Voters’ sour moods stand to test Harris ‘joy’ campaign

Vice President Harris’s campaign is touting “joy,” attempting to change attitudes about the state of politics as the majority of Americans continue to report sour moods across the country.

The question of whether a joyful sentiment will resonate comes as former President Trump’s campaign has resorted back to hurling personal insults and painting a dire picture of the state of the country.

The joyous attitude and energetic feel of recent Harris campaign events has also shown a stark contrast to Trump — and the possibility that some voters are ready to receive a much more hopeful message.

“It clearly is opposite of what Trump is saying — that we’re a dying country, that we’ve lost our edge and we’re in trouble,” former Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) said. Harris and her vice presidential pick, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), are “the happy warriors that are out there fighting a good cause. … It’s not about personal character destruction or having to tear someone down.”

Crowley added that the Harris-Walz message doesn’t mean they won’t go after Trump, but that they would do so “with less of the vitriol.”

But the country might see things as far less delightful.

Two-thirds of Americans report being very or somewhat pessimistic about the state of politics in the U.S., according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs survey in late July. That poll came just days after President Biden dropped his reelection bid, hoisting Harris to the top of the ticket.

Only 16 percent of Americans in the survey said they were very or somewhat optimistic about the state of politics. The number of Americans who are pessimistic about the state of politics has been lingering above 60 percent in surveys since July 2021, while the amount of Americans who say they are optimistic hasn’t been above 20 percent since February 2020.

Former Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) said such low expectations leave “the happy lane in politics wide open.”

“The Harris campaign is smart to take it because while issues like immigration and inflation are potent and top-of-mind for a lot of voters, what most unites Americans today is a frustration and disillusionment with the toxicity of American politics,” Curbelo said.

The Harris campaign first tested its “joy” strategy last week in the wake of her choosing Walz as her running mate.

In a statement Monday, the campaign said, “over at the Harris-Walz campaign we are joyous, raucous, and fired up — and on the road,” a reference to its criticisms of Trump not being on the campaign trail last week, while the Democratic ticket was barnstorming battleground states.

“This is going to be hard work, but I know we like hard work. Hard work is good work for all of us. Hard work is good work, and we will do it with joy,” Harris said during a stop in Arizona on Friday, one of several that saw tens of thousands of supporters pack arenas with an enthusiasm Democrats haven’t seen on the campaign trail in months.

While Democrats argue such a strategy is a smart way to counter Trump’s negative campaign rhetoric, there are concerns that it stands to alienate some of those voters who are truly pessimistic about how things are going.

“Trump promises to take us back to chaos and acrimony; Harris offers a chance to turn the page to a new beginning. While adopting this new tone, Democrats will have to be careful to continue recognizing the real economic challenges people face while giving them hope for a brighter future,” Democratic communications strategist Katie Grant Drew said.

The Trump campaign pushed back on the notion, arguing  “there is no joy” when it comes to high inflation, the situation at the southern birder and wars in the Middle East and Europe.

“If Kamala Harris was really about ‘bringing back the joy’ she would reevaluate her radical agenda that has Americans struggling to stay safe and live comfortably. She can try to gaslight voters into thinking her campaign is full of ‘joyful warriors,’ but Americans know President Trump is the candidate that will put Americans first,” said Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s national press secretary.

The Harris campaign explained the strategy, one in which the week before it was laser-focused on labeling the Trump campaign as “weird,” as a way to show a difference between what they argue is division from the Trump campaign.

“Voters are responding to the contrast in this race: Donald Trump’s message to Americans is to fear one another, spread chaos, and divide us. Americans rejected that in 2020 and they are rejecting it now. Vice President Harris believes in love of country, joy in shared values, and optimism in the fight for our shared future,” campaign spokesperson Seth Schuster said.

Even some Republicans, including Curbelo, argue promoting joy is a good strategy.

“The ‘joy’ theme is smart in three different ways: It explains away the frequent laughter than many found awkward, it contrasts sharply with Trump and Biden, both angry warriors, and it offers a personality brand that unites rather than a policy brand that divides,” said Bruce Mehlman, a former official under President George W. Bush.

GOP strategist Ron Bonjean, co-founder of ROKK Solutions, suggested the Trump campaign counter the strategy by talking about policy solutions.

“Bringing back the joy is absolutely rallying the Democratic base and causing massive turnouts at rallies. This strategy is very similar to former President Obama’s ‘hope and change’ campaign theme, except this time, the candidate is the current vice president. With Harris as an incumbent, it is up to the Trump team to remind voters that she bears responsibility for the current direction of the country,” he said.

Bonjean added, “It is also up to Trump to start talking about solutions to voter problems that Harris should own as the second in command of the Biden administration.”

Political watchers also note that Harris’s joyous attitude is a change from the serious tone she struck as vice president.

Jesse Lee, a former senior official in the Biden and Obama White Houses, likened it to when Obama first felt a need to show seriousness before he loosened up during his second term, suggesting Harris went through a similar transition.

“She is comfortable in her own skin, comfortable in the office, in the position. Now she can go back to still having fun,” Lee said. “When Tim Walz came out, he had that same energy. That kind of positive, fun energy just breeds more, and more people want to be part of it.”

Brett Samuels contributed.

Updated 5:14 p.m.