid of most other substance and then you run out of vibes?" Wolking told Business Insider. "Well, you return to old crutches, and this is an old crutch that is leftover from the Biden campaign. The January 6 campaign strategy is the Biden campaign strategy from earlier this year."
Voters have given Harris better marks than Biden, but the topic still does not have the sheer weight that the economy does.
The economy is still the most important issue in the race.
Voters have long said the economy is the most important issue in the race, lending some slight risk to focusing on the 2020 election. Polls have shown that Harris has closed Trump's commanding lead on the economy. But the broader theme of democracy hasn't been forgotten.A recent PBS News/NPR/Marist poll found that 95% of voters say the economy is a factor in their vote.
The same survey found that 89% of voters would say the same about "preserving democracy," including 64% who say it would be a "deciding factor" in their decision. (The poll of US adults was conducted from September 27 through October 1, 2024. Marist interviewed 1,628 adults via phone, text, and online. The margin of error for registered voters is +/- 3.5 percentage points.)
Trump's campaign blamed the media for the renewed focus on January 6.
"The media is desperate to talk about anything other than the issues Americans are facing today — from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, to the crisis at our border, migrant crime, inflation, and the ongoing port worker strike — because the problems of today prove Kamala Harris is the worst vice president in history," Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement issued on Thursday. On Thursday night, port workers and the United States Maritime Alliance announced the suspension of the strike until January 15 as contract negotiations continue.
Both campaigns have tried to lean into democracy-related appeals. Trump has claimed that it's the Democrats who are the true threat, arguing without evidence that they are responsible for his assassination attempts. He also repeatedly claimed that the White House is orchestrating the criminal cases against him, another claim that doesn't hold up.
There's ample evidence that Trump should be concerned if voters cast their ballots with 2020 in mind. Voters thoroughly rejected his allies who echoed his concerns about 2020 during the midterm elections two years later. Most notably, those setbacks occurred in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Arizona, all four states that remain battlegrounds in the presidential race.
According to a recent Washington Post poll, most of the voters in Pennsylvania, widely believed to be race's biggest prize, believe Biden won the 2020 race fair and square. The numbers are different for Republicans, but the rejection of election denialism is clear among Democrats and, most critically, independents.
Harris' efforts aren't the only reason 2020 is back in the news
Special counsel Jack Smith's 165-page filing was released earlier in the week, providing new details about Trump's actions as rioters stormed the Capitol. Smith's team says it is prepared to call a top Trump aide to testify that only the then-president himself could have sent out his infamous tweet attacking Vice President Mike Pence for lacking "courage" by refusing to help overturn the results.
"The defendant personally posted the tweet on the afternoon of January 6 at a point when he already understood that the Capitol had been breached," Smith's team wrote in the filing.
Sen. JD Vance of Ohio refused to answer directly to Gov. Tim Walz during Tuesday's vice-presidential debate when he pressed Trump's running mate about who won the 2020 election.
"Tim, I am focused on the future," Vance replied. "Did Kamala Harris censor Americans from speaking their mind in the wake of the 2020 COVID situation?"
Harris' campaign soon cut what Walz described as Vance's "damning non-answer" into an attack ad.
Asked again about his views on the 2020 election, Vance remained defiant after a Friday rally. The GOP vice presidential nominee accused journalists of being so interested in the last election because "they don't care a lick about what happened afterwards."
"I'm from Ohio, I am not from the South, but I think there's a phrase that really works — bless your heart," he said. "We are focused on the future in this election and in this campaign."
Tags
Who is online
510 visitors
Totally appropriate.
Trump better hope not.
There are so many examples of disqualifying character traits: mocking the handicapped, dismissing members of the military, incessant bullying, constant distorting of the truth, et.al..,
Somehow these character flaws are dismissed by so many in their partisan hackery, hatred, and havoc.
But 1/6 is even more heinous. A deliberate and calculated attempt to overturn our sacred right to the principles of free and fair elections. He and his sycophants may discount everything else, but this is in no sense reconcilable.
As you say, even if we dont take Jan 6th into account, Trump is totally unfit to be president.
'constant distorting of the truth'
constant lying
Lara Trump was on CNN this morning. She was asked about Trump saying "so what?" when he was told Mike Pence was in danger, and Lara Trump changed the topic to dog and cat euthanasia because people cant afford pets.
