How Harris will try to flip the script on border issues during the campaign

One of former President Donald Trump’s strongest arguments against Vice President Kamala Harris is her management of the country’s southern border. But lately, she has tried strategies to deflect his attacks.

Speaking to a crowd of thousands in Glendale, Arizona, Harris reminded the audience of her experience near the border.

“I was the attorney general of a border state. I went after the transnational gangs, the drug cartels, the human traffickers,” Harris said. “I prosecuted them in case after case and I won, so I know what I’m talking about.”

She then said, “(Trump) talks a lot about border security, but he doesn’t walk the talk,” blaming Trump for Congress’ failure to pass border legislation earlier this year.

The attack is new for Harris, who has been criticized by Republicans for her shifting stance on the southern border. As a presidential candidate in 2020, she said illegal border crossers should not be prosecuted. This year, a Harris campaign adviser told Politics that her position “is the same as the government’s – unauthorized border crossings are illegal.”

Democrats have generally had as little trouble tackling immigration as a campaign and legislative issue as Republicans have in recent years. But Harris changed that narrative somewhat on Friday.

“We know our immigration system is broken, and we know what it takes to fix it: comprehensive reform,” she said. “That includes strong border security and an earned path to citizenship.”

A new campaign ad also sought to bolster Harris’s reputation on the border.

“As vice president, she sponsored the toughest border enforcement law in decades. And as president, she will hire thousands more border agents and crack down on fentanyl and human trafficking. Fixing the border is hard. So is Kamala Harris,” a voiceover reads over videos of Harris’ political career.

Trump has criticized Harris for her perceived role as President Joe Biden’s “border czar” as millions of undocumented immigrants have entered the United States, many of whom face no legal consequences for crossing the border illegally.

“As border czar, Kamala opened our borders, allowing 20 million illegal aliens from all over the world to flood into our country,” Trump said at a rally less than a week after Biden withdrew.

“I will end every open border policy of the Biden-Harris administration, and we will close the border, and we will stop Kamala Harris’ invasion without delay,” he said.

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Arizona is a state that swings wildly. Issues like the crisis at the southern border are important to many voters. Only time will tell whether Harris can make a compelling case for the border.

Trump held a five-point lead over Harris in the state, according to two late July polls from Emerson College and Public Opinion Strategies, two independent pollsters.