The Associated Press' Michelle Price warns that the excitement surrounding Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign may be waning as the U.S. stock market plunges and concerns about a potential recession mount.
The Associated Press' Michelle Price has warned that the "hype" surrounding Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign might be coming "back down to earth" after the U.S. stock market plummeted.
In a panel discussion on CNN, Price noted that the Trump campaign was using memes to mock Harris, and suggested that the honeymoon period for her candidacy might be coming to an end.
Vice President Harris' Campaign Hype May Be Cooling Amid Market Turbulence
"That everything that has been in this honeymoon period might seem kind of silly compared to when people are looking at their 401Ks or when they're going to start looking at gas prices, or they're looking at what it costs at the grocery store, that the hype that is kind of coming back down to earth," said Price.
CNN's John Berman also expressed concerns that Harris might be painting too rosy a picture of the economy, which could damage her credibility if the numbers do not improve.
Vice President Harris' Campaign Hype May Be Cooling Amid Market Turbulence
"It gets more challenging if the numbers aren‘t so good. So that is something that the Harris team, I don‘t think, were thinking about when they began their campaign 15 days ago. But now [they] have to think about it," said Berman.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled by as much as 1,300 points on Monday, while the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 also fell. The plunge continued Friday's sharp drop and stoked fears of a recession.
Vice President Harris' Campaign Hype May Be Cooling Amid Market Turbulence
A weak jobs report and shrinking manufacturing activity in the world's largest economy, coupled with dismal forecasts from big technology firms, pushed the Nasdaq 100 and Nasdaq Composite into a correction last week.
The weak jobs data also triggered the "Sahm Rule," which indicates that the economy is in the early stages of a recession when the 3-month moving average of the jobless rate is at least a half-percentage point higher than the 12-month low. This threshold has been crossed, suggesting that a recession may be on the horizon.
Harris has been careful to acknowledge the economic concerns of Americans, but her campaign will face challenges if the market continues to decline and the economy weakens further.
"We might be entering that phase that the Trump campaign has been waiting for," said Price.
The cooling of the hype surrounding Harris' campaign serves as a reminder that political fortunes can change rapidly, especially in times of economic uncertainty. As the market and the economy fluctuate, so too will the public's perception of Harris and her candidacy.
