road proposals – establishing 18-year term limits for justices (something which most all democracies have) and a binding code of conduct to prevent conflicts of interest – seem most reasonable, as does a separate proposal for a constitutional amendment denying US presidents immunity from prosecution for crimes committed while in office, given the politicalization of the Court. The first proposal for a term limit and a binding code of ethics, which has been denounced by the present speaker of the house as being dead on arrival, could well pass if Democrats controlled the House and Senate, because these do not require a constitutional amendment. The second, denying U.S. presidents immunity from prosecution, would require a constitutional amendment, which would be most difficult as this requires not only Congressional approval but approval of three-quarters of the states – something difficult to achieve in such a divided country. But polling has support swinging against the court and in support of such proposals, as opposed to proposals that would increase the number of justices and be open to criticism of packing the court, so Harris can express her support for such needed reform while letting Biden do the heavy preparatory lifting.
In driving a wedge between Trump and undecided or independent voters, Harris could also engage in initiatives that drive a wedge between Trump and Vance, his vice-presidential pick. By anointing a mini-me, Trump has once again revealed his arrogance and narcissistic tendencies. Many in the GOP are already frustrated with Trump’s pick of Vance, as his appointment brought nothing to the party in terms of expanding the base. Harris can exploit the situation by pointing out how similar the two are in terms of character, temperament, and practice.
First, CNN reports that Vance has the lowest favorability rating of any VP pick immediately after the party convention since the 1980s. Only thirty-four percent of Republicans strongly support Vance as the running mate.10 This may not cause concern among staunch MAGA supporters of Trump, as they are focused solely on Trump himself as their leader. But as more and more information is uncovered about Vance, and how willing he has been over the years to change his positions on policy when convenient, more and more people will come to see him as a chameleon interested only in power. And questions will be raised as to whether his presence on the ticket will tarnish Trump. Trump is quite willing to throw people close to him under the bus when convenient, as became evident when he turned on Vice President Pence. Harris and her team need to take advantage of Trump’s tendencies by creating a narrative that situates Vance as a threat to Trump’s power and legacy.
Trump is a narcissist, which precludes him from being an ideologue. He engages in nicknames, name calling, bullying to maneuver around taking hard lines on people and policy. And as such, Trump is willing to tolerate people and difference so long as they do not stand against him or threaten his power. This is why he could tolerate Pence and his strict religious belief and practice, including Pence’s much more strict views on abortion and willingness to invoke the Bible than Trump whose position on abortion changed when politically expedient and use of the Bible was a convenient prop in photo ops.
But it is also why Trump turned on Pence when Pence’s ideological commitment to the American Constitution caused him to stand against Trump when Trump asked him to violate his oath of office by acting in Congress to decertify the 2020 election results. He is, in other words, willing to tolerate loyalists until their ideological commitments cross a line only Trump controls and he then becomes unwilling to tolerate the idealogue any longer. The list extends well beyond Vice President Pence to former chief of staff John Kelly, former secretary of state Rex Tillerson, former chief of staff Reince Priebus, former secretary of health and human services Tom Price, former ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, former communications director Anthony Scaramucci, and former advisor Michael Flynn, among others.
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