When the Democrat presidential candidate Kamala Harris delivers her speech to the Democratic National Convention today, style will be almost everything.
The US election is about style more than substance. It's why Kamala Harris needs to nail her DNC speech in about eight secondsThe US election is about style more than substance. It's why Kamala Harris needs to nail her DNC speech in about eight secondsDuring the past 50 years, voters have become used to political leaders being marketed to us like new cars. The 2024 US presidential election is a reminder that more than ever in the age of social media, style trumps substance.
More and more of us rely on social media as key sources of information. That means Harris needs to do two things: not only look and sound presidential, but land pithy remarks that tell a story on their own without the context of the speech. She needs micro-clips that will go viral on TikTok and Instagram. The success of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz in doing that, when he characterised the Trump-Vance joint ticket as "weird", helped him secure the spot as the Democrat running mate.
Trump's speech, and the entire atmosphere of the Republican National Convention, are reminders of America's new direction. They're also a chance to recall his record in office and judge it against what he's offering now. Harris hasn't granted any major interviews since winning the nomination, preferring to capitalise on the buzz of short appearances at highly stage-managed rallies. In any case, for most of the past month, politics has taken a back seat while the Olympic Games have dominated America's attention.
Obama's campaign team — led by Plouffe — was streets ahead of its time in 2008 with its skilful use of new tech. Social media was in its early days but the Obama camp used tools we now take for granted, such as data mining, to personally target political advertising. Like the concepts in The Selling of the President 1968, today it all seems basic and obvious, but it was game changing in its day.
Trump enhanced his "strongman" image with the iconic photograph of him surviving an assassination attempt. That all means on the two likely decisive issues, both candidates have reasonable cases to make for themselves and against the other.
Democratic National Convention Dnc Kamala Harris Dnc Speech Donald Trump Presidential Campaign Us Election Tim Walz Leigh Sales Barack Obama Yes We Can
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