One word sums up Kamala Harris’s significant shift in strategy against Donald Trump

Since Kamala Harris became Donald Trump’s opponent, one word has started to pop up incessantly. It signals an important shift.

The Democratic Party hasn’t just changed its candidate for November’s presidential election in the United States – it has also drastically revamped its message.

Since President Joe Biden withdrew from the race and handed his campaign infrastructure over to Vice President Kamala Harris, there has been a dramatic shift in tone.

It’s evident in the campaign’s statements, Ms Harris’s prepared speeches and, in the biggest giveaway that it’s a deliberate strategic move, almost every public appearance by other high profile Democrats.

The key word is “weird”.

US Vice President Kamala Harris. Picture: Stephanie Scarbrough/AFP

The Harris campaign’s argument goes like this: Donald Trump is weird. His pick for vice president, J.D. Vance, is weird. The pair of them say weird things and would impose weird policies on Americans.

That isn’t just a part of the message, it increasingly is the message.

The shift first became obvious on July 25, when the campaign issued a press release responding to one of Mr Trump’s TV interviews. The title: “Statement on 78-year-old criminal’s Fox News appearance.”

“After watching Fox News this morning we only have one question. Is Donald Trump OK?” the campaign wrote.

It proceeded to list its “main takeaways” from Mr Trump’s interview, including “Trump is flustered and lashing out”, the claim that he “praised dictators because he wants to be one”, and the conclusion that “Trump is old and quite weird?”.

This sounds nothing like equivalent statements released by the Biden campaign, even though many of the staff writing it are the same people. The tone is younger, snarkier and much more personal. And it wasn’t a one-off either; subsequent statements have carried the same vibe.

The Harris campaign’s message can be summarised as: “Trump’s a weird guy.” Picture: Alex Wroblewski/AFP

The “weird” talking point is also now a regular fixture of Democrats’ public appearances.

Here is Ms Harris herself, speaking in Massachusetts on Saturday: “Some of what he and his running mate are saying, well, it’s just plain weird.”

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, talking to ABC News: “On the other side, they’re just weird. They really are.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, on CBS: “Every day, it comes out Vance has done something more extreme, more weird, more erratic. Vance seems to be more weird and erratic than President Trump.”

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, speaking to an audience of Harris supporters in his home state: “These guys are just weird. They are! Don’t give them the power.

“Are they a threat to democracy? Yes. Are they going to take our rights away? Yes. Are they going to put people’s lives in danger? Yes.

“But don’t lift these guys up like they’re some kinds of heroes. Everyone in this room knows, and I know it as a teacher, a bully has no self-confidence. A bully has no strength. They have nothing. The fascists depend on fear. But we’re not afraid of weird people.

“We’re a little bit creeped out! But we’re not afraid.”

Mr Trump’s vice presidential pick, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance. Picture: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images via AFP

Mr Walz, who is reportedly a contender to become Ms Harris’s vice presidential pick, has been perhaps the most persistent practitioner of the new strategy since she took over. The day after those remarks above, speaking to CNN, he explained why he kept using the w-word.

“People kept saying ‘Trump is going to put women’s lives at risk’. That’s 100 per cent true. Donald Trump is potentially going to end constitutional liberties that we have. I do believe all those things are a real possibility,” he said.

“But it gives him way too much power. Listen to the guy. He’s talking about Hannibal Lecter and shocking sharks and just whatever crazy thing pops into his mind. And I thought we just give him way too much credit.

“I think one of the things is, you just ratchet down some of the scariness or whatever and just name it what it is.

“I’ve got to tell you, my observation on this is, have you ever seen the guy laugh? That seems very weird to me, that an adult can go through six-and-a-half years of being in the public eye. If he has laughed it’s at someone, not with someone. That is weird behaviour, and I don’t think you call it anything else. It’s simply what we’re observing.”

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a pioneer of the “Trump’s weird” strategy. Picture: Jim Watson/AFP

Neither Mr Trump nor Mr Vance has directly addressed this new line of attack. Our best look at their possible counterargument has come from the former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

“This whole ‘they’re weird’ argument from the Democrats is dumb and juvenile,” Mr Ramaswamy wrote on Twitter today.

“This is a presidential election, not a high school prom queen contest. It’s also a tad ironic coming from the party that preaches ‘diversity and inclusion’. Win on policy if you can, but cut the crap please.”

The Democrats reacted to this by calling their opponents weird again.

“Assigning extra votes to certain people based on the size of their family is weird,” said Brian Shatz, a senator representing Hawaii.

“Banning library books is weird. Government being in people’s bedrooms is weird. Government being in the exam room is weird. Saying ‘weird’ is not a schoolyard taunt, it is an observation.”

There are nearly 100 days left before the election. Prepare to hear that word lots, lots more.

Twitter: @SamClench