Kamala Harris is making Trump look small and weak
The mockery and belittling is working.
Weird.
The word 'weird' has exploded this week, as the Harris campaign metaphorically bludgeons Trump with it.
"A weird night on Fox News." "It would just be weird if it wasn’t so dangerous." "A weird and deranged Trump attacks Vice President Harris for laughing." "JD Vance is weird and creepy."
All of these are official messages from the Harris campaign in the past few days. Now Chuck Schumer is getting into the 'weird' game, saying the word on TV, and MAGA figures are pushing back — with a clear shade of desperation in their words.
Why does "weird" have such power?
Because it makes Trump look weak — and authoritarian politics is based on looking strong, on dominance.
A few years ago, I wrote a post on how to respond to MAGA relatives on Thanksgiving. That was based in part on my experience talking to right-wing voters — MAGA uncles, you might say.
It's been clear for years that one important thing needed for fighting MAGA is to get comfortable with mockery. It's not just me saying this: a sociologist noted today "I had a professor in undergrad whose area of expertise was modern European history, and one of the things he always emphasized, with total seriousness, is that you should always make fun of fascists, because the one thing they absolutely cannot deal with is being laughed at."
But why mockery? Why "weird"? What gives the word its power? Why does MAGA seem to be panicking?
Back in that earlier piece I said, "Unstated body language and how you carry yourself is just as important as the facts you present... the best way to persuade them... is to, well, dominate them a little verbally."
That's what 'weird' does. Weird is Kamala dominating Trump and Vance verbally. She's saying, implicitly, that the MAGA politicians are small and foolish and she doesn't need to engage with them. She's saying they should be looked down on.
And dominating Trump is key to stripping away his support. Back in 2016, Josh Marshall said "the entirety of Trump’s political message is dominance politics.. Trump attacks, others comply and submit." When people stop submitting and flip around the power relationship, Trump's politics no longer carry the same teeth. Another way to see it is in what Trump voters want. Memorably a Trump voter in 2019 said "[Trump] isn't hurting the people he needs to be hurting." Political scientist Liliana Mason wrote about Trump "Activating animus" in voters. Trump voters like Trump in part because he promises to hurt people they don't like. But that takes strength. Dominance requires strength. Making an aspiring autocrat look weak puts the lie to their whole politics and saps support for the autocrat. That's why "weird" is working.
Also from my article: "Projecting strength means different things for different people – you’ll have to see what works for you. [S]ometimes it’s subtle: you say “Oh, you’re just going on again” and wave your hand in a dismissive way."
Kamala Harris gets this. In a debate she'll verbally assert dominance over Trump. She gets that [me, 2022] "how you carry yourself is just as important as the facts you present" and that it's key "to stay calm and collected and show you’re the one who is confident and strong."
She'd do that in a debate, and she's doing the same thing in her campaign comms. "Weird" is about staying calm. It's about showing we are confident and strong — and that the Trump campaign is weak.
Bravo. More of this, please. We will beat MAGA this way.