A former British ambassador to Washington said on Sunday that Donald Trump remains the “more likely winner” of the Nov. 5 US presidential election unless Democratic candidate Kamala Harris addresses key failings in her campaign.
Kim Darroch says despite her clear victory over Trump in last week’s televised head-to-head debate, Harris risks making two crucial mistakes in the final weeks of the campaign that could mean the former Republican president still has the advantage.
With Trump’s return to the White House looming, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who met with US President Joe Biden and leading Democratic figures in Washington on Thursday, has also sought to meet with Trump and his team before voting day, and Lord Darroch said it was important to build connections with both sides.
“If Starmer ticks either box, it’s important he ticks both boxes,” Darroch said in the Observer. “If he doesn’t, the Trump camp will notice and be upset.”
Darroch served as the UK ambassador to the US from 2016 to 2019, resigning amid a furor over the leaking of classified emails in which he criticised the Trump administration as “clumsy and incompetent”. His position became untenable after Boris Johnson, who was then involved in the Conservative Party leadership race to succeed Prime Minister Theresa May, did not fully back him.
Darroch, a respected figure in diplomatic circles on both sides of the Atlantic, said Trump was “a less formidable campaigner” than he was in 2016. “He’s less energetic, more confused, more frustrated and less interested in policy.”
“But he has an ability to connect with ‘those left behind’ on a level few others can match, a talent that has secured him a committed and enduring base of support in a country where one in three workers says he lives paycheck to paycheck,” he added.
Darrock argues the Democratic campaign is in danger of making two crucial mistakes. He urges Harris to be “laser-focused” on voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, key battleground states won by Biden in 2020, and warns that unless Harris can offer “clearly worded, specific and targeted policies to bring jobs and hope back to these battered communities,” voters may drift to Trump.
The second mistake is that Harris appears to be hiding from the media, repeating a mistake made by Hillary Clinton: “In 2016, Trump was a constant presence. He accepted any invitation, even calling into morning news shows to offer his opinion on the topics of the day. In contrast, Hillary Clinton shut out the media and lost.”
“It seems like she’s adopted the Clinton approach,” Harris argues.
Darroch said the British embassy in Washington would advise Starmer to meet with Trump, possibly on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly this week.
“There is much to discuss with him, starting with his views on Ukraine. And however badly Trump performed in the debates and how noticeable his personal decline has been, for many of us, he is likely to win.” Last week, Starmer’s former pollster Deborah Mattinson met with Harris’ campaign team in Washington to share details of how Labour won its stunning election victory by targeting a key group of “oppressed working-class voters wanting change”, further strengthening her ties with the Democratic side.