Did you see Musk at the latest former 'president' rally? What a fucking freak.
By all means , she should continue to her spend time talking about the suffering of the people of Lebanon, bragging about how many taxpayer dollars she’s sending them and January 6th, 2021.
Every time we see a Republican official asked about Trumps actions related to overturning the election , and January 6th, the Republican official immediately tries to change the subject, as Trump does himself when asked about it. Everyone knows he's guilty, and he knows he's guilty. Why do you think what amounts to traitorous behavior by a president should not disqualify him from future public office ?
no voter is changing their mind over trump because of January 6, 2021 in October, 2024. It’s been baked in for years.
I dont believe that, but you didnt answer my question.
And it is totally appropriate to bring it up now. Only around 20 million people watched the J6 hearings, and there will be around 160 million voters.
So what?
Every time a democrat official is asked about Harris's radical past and present, the democrat official immediately changes the subject to how she was raised middle class and her neighbors kept the lawns nice.
What's your point?
Sadly, tragically, a true statement of how far we’ve fallen from understanding and accepting our responsibility as voters. Not just in 2024, but honoring all those that came before and for all those to follow.
This is a bellwether election, let us be honest, informed, and conscientious of the consequences.
Brilliant MAGA thinking !
So you are saying MAGA thinking is far superior than leftist thinking
We already knew that
If you say so
I did
'And it is totally appropriate to bring it up now.'
Yes, because he's been prepping and inciting, along with jd now, the cult of the maga for four years now for Attempted Insurrection/Coup Part II.
Thing is, they'll be prepared for the traitor lying scum this time...
One more time....the (non) events of J6 will have no appreciable impact on the coming election. The vast majority of the electorate simply does not care, in spite of the left playing this card for all its worth.
MAGA's dont care that Trump is a traitor ? Interesting.
Most rational and sane Americans don't believe Trump is a traitor, in spite of the left endlessly accusing him of being one. He never ordered those knuckleheads to riot. It never approached being an insurrection, only causing a delay in the proceedings. At no time were the members of Congress or their staffs in danger.
The mob violently tried to break into a restricted area less than 20 ft from the floor of the House. There were still members inside. How can you say they were not in danger? Because no one was shooting at them?
Trump is not a traitor strictly because his supporters attacked the Capitol. The ex governor of Maryland, Larry Hogan, said this morning that he sent National Guard to the Capitol that day, because congresspeople were calling him. IT WAS TRUMPS RESPONSIBILITY AND DUTY TO CALL HIM, and he didnt.
Trump is also a traitor because he tried to steal the election.
Only those who support traitor trump are the ones who don't care about 1/6.
I do wonder how many Trump voters are voting Trump just because he's not Biden, or now Harris?
I don't vote that way. I vote for the person whom I believe will do the best for the country.
Usually, that candidate on the right will always be insulted, lied about and disparaged by many of those on the left. Trump certainly isn't the first and he damn well won't be the last.
I believe voting for someone simply because that person is not the other person is dangerous at the least. If the person they actually voted for tries their best to destroy this country, much like Biden/Harris, then they deserve what they get, however, the rest of the country will suffer.
As do I. I believe that's the best approach. But we do know from past experience that there were a lot of people in 2016 who voted for Trump because he was different rather than Clinton who was viewed as just another Washington politician who would follow the same path as others. And we know there were many people in 2020 who voted for Biden just because he wasn't Trump. And from this very board we can see a lot of people who talk about voting Harris just because he's not Trump.
But I think it was a fair question as there are people who don't feel that the Biden administration has met the challenge and improved their lives and look at Harris as directly tied to the Biden administration. With the economy being the #1 issue according to voters and the Biden administration still catching a lot of heat over the cost of groceries, one has to wonder just how many people are voting against the Biden/Harris administration rather than for the repeat of Trump.
To be honest, I haven't heard any Trump supporter state they are voting for Trump because he is not Biden. Quite the contrary.
Most Trump supporters think objectively and are able to compare the two over both of their terms as president, and make their decision partially based on that. Like you said, the main reasoning is because the economies. If you use a comparison, and of you take COVID out f the mix, you will see Trump had a much stronger economy than what we have seen with BidenHarris
Even many minorities have seen the difference, hence the large shift of blacks and Hispanics from democrat to republican this election season.
The party of projection and the defenders of the indefensible