Gov. Tim Walz’s (D-MN) messaging strategy during Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate used two simple words early out of the gate to draw a contrast between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
Harris is “steady,” while Trump is “fickle.”
Just minutes into the 90-minute debate against Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), Walz touted Harris as “steady” at least five times to illustrate her handling of foreign policy and used some form of “fickle” three times to criticize what he described as Trump’s more unpredictable personality and agenda.
“What we’ve seen out of Vice President Harris is we’ve seen steady leadership,” Walz said, answering a question regarding Iran’s missile attacks on Israel. “We’ve seen a calmness that is able to draw on the coalitions to bring them together, understanding that our allies matter.”
On Trump, Walz said, “Our allies understand that Donald Trump is fickle. He will go to whoever has the most flattery or where it makes sense to him. Steady leadership, like you witnessed today, like you witnessed in April, both Iranian attacks were repelled.”
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Early indicators suggested the tactic resonated with undecided voters from key states who tuned into the debate.
The highest-rated moment of the first 15 minutes was Walz discussing Trump’s “fickle” leadership compared to Harris’s more “steady” style, according to the Harris campaign’s focus group of undecided battleground voters.
Marisa Schultz contributed to this report.