Fraser SeitelFraser Seitel

After months of debate and indecision, America's two political parties have now settled on the two most capable and deserving individuals to lead us as a nation.

Accordingly, now’s the moment to recommend to these two talented combatants the public relations course that each must follow to seize the brass ring in November.

First, some sage public relations counsel for Donald Trump. Nah, forget it. Trump doesn’t listen to anybody’s advice. He’s Trump.

So, what about Kamala Harris, whose momentary media honeymoon will soon give way to the harsher reality of battling uphill in the only states that matter: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Arizona and a few others?

How do you bottle Harris’ current public relations momentum to sustain her mojo over the next four months against a battle-tested—not to mention battle-wounded—Trump?

The answer, dear Kamala crusaders, is you give her a public relations makeover, consisting of several specific suggestions to include the following:

Lose the laugh

First and foremost, Harris must be counseled—and likely already has been—to check herself before succumbing to a chortle. Fair or unfair, sexist or not, the Kamala cackle—a spontaneous, deep-throated, uncontrollable, elongated guffaw—has become a Trumpian talking point and right-wing media soundbite that can only become more pointedly embarrassing with repeated fresh examples.

Harris and her defenders have argued that the laugh—which the candidate proudly proclaims she inherited from her mother—shouldn’t be anybody else’s business. “It’s important,” Kamala told interviewer Drew Barrymore, “that we not be confined by other people’s perceptions about what this looks like and how you should act.” And of course, she’s right.

But … if you’re running for President, trailed 24/7 by unforgiving TV cameras and wish to keep the focus squarely on your competence and capability to confront the world’s problems, lose the freaking laugh.

Avoid attempts at eloquence

Let’s be honest. As a public speaker, Kamala Harris is no Barack Obama or Ronald Reagan or Jesse Jackson or Martin Luther King. But neither, for that matter, is Joe Biden or George W. Bush or, God save us, Donald Trump.

So, the essence of the public addresses she delivers—two or three a day from here on in—should be simplicity. Simple statements, simple logic, simple language. Nothing complicated, heroic or profound. Common sense over grandiloquence.

In the past, Harris has been tripped up repeatedly by trying to sound too smart on stage. Fox News’ favorite Kamala word salad loop features her infamous Howard University remarks, in which she memorably uttered: “I think it’s very important, as you have heard from so many incredible leaders, for us, at every moment in time, and certainly this one, to see the moment in time in which we exist and are present, and to be able to contextualize it, to understand where we exist in the history and in the moment, as it relates not only to the past but the future.”

The antidote to delivering remarks that come across as pretentiousness masquerading as pretend profundity is to be yourself, speak conversationally and express your simple truth. That was Ronald Reagan’s secret. His words were always simple but also usually heartfelt and wise. For example, “I know in my heart that man is good. That what is right will eventually triumph. And there’s purpose and worth to each and every life.” Amen, brother.

Reagan ought to be Kamala Harris’ oratorical North Star.

Limit hand gestures

Harris, like a lot of people, tends to talk with her hands. When she speaks, her hands are in constant motion; exhorting her audience, defining the parameters of her arguments, puncturing the air to make her points. All of which probably makes great sense for a prosecutor, which she was.

But for a Presidential candidate, whose every remark is recorded, replayed and dissected by everyone from self-righteous TV commentators to self-acknowledged body language experts, her expansive, non-stop gesturing can become yet another irritating impediment.

So, just as she needs to bridle her laugh, Harris needs to clip her gestures. She should stick to gestures that are more contained, infrequent and purposeful. Take a look at her recent speech before the teachers’ union in Houston, which shows she’s learning.

Go after the guns

Finally, in terms of content, Harris should be unrelenting on one subject in particular: gun control.

That’s where Trump and the Republicans are most vulnerable. Harris and the Democrats are damagingly delinquent on hot-button issues like immigration and crime, no matter how she or they attempt to rewrite history. They’ve lost that battle. On the other hand, in terms of abortion and women’s rights, the Democrats have won. But Trump has gotten the message. He understands the abortion issue is a loser for Republicans and has already shifted to a more moderate position.

But on the continuing issue of guns—background checks, automatic weapons availability, restrictions on gun ownership—Trump and the Republicans remain woefully vulnerable. Trump, himself a survivor of gun violence, is petrified of alienating Second Amendment supporters in western states. So, he has no answer for the Democrats’ full-throated appeals to legislate against America’s gun madness.

Harris should unhesitatingly lead that offensive toward greater gun control. The vast majority of Americans—including in swing states—will believe her. Gun control is the most resonant issue she’s got.

All that said, the Presidential election is still months away. Harris’ honeymoon will soon be over, and Trump is a vicious adversary, who so far is winning. But Americans are famously known for possessing the attention span of a flea. And these days in America, nothing is a sure thing. So, the outcome of the 2024 Harris v. Trump election is very much up for grabs. Especially if Kamala stays serious about her public relations makeover.

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Fraser P. Seitel has been a communications consultant, author and teacher for 40 years. He’s the author of the Pearson text “The Practice of Public Relations,” now in its 14th edition, and co-author of “Rethinking Reputation” “Idea Wise.” He may be reached directly at [email protected].