Nia-Malika Henderson, Columnist

Harris Can Win on Vibes — and Trump Knows It

The showman who beat policy wonk Hillary Clinton in 2016 sees what his advisers don’t.

August 28, 2024 at 9:00 AM UTC

Nia-Malika Henderson is a politics and policy columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. A former senior political reporter for CNN and the Washington Post, she has covered politics and campaigns for almost two decades.

Good vibrations.
Photographer: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

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Frustrated Republicans who see Vice President Kamala Harris’ rise in the polls have a simple message for former President Donald Trump — stick to policy and you can win. The problem is their candidate is Donald Trump, and Trump, who beat policy wonk Hillary Clinton in 2016, knows that in a contest between white papers and vibes — which is really just cooler shorthand for emotion and feeling — vibes usually carry the day. (Clinton also famously lost to Barack Obama in 2008 in a contest not over minuscule policy differences but over vibes.)

This exchange between the former president and South Carolina Senator and Trump superfan Lindsey Graham was telling: “President Trump can win this election. His policies are good for America, and if you have a policy debate for president, he wins.” Graham told Kristen Welker last week on NBC’s Meet the Press. “Donald Trump the provocateur, the showman, may not win this election.”