The 2024 election is shaping up to be a partisan ‘weird-off’

The News

Republicans and Democrats have found a new way to attack each other, and it’s neither policy-based nor an existential warning about the nation’s fate: It’s calling each other “weird.”

The dig appears to have originated in an answer Vice President Kamala Harris gave her staff in 2020 when asked what she would do if Donald Trump walked behind her during a debate, as he did to Hillary Clinton in 2016. Harris said she’d turn around and ask him: “Why are you being so weird?”

But in the days since President Joe Biden bowed out of the 2024 election, both parties have leaned into the jibe.

The View From Democrats

The Harris campaign released a list of takeaways from Trump’s Thursday morning appearance on Fox News, one of which was simply: “Trump is old and quite weird?” It wasn’t clear which part of Trump’s interview the line was aimed at; The former president used his time to call Biden’s Oval Office address “terrible,” describe the president’s exit from the race as a “coup,” and say there should be a one-year jail sentence for desecrating the American flag.

Harris’ allies, including vice presidential hopeful Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, have taken to saying things like: “These are weird people on the other side,” before pointing to GOP moves such as the push to ban books that reference LGBTQ and racial issues. “These are weird ideas,” Walz said.

Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz used the word to compare Harris and Trump, telling Semafor, “She’s a normal human being, and I actually think that that’s a contrast that is a bit underrated. Trump is fundamentally weird.”

An early target of the weird campaign isn’t Trump, JD Vance, whose repeated complaints that “childless cat ladies” ran the Democratic Party a few years back have resurfaced since his selection as Trump’s running mate.

There may be some pent-up political history under the surface of these snide remarks, which are — all things considered — pretty mild. Democrats have tried to run as the “normal” party before, but some worried the contrast with Trump was harder this cycle, when many voters saw Biden not just as old but as frail and confused. Harris, by contrast, comes off as young, vital, and, her campaign hopes, fun and relatable.

The View From Republicans

Republicans have also gotten in on the action. In a memo advising candidates on how to talk about Harris, the campaign arm of Senate Republicans included a section titled “Weird” that included bullet points such as “Harris has a habit of laughing at inappropriate moments” and “Harris loves Venn diagrams.” Trump has called her “Laffin’ Kamala” and the RNC’s social media accounts have posted videos of her cracking up during public appearances.

The “weird” line might be one way to undermine Harris’ personal appeal without getting into more sensitive territory: GOP leadership recently warned members against attacks on her qualifications that come off as racist or sexist, after some politicians referred to her as a “DEI” candidate.

“This should not be about personalities. It should be about policy. And we have a record to compare,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday. “This has nothing to do with race.”