The new phase in the final weeks of the presidential campaign is aimed at trying to persuade undecided voters to support the vice president, Harris aides said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
WASHINGTON \u2014 Vice President Kamala Harris<\/a>\u2019 campaign is planning to\u2002more aggressively attack<\/a> former President Donald Trump<\/a> in the remaining weeks ahead of the November election, a new phase aimed at trying to move the small number of undecided voters her way, according to five Harris campaign officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The change is driven, in part, by internal campaign data showing that sharper messaging against Trump could persuade some still-unsure Americans to support Harris, according to three of the campaign officials. The effort is set to include<\/a> new ads\u2002<\/a>and harsher language on the campaign trail that highlights Trump\u2019s past actions and rhetoric that Harris officials hope will tip these voters away from backing the former president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Follow live politics coverage here<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are going to draw more contrasts everywhere we can,\u201d Harris campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond said in an interview. Given Trump\u2019s own rhetoric in the campaign, Richmond added, \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s any expectation that you criticize him with kid gloves.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Leaning more heavily into negative campaigning is a strategic shift for Harris. While she has routinely been critical of Trump since becoming a candidate in July, and before that as President Joe Biden\u2019s running mate, much of her campaign\u2019s focus has been on defining her and explaining her record to voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Harris campaign officials said they intend to continue laying out her policy positions, background and plans if she were to win the presidency \u2014 and increasing negative messaging is oftentimes a natural evolution in a presidential campaign as the candidates make their closing arguments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But emphasizing what Harris campaign officials view as Trump\u2019s major vulnerabilities is seen as possibly one of the only ways to finally win over some voters who haven\u2019t made up their mind in a static race that Democrats want to push in their direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe numbers aren\u2019t moving,\u201d a Harris campaign official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A second Harris campaign official, also speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal strategy, said, \u201cFundamentally, with a month to go, our messaging is going to be much more about the choice in this election.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s going to be a shift,\u201d the official said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Indeed the Harris campaign has already begun to telegraph the approach, including in two new ads this week: one referring to his time in office as \u201cerratic, destructive, and divisive\u201d and another that raises questions<\/a> about his fitness for office<\/a> given he is 78 years old. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The campaign specifically cited internal research demonstrating that \u201cshowing that Trump is unstable in contrast to Harris\u201d is \u201cthe most effective message for target voters\u201d they are trying to reach and persuade in the closing stretch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And on Friday in a campaign speech at the Redford Township Fire Department in Detroit, Harris tore into Trump as no friend of union workers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDonald Trump\u2019s track record is a disaster for working people,\u201d Harris said. \u201cHe\u2019s trying to gaslight people all over our country, but we know the facts and we know the truth. He is an existential threat to America\u2019s labor movement.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n While the vast majority of Trump campaign ads have been negative, according to the tracking firm AdImpact<\/a>, for much of last month the Harris campaign ran an equal mix of positive and negative ads on broadcast television. Harris campaign officials noted that, with less than four months as a candidate, she had to compress what typically would have been a longer introduction of herself before moving more negative messaging to help persuade and turn out voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n New Harris ads will zero in more of Trump\u2019s record and rhetoric, but also further tie Trump to the Project 2025 conservative policy blueprint \u2014 a decision driven by public polling showing\u2002<\/a>the plan is deeply unpopular and the former president\u2019s continued insistence he has no connections to it, according to the second Harris campaign official. The goal, according to a third campaign official speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal strategy, is to \u201ccrystallize the choice for voters in the home stretch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n