ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Well, here in Chicago, it is Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention. And we've talked about the way party leaders, donors and volunteers rallied behind Vice President Harris at the top of the ticket. Well, that's also true of behind-the-scenes campaign advisors. David Plouffe was the architect of former President Obama's 2008 victory, and earlier this month, he joined the Harris campaign as a senior adviser. And he is here in Chicago with me to talk about this sprint to Election Day - good to see you face to face.
DAVID PLOUFFE: Good to see you, Ari.
SHAPIRO: Barack Obama, who is speaking tonight, officially entered his first presidential race a year and nine months before Election Day. In contrast, Harris has about a hundred days total. What's the biggest challenge to having that short of a runway?
PLOUFFE: Well, there's a lot of positives to it - I think a lot of energy. You're asking people to get involved for a shorter period of time. She's tapping into, I think, a lot of enthusiasm around there. But there's a lot to do. She's got to introduce herself to the country, talk about her values and her background, talk about what she wants to do as president and how that contrasts with Trump. And now we're down to 11 weeks. Good news...
SHAPIRO: Seventy-five days as of Friday.
PLOUFFE: Yeah. And early vote starts, you know, in earnest in about 30 days. So you got to say all the things you want to have said by then. The good news is the campaign was built to win close races in battleground states. So there's a good field organization, sophisticated digital operation.
SHAPIRO: You're saying all the Biden infrastructure...
PLOUFFE: Right.
SHAPIRO: ...That has just rolled over to Harris.
PLOUFFE: Right. And then you add in this influx of amazing energy. You know, over half the people who've decided to volunteer or contribute have never done so in politics before. And that's magic in politics.
SHAPIRO: She has not done a major press conference or sit-down interview with reporters. Do you think she should?
PLOUFFE: Well, she said she'll do an interview by the end of the month. She's been talking to reporters on the trail. She's engaging with voters. Listen; a presidential campaign is all the things. You do speeches like she'll do Thursday night. You travel around battleground states. You go to diners and bowling alleys. You talk to the media. You do town halls. Now you talk to influencers on Instagram and TikTok. So you got to do it all. So by the end of this campaign, she will have used every medium to reach every voter she can.
SHAPIRO: Many Republicans are saying they believe that this is a honeymoon period that will end. Are you expecting and preparing for that to be the case?
PLOUFFE: I don't think the energy dissipates, and that's important 'cause it's people knocking on doors, talking to their neighbors. Campaigns ebb and flow. You're going to have moments where everything's going great. By the way, why are things going great? 'Cause she's doing great out there. That's what I've learned.
SHAPIRO: Or because people are relieved that a candidate they were not enthusiastic about is no longer at the top of the ticket.
PLOUFFE: So there's a breath of fresh air for sure, but she's maximized it. You know, the presidential campaign stage is the hottest spotlight in the world. Most people don't do well on it, and she's really thrived. So I think you marry the excitement and relief. Yeah, there were a lot of voters not excited about the rematch. Now they don't have the rematch. They're excited about that.
And I think for base voters - they're all in, and they want to work as hard as they can. And swing voters, I think, are definitely going to kick the tires and (inaudible) Kamala Harris. So they're watching her closely. Thursday's speech will be important. Probably the most important date will be September 10, when, if Trump shows up, the two of them are on the stage together.
SHAPIRO: People close to Harris do not like comparisons between her and Obama. But since these are the two candidates who you have worked with closely, can you talk about the differences you've seen in the way they run a campaign?
PLOUFFE: Well, I think they both - listen. Kamala Harris yesterday, I think, when she was asked by reporters about this, about polls, said she's still an underdog, and I think that's right. And I think that's the way Obama approached this. They are both - the consistent thing is they're both believer in grassroots politics, which is there's nothing more important. People like me are secondary to the average volunteer out there giving hard time to the effort. They believe in that.
And I think they're both optimists. And Trump and Vance are the darkest ticket in American political history. They think everything's terrible. And we got challenges, but I think when Kamala Harris says, we got challenges. I want to be realistic about them. Here's my ideas about how we can improve things, make them better for you and your family. But I'm confident that we can - that, I think, matters in politics.
SHAPIRO: I saw a T-shirt today for the first time here in Chicago that said, make America laugh again, with an image of Harris. And I wonder how much you are strategically designing this campaign to be a contrast between what you frame as light and dark, joy and grievance, etc.
PLOUFFE: Nothing strategic about it. It's who these people are. You know, Trump is such a dark, negative figure in our politics and was as president. And I think Kamala Harris - you know, super serious person, prosecutor, attorney general, United State senator, vice president. But she's an optimist that we have a lot more that unites us than divides us and we can solve these problems. And at the end of the day, you never know what's going to drive a voter to make a decision. A lot of them are going to vote on a certain policy. They may look at the debate and see who spoke to them. But I do think optimism versus pessimism - generally in American politics, the optimistic candidate who makes people believe that we can solve challenges is the one who wins.
SHAPIRO: I was, yesterday, at the pro-Palestinian march here in Chicago. Thousands of people, many of them Democratic voters, expressing outrage at the policies of the Biden administration. And they do not see daylight between Biden and Harris on this issue. Do you think the Harris campaign is paying enough attention to the impact this group of voters could have on the election?
PLOUFFE: Well, first of all, she's the vice president of the United States, and so from a substantive standpoint, this is obviously a very challenging situation. She has spoken to this. She'll speak about it again later this week, I'm sure, and throughout that what we need here is we need the hostages to be released, including those Americans to come home. We need a cease-fire, and, ultimately, we need a long-term solution, which is the two-state solution. So I think vice president - sorry, President Biden spoke about this very powerfully last night...
SHAPIRO: But clearly, it's not what the protesters want to hear. They're saying...
PLOUFFE: Well...
SHAPIRO: ...They're not satisfied with the answer.
PLOUFFE: We respect their point of view and lifting the voice. That's what makes our country so strong. But at the end of the day, you know, we should all have hope that these latest efforts at a cease-fire are successful.
SHAPIRO: When President Biden was at the top of the ticket, you stayed where you were, doing various projects in the private sector. So why did you make this shift back to campaign mode after all these years when Vice President Harris took over?
PLOUFFE: Well, I think this is such an unprecedented situation. There's so much do in such a short period of time. Kamala Harris is somebody I've known for a long time. Jen O'Malley Dillon, the campaign chairwoman, is a treasured friend and somebody I couldn't respect more. So when they asked me if I'd be willing to spend a few weeks on this, I think the only proper answer is yes.
SHAPIRO: Easier than spending a year and nine months. That is David Plouffe, senior advisor to the Harris campaign. Thank you so much.
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