COMMENTARY: In 2024, hearing echos of Reagan and Obama

The script has flipped after Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race, creating challenges and opportunities for both candidates.

Race and gender will probably control the narrative of the campaign. This will benefit Harris by creating narrow lanes in which debate can happen, and criticism be leveled against her. According to The Associated Press, Republican leaders have already warned members to avoid comments that can be perceived as racist or sexist.

Her core messaging will focus on galvanizing the progressive base by implying that she will complete the job started by Biden in transforming America by undoing its racist past using equity to frame the effort. Biden’s presidency will be lauded as “unmatched” and he as one of the most effective presidents in history. Her goals will be framed as progress and future-focused, and Donald Trump’s as neanderthal.

On the attack, Harris will stress the need to turn the page on Trump. In her early speeches, she positions herself as a former prosecutor and frames Trump with the statement, “I know Donald Trump’s type.” She wants independent and swing voters to see Trump as a dangerous threat to our democracy to make her the safe choice and him the risky bet.

She will probably take a page from the Barack Obama playbook to create an image that transcends scrutiny. Obama ran on “hope and change,” not his record of accomplishment. He was like a mirror where people saw what they wanted to see. Harris will work to be viewed as the transformational leader of the new generation.

She will use social media extensively to ameliorate any weaknesses. Her laughter and malapropisms will be transformed into authenticity and genuineness. Recently, Harris was defined as BRAT, which is doing and saying dumb things and laughing your way through it. Trump may have Hulk Hogan in his corner. Still, Harris has Charli XCX and other social media influencers who will transform her image to young voters, making her “Drip” and “Dope.”

Trump should not take her challenge lightly, and he would be well served to reassess how he moves forward. He is now the adult in the race and will need to act the part by pivoting away from nicknames and off-the-cuff quips where a single word can be used to reinforce the harmful meme built around him since 2015. These are terms such as “bloodbath” and “dictator,” which have been used to attack him.

Instead, Trump would be well served by accentuating his business skills. He should show how these skills are required to restore the American dream and reignite American ingenuity. Positioning of his business skills creates a stark contrast with Harris, whose career has been in elected politics.

Next, Trump should present issues as future-focused strategic choices, removing them from personality and party presented as questions that ask what kind of America voters want. Here are a few examples:

■ Do you want to live in an America where identity determines what opportunities are available to your children? EQUITY AGENDA.

■ Do you accept the next generation not being able to afford a house and pursue the American dream? INFLATION.

■ Do you want to be forced to drive an electric vehicle and to abandon many of your household appliances that work well and are already paid for? CLIMATE CHANGE.

■ Do you accept violent, destructive chaos on our streets? CRIME.

■ Do you want undocumented migrants given full access to schools, hospitals, health care and social services, leaving less for poor Americans in need? BORDER.

■ Do you accept transitioning men eventually holding every record in women’s sports? THE CULTURE.

The 2024 election, in some ways, pits Ronald Reagan, who was the leader of a movement that saw conservatism as the antidote for America’s malaise, and Obama, who saw himself as a transformational leader who represented the rise of a new generation onto the political scene with the vague promise of “hope and change.”

Like Reagan, Trump is also leading a movement, this one called MAGA populism, which he sees as the remedy for returning America to greatness. Like Obama, Harris is banking on creating an above-the-fray image as a transformational candidate whose destiny is to vanquish Trump and give birth to a new era of social justice in America. Trump is running to restore a more traditional America; Harris to create a more just society in a vastly changed America.

In no small measure the two candidates are the personification of the social and political divisions that exist in America. A fascinating journey awaits us.

Dennis M. Powell is the author of “Leading from the Top: Presidential Lessons in Issues Management.” He wrote this for InsideSources.com.