Staff Reports
The 2024 election is shaping up to be a real barnburner, and Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley isn’t mincing words when it comes to the state of the race. He claims that the Trump campaign is going full throttle while the Democrats are figuring out how to cling to their old blue states for dear life. With Vice President Kamala Harris traipsing around various battlegrounds—where Trump’s support is surging—it seems that Democrats are on the defensive, and Whatley is more than happy to point that out.
Harris recently made her mark in New Hampshire, a state that’s been trending red, while her husband Doug Emhoff was seen putting on a charm offensive in Virginia. As Whatley sees it, the Republican Party isn’t going to back down; they’re still actively campaigning in these states, and frankly, they’re feeling pretty good about the prospects. With President Joe Biden deciding to call it quits on his reelection efforts, the RNC is revving its engines, as Whatley emphasizes that they are very much still in the game.
Trump ‘playing offense’ while Democrats are on defense: Michael Whatley https://t.co/5xNUkxdqwg via @dcexaminer
— 🇺🇸 The Briefing Room 🇺🇸 🇮🇱 (@Briefing__Room) September 4, 2024
Whatley didn’t hold back in his assessment of Trump’s strategy, confidently stating that it’s all about being aggressive. He suggests the Democrats are now just playing catch-up, fumbling and stumbling in the states that matter. Trump, he argues, is focusing his message on all American families while, apparently, Harris is busy trying to untangle herself from Biden’s lackluster record. The message here is that the “sugar high” of Harris’s sudden prominence is fading fast, and now it’s time for the real campaign games to begin post-Labor Day.
As for Harris’s abilities, there’s considerable skepticism within the GOP camp about her detachment from Biden’s less-than-stellar leadership. Last week’s interview was a tough sell, at least in their eyes. Many Republicans are wondering if she’s truly polished enough to handle the pressure of the upcoming debates—and if she’s ready for the big leagues. Whatley claims that her attempts to assert herself as a candidate are lacking, and it seems that the RNC is all too eager to remind voters of that.
Polling results sway back and forth like a pendulum in this chaotic political landscape, with Harris clinging to a slight lead in some swing states like Wisconsin and Michigan. Nevertheless, Trump emerges as the frontrunner in Arizona, while battlegrounds like Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Nevada remain a toss-up. The razor-thin margins in states like Virginia, where Harris is only ahead by 3 percentage points, suggest a tight competition—especially with a notable chunk of undecided votes that could easily swing in Trump’s favor. In this ever-evolving electoral chess game, it’s clear that both teams are making their moves, but as Whatley suggests, it’s the GOP that is setting the pace right now.
