How Harris is taking Trump’s tough-guy act on directly

Donald Trump is obsessed with toughness. He praises foreign despots for being strong, calls for police to be rough with suspects and uses blue-collar workers as props at his rallies.

But Trump’s tough-guy persona is an act, and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris is calling him out on it.

Her campaign and its allies are leaning into Harris’ background as a prosecutor, her advocacy in the Senate and her time as vice president to tout her strength. And they’re contrasting this with Trump’s empty rhetoric and record of failure to show that she’s actually the stronger, tougher candidate.

Nowhere is this fight more clear than on immigration.

During a rambling and glitch-delayed conversation with billionaire Elon Musk this week, Trump leaned into his usual attacks, falsely accusing Harris of serving as President Joe Biden’s “border czar.”

For starters, that was never her title — and I should know, since I was working for her at the time. I served as Harris’ chief spokesperson when the president asked her to lead diplomatic efforts to tackle the “root causes” of migration. The vice president led these talks with our partners in Mexico and Central America, focusing on new strategies to expand economic opportunities in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

So, who is stronger: the candidate who complains about border crossings before, during and after his presidency or the one who looks to figure out why they’re happening and work with foreign leaders to address the issue?

But her record goes even further back.

In a Harris-Walz campaign ad titled “Tougher,” a narrator lists her record as a border-state prosecutor. Harris held drug cartels accountable and jailed transnational gang members. The campaign ad also highlights her support for a bipartisan deal deemed the “toughest border control bill in decades.” The ad ends by declaring: “Fixing the border is tough. So is Kamala Harris.”

Voters should know the truth: Trump’s weaknesses as a leader are part of the reason why Harris can play offense here. Trump sank a conservative-led border deal in hopes it would help him during the presidential election. He prioritizes fearmongering over welcoming tough solutions to fix our nation’s broken immigration system.

Another major issue for the “toughness” question is crime, and again, Harris comes out on top.

As the vice president has been saying on the campaign trail: As a former prosecutor, she knows Trump’s type. Her campaign has used that experience to frame her as tough on crime and highlight Trump’s own criminal record.

In May, a New York jury found Trump guilty of an elaborate scheme to hide information from voters ahead of the 2016 election. By contrast, Harris is a seasoned prosecutor who convinced juries to convict fraudsters.

While Trump works to distort Harris’ record on crime, his supporters embrace his criminality. At his rallies, the MAGA faithful hold up signs with his mug shot with the words “Never Surrender.” Trump also vows to pardon criminals who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The so-called party of law and order wants these violent criminals to run free.

Which of these two candidates is tough on crime?

Candidates also prove their strength by how they choose to campaign. Sometimes it is about what you show voters, not what you tell them. Trump is holding fewer events this campaign, spending his time on late-night social media attacks and whining about how unfair everything is. Harris is vigorously barnstorming swing states and focusing on voters’ concerns.

During her short time at the top of the Democratic ticket, Harris has managed to define herself before Trump and other Republicans have landed on an effective countermessage. This battle to control the narrative is playing out before one of Harris’ biggest opportunities to sell herself to the American people: next week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Democrats can use this moment in the spotlight to drill down on the stark differences between a Harris presidency and a second Trump term. It is also an opportunity to elevate Harris’ proven track record and counter Trump’s playbook of lies and half-truths.

The next 80 days won’t be easy. But I’ve seen the vice president in action, and I believe she’s tough enough to handle them. She is meeting the moment and prepared for the task at hand.

After all, running for president is tough — and so is Kamala Harris.

For more thought-provoking insights from Symone Sanders-Townsend, Michael Steele and Alicia Menendez, watch “The Weekend” every Saturday and Sunday at 8 a.m. ET on MSNBC.