Janice R. Andrews
In the upcoming months, Americans will be deluged with slogans and messages from former president Donald Trump and vice president Kamala Harris, each hoping to strike a chord with voters as the presidential tickets for the 2024 election are finalised. “Make America Great Again,” the catchphrase that propelled Trump to victory in 2016, continues to serve as his rallying cry. By contrast, Harris counters Trump’s nostalgic appeal with her “Not Going Back” campaign, which has been a focal point since President Biden withdrew from the race on July 21.
‘Make America Great Again’s Enduring Power’
“Make America Great Again,” Trump’s catchphrase, reflects a yearning for a bygone age that was seen to be more stable and affluent. His political brand has been built on this statement, which is prominently displayed on T-shirts, bumper stickers, and red hats. Trump keeps using it, even if it was less successful in the 2020 election, implying that his return to power is the only way to stop America’s downward spiral. Trump restated this statement on Truth Social on August 1, stating, “We will turn this country around quickly and make America great again.”
The ‘Not Going Back’ Campaign by Harris
Harris’s slogan, “Not Going Back,” in sharp contrast, stresses a forward-thinking vision and opposes a return to the policies of the Trump administration that she and her supporters believe to be regressive. Using the tagline to highlight Republican attempts to limit abortion rights, Harris announced Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running partner at a rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday. “To Trump and those who wish to revert our basic liberties, Tim and I have this message: We’re not going back. She said, “We’re not going back,” which caused the audience to shout, “Not going back.”
A Conflict Between Nostalgia and Change
A former president looking to reclaim the White House following a loss and a current vice president taking the top spot following the withdrawal of the incumbent president make the 2024 presidential race unlike any other. The central claim of Trump’s campaign is that the government led by Biden and Harris is ineffective and requires a total makeover. “A shift is warranted. Speaking at the Republican National Convention, Trump focused on topics including the rise in immigration and said, “This administration can’t come close to solving the problems.”
Contrarily, Harris presents her candidacy as a safeguard against a return to Trump’s policies. “This is more than simply us against Trump in this race. At a rally in Atlanta on July 31, she underlined, “Really, this campaign is about two very different visions for our nation: one focused on the future, the other focused on the past.”
Differing Approaches to Running Mates’ Campaigns
The running partners are also subject to different campaign messages. Senator JD Vance, Trump’s nominee, has drawn criticism for his severe manner. Vance laughed when asked what made him happy by a local Fox News reporter in Wisconsin, but he soon became serious and expressed his displeasure with Harris’s ideas. “I get angry about what Kamala Harris has done to this country and the American Southern border right now,” Vance said, laughing, “I smile at a lot of things, including bogus questions from the media.”
By contrast, Walz exudes hope and enthusiasm in his campaign speeches. He praised Harris’s positive approach to governing and complimented her for “bringing back the joy” during the Philadelphia event. Harris’s upbeat attitude was lauded by Walz, who earned notoriety by labelling Trump and his supporters as “weird,” noting that it was an essential component of her leadership approach.
The Effect of Biden’s Resignation
With President Biden’s withdrawal from the contest, the political environment has changed dramatically. According to surveys at first, Trump had a good chance of defeating Biden. Nonetheless, FiveThirtyEight, a poll aggregator, reports that Harris has taken a tiny national lead over Trump now that she is leading the race. Trump was compelled to change his approach as a result, concentrating now on Harris’s background and identity rather than attacking Biden’s age and qualifications.
Even while he still uses the MAGA moniker, Trump now blames Harris for the country’s issues, calling her names that are disparaging and criticising her votes on large spending bills that he claims are the cause of the inflation situation. Furthermore, at a roundtable with Black journalists, Trump raised sensitive racial issues about Harris’s biracial identity and questioned her self-identification as Black.
Harris’s Vision: Forward-Looking
Harris sees this as an opportunity to reintroduce herself to voters by highlighting her experience as a prosecutor and her familiarity with Trump’s strategies. With the backing of seasoned campaign professionals like as David Plouffe and David Axelrod, Harris’s message is forward-looking. She said, “In this moment, we face a choice between two very different visions for our nation: one focused on the past, the other focused on the future,” during an address on July 31 to the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority’s reunion in Houston.
The contrast between Trump’s nostalgic “Make America Great Again” and Harris’s forward-thinking “Not Going Back” will be a distinguishing characteristic of both campaigns as the 2024 election draws near. The opposing views of each contender for America are captured in their slogans, laying the groundwork for a crucial contest over the course of the nation.
