In a heated critique, GOP strategist Brad Todd called Vice President Kamala Harris' Tuesday speech "political malpractice," citing the optics of her delivering it right in front of the White House as a severe misstep given President Joe Biden’s high disapproval ratings.
Harris used the speech, delivered at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., to urge supporters to vote for her, emphasizing that a Trump presidency would bring more "chaos and division." But Todd argued that the backdrop of the White House — the center of Biden's administration — only reinforced voter dissatisfaction, not Harris's case for the presidency.
I don’t think the Vice President got what she hoped from her speech tonight, standing in front of the icon of her failure. My take on @AC360 for @CNN: pic.twitter.com/zw0wpoitCn
— Brad Todd (@BradOnMessage) October 30, 2024
Todd, speaking on Anderson Cooper 360, explained his concerns as a campaign strategist, noting, “68% of Americans think that the country’s on the wrong track, and they blame Joe Biden, and increasingly they’re blaming Kamala Harris. By standing in front of the White House tonight, she’s going to own all 68% of that disapproval.”
According to Todd, Harris should have instead chosen to campaign in battleground areas like Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, regions crucial to the swing vote and likely more persuasive settings than the comfort zone of Washington, D.C. Todd underscored that northwest Washington is “about her best precinct in America,” suggesting that her strong support there wasn’t helpful in terms of connecting with undecided or more moderate voters elsewhere.
Kamala Harris is in serious trouble in the electoral college (even against a polarizing opponent) & it’s of her own choosing. She won’t admit the failure of this administration. We saw it last night at the @whitehouse. Here’s my take for @AC360 on @CNN: pic.twitter.com/dgITfYxOaJ
— Brad Todd (@BradOnMessage) October 30, 2024
Todd also touched on Harris’ appeal to Republicans who previously supported former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, arguing that her speech likely fell flat with this audience. Todd compared the speech to Harris' address at the Democratic National Convention, saying, “Haley voters had to be looking at this as like a Christmas present they opened up was socks.
They got nothing new from her, nothing that wasn’t in her convention speech, frankly.” For Todd, the similarity to past rhetoric and the focus on opposing Trump rather than introducing new ideas left an impression of stagnation, hardly the message likely to win over undecided voters.
The ‘garbage’ contretemps is a perfect distillation of why media trust is catastrophically low. These people spent DAYS hyperventilating about a Trump rally pre-show warm-up act insult comic making bad jokes, particularly one about Puerto Rico being a garbage island. They turned… pic.twitter.com/VkeDwuucsb
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) October 30, 2024
Adding to Harris' challenges is her recent attempt to distance herself from Biden, a maneuver that’s raised eyebrows among some voters and political strategists. After a statement on The View earlier this month where she struggled to name any changes she’d make from the past four years, her alignment with Biden’s administration became even more scrutinized.
Recent polling from CNN/SSRS shows that only 36% of Americans approve of Biden’s performance as president, with a resounding 64% expressing disapproval. Many voters continue to rank the economy, inflation, and immigration as their top concerns, issues where Biden and Harris currently face significant public dissatisfaction.