Alyssa Farah Griffin: Harris is ‘right to see herself as the underdog’

Former White House communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin argued that while Democrats had a “well-orchestrated” convention this past week, Vice President Harris is “right” to see herself as the underdog in the White House race.

Farah Griffin also cautioned that despite the Democrats’ 4-day event bringing a large viewership, the election is still a toss-up between Harris and former President Trump.

“But 75 days is a long time. Donald Trump is a master at reclaiming the spotlight and getting eyeballs, back on him, he obviously got the RFK Jr. endorsement today, which there’s some pros to that,” she told host Wolf Blitzer Friday on CNN’s “The Situation Room.”

“And there’s some real cons, but this is an incredibly tight race, and I come from the David Axelrod school of thought on this,” Farah Griffin continued. “She should be running two points ahead. Democrats need to be, if they think they’re going to win. She’s right, to see herself as the underdog.” 

Harris, who officially became the party’s nominee Thursday at the Democratic National Convention, told reporters last week that she does view herself as the underdog, despite momentum in the polls which have put her ahead of the former president.

“I very much consider us the underdog. We have a lot of work to do to earn the vote of the American people,” she said while on a bus tour with her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), adding, “That’s why we’re on this bus tour today, and we’re going to be traveling this country as we’ve been, and talking with folks, listening to folks and hopefully earning their votes over the next 79 days.”

Farah Griffin said Harris, who replaced President Biden following his decision to withdraw from the race in late July, is running a campaign that is aware of needing to reach beyond her base.

Despite her outreach toward independents and some Republicans, the vice president will now need to clarify her policy positions and do it before Trump’s campaign inserts their own view of them, the CNN commentator stressed.

“I think she is running knowing that she needs to bring in some folks who wouldn’t traditionally necessarily be with her,” she said on Friday. “I thought it was a very smart message, but now she’s going to have to answer some really tough questions around policy.”

“Luckily, Donald Trump also has some weaknesses around policy,” she added. “So, I think who can first define where they’re going to stand and moderate toward the middle is the person who’s going to win.” 

Her comments come after independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Friday that he would suspend his campaign and back Trump. The two later appeared together at a rally in Glendale, Ariz., a suburb of Phoenix.

Kennedy said his name would remain on the ballot in most states, but he would withdraw from the battleground states, where his candidacy could make a difference.

The Hill/Decision Desk HQ’s national polling index shows Harris leading Trump by 3.6 percentage points — 49.5 percent to 45.9 percent.