Harris Used to Worry About Laughing. Now Joy Is Fueling Her Campaign.

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Political Memo

Democrats are smiling again, and truthful is simply a vice president who erstwhile weighed the governmental risks of cheerfulness. The precocious spirits are besides providing aerial screen for scathing attacks connected Republicans.

Vice President Kamala Harris smiling and waving to supporters astatine  a rally.
Vice President Kamala Harris’s rallies person been acold amended attended than President Biden’s were, and her campaign’s fund-raising has surged.Credit...Jenn Ackerman for The New York Times

Katie Rogers

By Katie Rogers

Katie Rogers is simply a White House newsman and has covered the Trump medication and the Biden administration. She traveled with the vice president connected a plaything done the Midwest this week.

Aug. 9, 2024Updated 8:09 a.m. ET

Follow unrecorded updates connected the 2024 election.

There was a time, aboriginal successful her vice presidency, erstwhile Kamala Harris, alert of reams of blimpish quality sum criticizing her laughter, privately wondered to confidants whether she should laugh, oregon amusement a consciousness of humor, astatine all.

They reassured her that she should, according to 2 radical acquainted with the discussions astatine the time. Still, Ms. Harris proceeded gingerly, embarking connected a tally of tightly controlled appearances. She focused connected issues similar termination rights and worked to bolster her overseas argumentation chops. She took emotionally resonant trips during which she carefully honed her image. Along the way, laughter ne'er truly near her.

So it is nary mishap that joyousness — a battle-tested mentation of it — has go the backbone of Ms. Harris’s run successful caller days.

“The happening we similar astir hard enactment is we person amusive doing hard work,” she said astatine a run lawsuit with autoworkers connected Thursday successful Wayne, Mich. “Because we cognize what we basal for. When you cognize what you basal for, you cognize what you combat for.”

Her moving mate of 3 days, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, is ad-libbing galore of the compliments helium gives Ms. Harris connected the run way arsenic helium tries to onslaught a opposition with what helium casts arsenic the gloomy imaginativeness of erstwhile President Donald J. Trump and different Republicans.

“The 1 happening I volition not forgive them for is they effort to bargain the joyousness from this country,” Mr. Walz, who has truthful acold presented himself arsenic thing of a walking carnivore hug, said connected Wednesday successful Detroit. “But you cognize what? Our adjacent president brings the joy. She emanates the joy.”


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