'Saucier, more ruthless' Harris campaign pivots to new tactic in Trump attacks

Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign is employing a decidedly different tactic than what President Joe Biden used when he ran against former President Donald Trump.

Axios reports that while Biden's campaign presented Trump as a dire threat to the American republic, the Harris campaign has opted for straight-up ridicule against him.

"The same Democratic digital team in Wilmington, Delaware, has pivoted from the stuffier, decorous Biden for President campaign to a saucier, more ruthless Harris for President campaign," the publication writes. "Trump has always been the taunter — 'Sleepy Joe,' 'Crooked Hillary,' 'Little Marco,' 'Low-Energy Jeb,' 'Meatball Ron.' Now he's the taunted. It's another dimension of Vice President Harris' 'happy warrior' approach to a campaign that's sure to get uglier this fall."

ALSO READ: From Nixon to Trump: How the GOP has weaponized 'othering' for political gain

This new tactic was on display at last week's Democratic National Convention, where Harris described Trump as "an unserious man" while also arguing that "the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious."

More recently, writes Axios, the Harris campaign's strategy of ridiculing Trump's campaign for wanting to keep his microphone muted during their upcoming debate next month showed an operation dedicated to keep its opponent on the defensive.

"Monday's widespread coverage of the backstage fight over the 'muted mics' issue meant Harris was continuing to control the campaign conversation as she roared out of Chicago into her first post-convention week," Axios notes.