Harris is pushing joy. Trump paints a darker picture. Will mismatched moods matter?

Kamala Harris has suggested that she could help make politics fun again, but Donald Trump’s senior campaign advisers counter that the mood of the country right now is sour. Which view will win out, ask Will Weissert and Michelle L. Price

Donald Trump, left, greets Senator JD Vance before speaking at a campaign rally in Minnesota on Saturday. Vance has been cheered on the right for being an aggressive fighter on behalf of the former president, particularly when engaging with reporters. Photo: AP/Alex Brandon

At the top of his first speech as her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz turned to Vice President Kamala Harris and declared: “Thank you for bringing back the joy.” The next day, Harris took the theme a step further, branding the Democratic ticket “joyful warriors”. 

Contrast that with former President Donald Trump, who opened a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida a few days later by saying: “We have a lot of bad things coming up,” and predicting the US could fall into an economic depression unseen since the dark days of 1929 or even another world war.