Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump made appearances on Fox News on October 16, 2024, employing contrasting methods to engage with voters. As the election approaches, their different tactics are evident, aimed at distinct voter groups.
Vice President Harris was interviewed by Fox News anchor Bret Baier, addressing key issues such as immigration with a more assertive approach due to voter discontent. Harris highlighted her detachment from the Biden administration and presented herself as a person capable of offering new ideas for enduring issues.
By proposing neutral programs and even implying that, should she win the presidency, she may name a Republican to her cabinet, she also tried to win over dissatisfied Republicans and independents. To appeal to moderates worried about sharp political splits, Harris repeatedly denounced Trump’s harsh language and promised to govern with more inclusivity.
In contrast, Trump was booked on Fox’s Harris Faulkner town hall with views on energizing his right-wing base through the reassertion of his stands on the big-ticket issues of economy, foreign policy, and abortion. And while he was unyielding in asserting that the right to abort a fetus must be left to the states to decide, hence concreting his appeal to conservatives.
By discussing his administration’s remarkable economic accomplishments, criticizing the present one, and discussing its foreign policy, particularly with China and Russia, he stayed on topic. Here, he capitalized on his advantages as a candidate who had won the audience over by portraying himself as an advocate for conservative principles and ideas.
These two sides appearing on the same day proved how badly both contenders were variously different. Harris is trying to increase her stake by appealing to independent and swing voters while Trump is not changing policy much and doubling down on the conservative values that got him elected the last time around.
