When Laura Barron-Lopez appears on PBS, the question is: Reporter or Taxpayer-Funded White House Press Secretary?
On Friday’s PBS News Hour, it sounded like Karine Barron-Lopez, touting how Democrats have a new line of personal attack: Branding Republicans as “weird” and “creepy.” The PBS White House correspondent dropped her previous sensitivity to personal attacks and seemed to approve of the new tactic.
Anchor Geoff Bennett set things up. "While on the campaign trail, the vice president is trying some new language on for size, like calling her opponent Donald Trump weird."
The story opened with the weird inference that Kamala was trying something new: Authenticity.
Laura Barron-Lopez: On a fast-track campaign for the White House, Vice President Harris is trying something new, to call it as she sees it.
Kamala Harris: He and his running mate sure seem to have a lot to say about me. And, by the way, don't you find some of their stuff to just be plain weird?
She didn’t mind that the vice president and her team sounded like bullies lording it over “weirdos” in a 1980s high school comedy.
Barron-Lopez: Now, campaign press releases call Trump old and quite weird, and Democrats across the board are leaning into Harris's blunt approach, from possible vice presidential picks commenting on Trump's behavior…
Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN): Have you ever seen the guy laugh? If he has laughed, it's at someone, not with someone. That is weird behavior.
Barron-Lopez: … to leaders of the party addressing resurfaced clips of J.D. Vance.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY): Every day, Vance -- it comes out Vance has done something more extreme, more weird, more erratic.
The reporter brought her own adjective to the party, “creepy," as the taxpayer-funded network played for free a nasty ad mocking cartoonish white conservative Christian men:
Barron-Lopez: Branding the Republicans as creepy has caught on fast. In an ad released by a PAC focused on young voters, the conservative playbook Project 2025 is personified as people desperate to control your personal life.
….[Ad airs for 22 seconds]
Barron-Lopez: This shift in language is a strategy that could prove effective as Harris rushes to define her opponent in a new way, according to David Karp of George Washington University.
David Karpf, George Washington University: The serious messaging around Donald Trump that this is a threat to democracy if we take him both seriously and literally this time, that's important, but it's also a bummer. And what we're seeing here is a way to talk about this that is still on message. It's still on the theme. But there's some joy, there's some mirth, and there's some verve to it.
Undisclosed fun fact! Professor Karpf donated $250 to the Biden-Harris campaign in 2020.
This was a total press release, except when PBS offered one 26-second soundbite to a Republican strategist, Joshua Novotney, who said Trump shouldn't bite on the "weird" attacks and focus on the Biden-Harris record. Then the PBS reporter noted accurately that “Donald Trump is no stranger to name-calling,” then validated Harris’s own brand of personal name-calling at the end.
Barron-Lopez: Michelle Obama's "When they go low, we go high," may no longer be Democrats' North Star, but it's a choice that could end up boosting Harris' self-described underdog campaign. For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Laura Barron-Lopez.
Has taking the high road really been the “Democrat’s North Star,” as Barron-Lopez insisted? Does she not recall the nine years of vituperation against Donald Trump and MAGA in general from both Democrats and the press?
This "creepy" segment was brought to you in part by Raymond James financial services, and taxpayers like you.
A transcript is available, click “Expand.”
PBS News Hour
8/2/24
7:23:51 p.m. (ET)
Geoff Bennett: The Democratic National Committee announced today that Vice President Kamala Harris has secured the number of delegates in a virtual roll call to win the party's nomination, which will be made official after voting ends on Monday.
While on the campaign trail, the vice president is trying some new language on for size, like calling her opponent Donald Trump weird. Our White House correspondent, Laura Barron-Lopez, has more.
Laura Barron-Lopez: On a fast-track campaign for the White House, Vice President Harris is trying something new, to call it as she sees it.
Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States (D) and U.S. Presidential Candidate: He and his running mate sure seem to have a lot to say about me. And, by the way, don't you find some of their stuff to just be plain weird?
Laura Barron-Lopez: It's a notable change from when President Biden was in the race.
Joe Biden, President of the United States: Do you really want to go back to the chaos of Donald Trump as president?
Audience: No!
Laura Barron-Lopez: Much of his language focused on Donald Trump as an existential threat to the country.
Joe Biden: It's about your freedom. It's about democracy.
Laura Barron-Lopez: Now, campaign press releases call Trump old and quite weird, and Democrats across the board are leaning into Harris' blunt approach, from possible vice presidential picks commenting on Trump's behavior…
Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN): Have you ever seen the guy laugh? If he has laughed, it's at someone, not with someone. That is weird behavior.
Laura Barron-Lopez: … to leaders of the party addressing resurfaced clips of J.D. Vance.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY): Every day, Vance — it comes out Vance has done something more extreme, more weird, more erratic.
Laura Barron-Lopez: Branding the Republicans as creepy has caught on fast.
[Man in Commercial: That's just the start.]
Laura Barron-Lopez: In an ad released by a PAC focused on young voters, the conservative playbook Project 2025 is personified as people desperate to control your personal life.
Man: Your genitals are reserved for procreation.
Man: If you freeze 12 eggs, you should be required to have 12 babies.
Man: Or else you're a serial killer. And I'm definitely not a serial killer. Are you?
Laura Barron-Lopez: This shift in language is a strategy that could prove effective as Harris rushes to define her opponent in a new way, according to David Karp of George Washington University.
David Karpf, George Washington University: The serious messaging around Donald Trump that this is a threat to democracy if we take him both seriously and literally this time, that's important, but it's also a bummer.
And what we're seeing here is a way to talk about this that is still on message. It's still on the theme. But there's some joy, there's some mirth, and there's some verve to it.
Laura Barron-Lopez: Since Democrats have changed their tune rhetorically, Republicans have tried to find a response. Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said Democrats are being dumb and juvenile, while Donald Trump tried to use Harris' words against her in a recent interview with FOX News.
Donald Trump, Former President of the United States (R) and Current U.S. Presidential Candidate: You know who's plain weird? She's plain weird. She's a weird person. Look at her past.
Laura Barron-Lopez: But for Republican strategist Joshua Novotney, based in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania, Donald Trump should stay focused on attacking Harris' record.
Joshua Novotney, Republican Strategist: Stay off the personal stuff and talk about how she mismanaged the border crisis, talk about the inflation and the economy. I don't think anyone is sitting there saying we enjoy paying twice as much for our groceries than we did a couple years ago. Those are winning issues here.
I would ignore the weird comments and all of that. I think that will backfire on Democrats as being a little too mocking and childish and kind of beneath them.
Laura Barron-Lopez: Donald Trump is no stranger to name-calling, recently saying Harris is dumb as a rock, demonizing her on the campaign trail…
Donald Trump: She has no clue. She's evil.
Laura Barron-Lopez: … and even mocking her biracial heritage.
Donald Trump: She was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden she made a turn, and she went. She became a Black person.
Laura Barron-Lopez: Trump's reactions are another sign the weird attack is landing, Karpf said.
David Karpf: Part of the reason we know this is working well isn't just that it's going viral online, but that it has her opponents stuttering in response and saying it's not fair. When you have your opponents reacting in ways that amplify your message and make them uncomfortable, you keep on doing that.
Kamala Harris: When we fight, we win!
Laura Barron-Lopez: Michelle Obama's, "When they go low, we go high," may no longer be Democrats' North Star, but it's a choice that could end up boosting Harris' self-described underdog campaign.
For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Laura Barron-Lopez.
