David Axelrod isn’t feeling the juice surrounding Kamala Harris. Whether you like him or not, Axelrod knows how to win elections and can pick those who have what it takes. The former Obama adviser is warning Democrats not to get too excited: it’s still Trump’s election to lose, and the enthusiasm is likely artificial. I believe the exact term he used was “irrational exuberance” (via The Hill):
WATCH: David Axelrod on the state of the presidential race:
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) August 5, 2024
"Trump has the advantage right now and everybody should be sober about that on the Democratic side." pic.twitter.com/dvt9HfRQKM
Former Obama advisor David Axelrod: Trump is up in every swing state pic.twitter.com/kYvoqH5Wmw
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) August 5, 2024
Harris’s campaign has come out to a quick start, breaking fundraising records and significantly cutting into former President Trump’s previous lead in polls since she replaced President Biden at the top of the ticket.
“She has a lot of momentum, but if you do look at the polling, this is still a really tight race,” he said. “This is going to be a hard fight for either side. It’s based on the numbers we’re seeing right now.”
“Look, I mean, there’s a lot of irrational exuberance … on the Democratic side of the aisle right now, because there was despair for some period of time about what November was gonna look like,” he continued. “Now people feel like there’s a chance.”
Despite that optimism, Axelrod said, the balance remains in Trump’s favor.
“It’s absolutely Trump’s race to lose right now. He is ahead,” he said. “And he is ahead in most of the battleground states. They’re close, they can be won by either candidate.”
With less than 16 weeks to go until Election Day, we’re in this weird period where there isn’t room for Democrats to suffer seismic shifts in their camp but plenty of time for Republicans to lose this election. If Biden were still the nominee, that’s a different story—he was veering toward a point of no return, which party bosses were aware of, hence the increased effort to get him to quit. Enthusiasm and fundraising are no longer problems, but let’s wait until the first debate. That’s another story as Kamala refuses to debate Trump on Fox. Trump had agreed to debate Biden on ABC News but not Kamala. He’s not obligated to debate the vice president or any do-over candidate.
If he refocuses on her record exclusively and prepares for a feistier and more cogent Democrat, I think Trump could wipe the floor with Kamala. She has to not chicken out, however.