Why Harris is talking about his story as a prosecutor: NPR

Two days before President Biden announced that he was withdrawing from his push for a second term, his campaign chairman Jen O’Malley Dillon appeared on television, insisting that the president stay in the race.

“He’s the best person to take on Donald Trump and prosecute this case,” Dillon said.

But about 72 hours later, it was instead Vice President Harris making the same argument — and reviving a case she made in 2019, when she was running in a crowded Democratic field seeking the nomination that year.

“Before I was elected as vice president, before I was elected as a United States senator, I was the elected attorney general, as I said, of California. And before that, I was a district attorney,” he said. Harris at the campaign staff in Wilmington, Del., the day after Biden endorsed her to take his place at the top of the Democratic ticket.

“In those roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds – predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, fraudsters who broke the rules for their own gain. So, hear me when I say: I know the type of Donald Trump,” said Harris, in a line that became the centerpiece of his whirlwind campaign.

Then-California Attorney General Kamala Harris briefs the media following raids on money laundering operations in Los Angeles on September 10, 2014.

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That’s the rhetoric Harris has used before

Back in 2019, when he first ran for president, Harris’ campaign was centered on his career as a prosecutor. His slogan was “for the people,” which is how Harris presented himself in court.

His pitch to voters is the same as it is today: that with his background as a prosecutor, he is the best person to take on Trump.

But five years ago, Harris’ record as a prosecutor was a liability in his campaign. He faced attacks from his Democratic opponents in the primary debates over his record with marijuana and in cracking down on absenteeism. Voters on the left referred to Harris as a cop.

“And they don’t mean that as a compliment,” said Paul Butler, a law professor at Georgetown, himself a former prosecutor.

Former President Donald Trump leaves court after he was sentenced in his hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 30, 2024.

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The message strikes differently in 2024

This time, however, Butler said Harris’ history of being a prosecutor might be perceived by voters differently — because voters’ perceptions of public safety, criminal justice and Trump have changed.

“In some ways, the prosecution of Donald Trump has changed the way some progressives and some conservatives think about our criminal justice system,” Butler said. “Now, a lot of people on the left are all-in on prosecution. Making Donald Trump accountable.”

Butler said Harris will likely use his experience as a prosecutor to try to emphasize his centrist politics.

“His message to the more conservative public will be that his policies as district attorney and attorney general of the state of California show that he is not soft on crime,” Butler said. “But his message to the progressive audience will be that his experiences as a prosecutor give him a unique expertise on the problems in the system, and how to solve them.

Vice President Harris speaks with police officers after a shooting that left seven people dead in Highland Park, Illinois, on July 5, 2022.

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Harris’s claim was to be “intelligent” in the crime

Trying to strike in the middle of justice issues has long been a part of Harris’ strategy.

In 2003, Harris, a court prosecutor, launched his first political campaign, running for San Francisco district attorney.

She rejected the idea that law enforcement officials should be tough on crime or soft on crime, said David Chiu, a friend who was part of Harris’ “kitchen cabinet” at the epic Instead, she wanted to be “smart” in crime, she said.

“It’s about increasing those conviction rates, but at the same time thinking about what the recidivism rates are and using the data to manage reform and accountability,” said Chiu, now the city attorney for San Francisco.

When Harris became district attorney, he started initiatives like Back on Track, a job training program for people who were first-time nonviolent offenders. Harris supporters say the program, and other Harris efforts, were ahead of their time.

But some other efforts have received criticism — particularly his work to reduce truancy, which criminalized parents whose children missed school. This story was one that concerned many voters in 2019.

Allies like Chiu, however, said times have changed. “It was a very different time in 2003 than it was on the 24th,” Chiu said.