You Can’t Just Be the Anti-Trump When You’re a Liability Too: Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and (Re)Branding in the 2024 Campaign
摘要
Joe Biden pulled off one of the biggest political upsets in US politics following losses in early primary states to consolidation of the anti-Sanders wings of the party around his nomination to then win the 2020 presidential election. Biden was defined as the anti-Trump, a moderate alternative to the chaos of the Trump presidency. But can that work as an effective marketing and branding strategy again? 2024 became a referendum on Biden’s leadership, not just Trump’s demeanor, and that meant the Biden campaign had to pivot in terms of marketing Biden. But it proved to be a disaster, and when Kamala Harris took over as the nominee, the Democrats had to scramble to create and develop a re-brand in a very short time period. This chapter considers how Harris and running mate Tim Walz tried to create momentum and develop a new brand despite Biden’s unpopularity and Harris’s inability to distance herself from the Biden administration.