Speakers at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on Monday in Chicago, Illinois, reportedly mentioned the word “Trump” 130 more times than three of the top 2024 issues combined: “crime,” “inflation,” and “border.”
The Harris campaign avoids the issues because it is caught in a so-called “catch-22.”
Speaking about policies to fix crime, inflation, and border security would undermine the Biden-Harris administration’s claim of having solved those issues. However, Democrats must tout the administration’s policy successes to validate presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris’s record and candidacy.
Focusing on “Trump” instead of the issues is a convenient strategy to avoid that paradoxical situation.
The “Trump” centric approach also suggested a double standard among media elites. Nearly all the mentions of “Trump” during Monday’s programming were personal insults to the president, which were cast as either fair or accurate. When former President Donald Trump attacks Democrats, he is nearly always accused of being nasty or mean.
“Check the transcript,” Tim Murtaugh from the Trump campaign posted on X:
At the Democratic National Convention on day one, these were key topics and the number of times mentioned by speakers:
Border: 8 times
Crime: 6 times
Inflation: 3 times
Trump: 147 times
Mentions at night one of the DNC:
TRUMP: 147 times
ECONOMY: 27 times
BORDER: 8 times
CRIME: 6 times
PRICES: 5 times
INFLATION: 3 times
Priorities!
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) August 20, 2024
Polling shows that inflation, border security, and crime are key issues plaguing the nation under the Biden-Harris administration. Under its watch, inflation soared about 20 percent across the board, and millions of people invaded the southern border while illegal migrants were accused of committing heinous crimes.
Sixty-three percent of voters said crime is a major factor in who they will vote for in the presidential election, a recent CBS News poll found. Nearly two-thirds of Americans said soaring costs and migration are the most important issues they face, an August YouGov poll found.
Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former RNC War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.