When Vice President Kamala Harris took over Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, with the current president being relegated to spending his time making passive aggressive comments from the safety of his beach chair, she was spoiled for choice when it came to attack options against former President Donald Trump.
And what did she choose as one of her primary assault strategies? Going to war with Trump over authenticity, presenting herself as an understanding representative of middle-class America while labeling Trump as a fake and out-of-touch elitist.
There’s just one problem: In the world of politics, Trump is as authentic as it gets, for better and for worse, while Harris is as inauthentic as it gets. And yes, that’s saying something.
Trump’s greatest strength, and perhaps his greatest weakness, is that he is always himself. Whether he’s placing Halloween candy on a child’s head, stopping to replace a Marine’s hat on a windy day, or living his best life serving fries at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania, you get exactly what you pay for: Donald Trump.
And even though his critics predictably fall over themselves in condemnation — declaring his McDonald’s appearance as a “condescending” insult to the working class — where regular politicians struggle, Trump knocks it out of the park. Why? Because despite his aura of fame and fortune, there’s one thing he is not: an actor.
Sure, this relentless authenticity often blows up in his face while conservatives beg for him to be just a little bit less … Trumpy. But the instincts that made him talk about golf legend Arnold Palmer’s genitalia at a campaign rally are the same that drove him to raise his fist immediately after being shot while proclaiming, “Fight!”
The fact is that Trump’s authenticity, and how people respond to him as a result, is precisely why the political elite despise him. It’s not because they suddenly oppose inappropriate behavior. It’s because they are jealous that he has a gift with people they can never replicate.
For years, political candidates have tried so hard to pretend they are just like us. They’ve enjoyed fried chicken and collard greens with civil rights activist Al Sharpton, they’ve fallen to their knees in Kente cloths, and they’ve claimed to carry hot sauce at all times. Then, the second the photo op is over, they spray themselves with Purell and hop into their Escalades faster than you can say “basket of deplorables.”
Harris, the regime’s chosen representative, is the most inauthentic politician of all, even more so than her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), a 24-year Army National Guard veteran who knows less about loading a shotgun than your average goldfish. Whether it’s announcing her love of rap before struggling to name a rapper other than Tupac, changing her accent more times than Russell Brand in Rock of Ages, or searching a gas station for the perfect bag of Doritos, she will never understand that the reason voters see through her performance is simple: It’s because it’s a performance.
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Trump’s McDonald’s visit was a political victory simply because it wasn’t a performance. He didn’t roll up his sleeves, or throw on a ball cap, or hastily purchase a flannel shirt at a Walmart to pretend he was something else. He showed up and served fries in his shirt and tie, and he enjoyed himself.
Inauthentic people, by definition, will never understand what it means to be authentic. In Trump’s case, it means showing people the respect of daring to be yourself. Harris’s problem? She doesn’t even know what “being yourself” means.
Ian Haworth is a columnist, speaker, and podcast host. You can find him on Substack and follow him on X at @ighaworth.