This week, Donald Trump set the political world afire with an appearance at a McDonald’s in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. There, he donned the famous McDonald’s apron, cooked up some fries and served customers at a drive-thru window. All the while, he looked like he was enjoying himself thoroughly -- which he certainly was. Trump has the momentum, and he knows it.
But it’s more than that. Whatever Trump’s other failings, at his root, Trump likes people. And not just people of his class or who share his background. He likes dealing with human beings. Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to commemorate Oct. 7 with Trump, where he met with the family of an American hostage held by Hamas in Gaza. Trump connected with them on an emotional level. Whether it’s Jewish Americans from New Jersey dealing with the horror and tragedy of having their son held by the world’s most vicious terror group or Pennsylvania voters who just want to meet Trump and pick up a Happy Meal, Trump is comfortable with his fellow Americans because he’s unapologetically what he is.
That’s simply not true of Kamala Harris.
Off-script, Harris remains a disaster. Her “60 Minutes” interview with Bill Whitaker was filled with word slaw, spin and platitudinous drivel; her Fox News interview with Bret Baier flew completely off the rails, with Harris unable to defend even the most basic decisions by the Biden administration. She is apparently now taking time off the campaign trail to prepare for an NBC News interview as well as a CNN townhall -- events that, for a normal candidate, would require zero prep time in a hotel conference room. Then again, this is the same woman whose staff had to hold a “mock dinner” to prepare her for a dinner with Washington journalists and newsmakers. Axios reported, “Harris aides even considered including wine in the mock prep so Harris could practice with a glass or two.”
What’s more, Harris seems to be a permanent resident of the uncanny valley. She does a mildly credible job of appearing warm and human ... but only just. Her interactions always reek of the staged and the manipulated. Every move is calculated -- and transparently so. Twelve-time Best Actress nominee Katharine Hepburn once reportedly described Meryl Streep’s acting as too mechanical: “Click, click, click,” she reportedly told biographer Scott Berg, “referring to the wheels turning inside (Streep’s) head.” That’s Kamala Harris with actual, real human beings. And it shows.
Which is why the media have gone apoplectic about Trump’s McDonald’s visit. Trump’s critics pointed out that the McDonald’s was actually formally closed for his visit and claimed that the event was “staged” -- a peculiar critique given that Trump has been the victim of two assassination attempts, and presidential campaigns require places of business to be secured before candidates enter. The critics even went so far as to attack the local franchise for its health record years ago. The desperation comes from an obvious place: This was a Trump win.
And it was a Trump win because Trump wasn’t pretending; he didn’t don jeans and a T-shirt in order to cosplay as one of the boys, Tim Walz-style. Instead, he showed up in his traditional suit, put on an apron and started handing out fries and chit-chatting with the customers. It was a moment of authenticity, and it showed as such compared with the polyester joy presented by the Kamala campaign.
Harris can’t shake the fundamental reality that she has been, for decades, a highly stylized political product. Kamala 1.0 was a progressive prosecutor; Kamala 2.0 was a hard-charging prosecutor; Kamala 3.0 was the furthest left member of the United States senate; Kamala 4.0 was a moderate. And Kamala 5.0 is whatever she needs to be at any given moment.
But what she truly needs to be is human. And that’s the problem: She isn’t.
