Hello everyone. It's a happy Thursday, but not so happy. With 60 days until the election, we start today on a serious note: Wednesday's school shooting in suburban Atlanta.

Two students and two teachers were killed and at least nine students were injured. There were 391 mass shootings. (Four or more people were shot, not including the shooter) This year in America. Yes, this year.

These incidents have become so common that we don't even record them. They don't make national news unless a school is involved. And they're happening at a higher rate than they used to.

I'm not here to defend school shooters, but when a 14-year-old boy picks up a rifle with the intent of killing other children (as in this case), my heart breaks for the mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, husbands, wives and friends who will never see their loved ones alive again.

But my heart breaks for the loved ones of this boy with the gun. His anger and unhappiness must be deep and unfathomable. My heart breaks for all of us who grieve for a moment, or a day, and then move on with our lives, somehow indifferent to the fact that guns literally surround us, whether we can see them or not.

Whether we view this as a public health emergency or the price of gun rights (really?), we all deserve to be treated better, starting with ending the normalization of weapons of war in our communities.

How the candidates reacted to the shootings is emblematic of not only their views on guns but their campaigns.

Vice President Kamala Harris pointed to limited access to guns as a problem, saying, “We must end our nation's gun violence epidemic for good.”

“These precious children were taken from us far too soon by a sick, deranged monster,” former President Trump said, evoking the monsters he condemned.

“Absolutely” Campaign

As recently as this year, when President Biden was still campaigning, Democrats relied on fears to whip up voters that their candidate was not just bad but dangerous.

Trump was seen as a threat to democracy (and, frankly, he is), and a second term for him would not only mean more guns (we've all almost forgotten the Supreme Court decision that overturned concealed carry restrictions even in California), but it could also mean fewer civil rights and more autocracy.

But it didn't work, and Harris has largely abandoned that line of attack, focusing instead on a future in which she will lead the country toward better times. This is a campaign based on change and hope.

But Trump embraced the fear-mongering, and his campaign was based on creating demons and villains, from school shooters to immigrants to Harris herself.

Biden ran a successful campaign by warning of what Trump would do in 2020, but the damage Trump has done is far newer and more demonic.

So will the chaotic “Never Harris” campaign fare better than the latest “Never Trump” campaign?

A “Communist” in the White House

One of Trump's favorite (and not the best) recent statements is that Harris is a “communist.” Like all effective propaganda, this statement is based on fact. Harris' father was a Marxist economist, which means he had some criticisms of capitalism. Who wouldn't?

Of course, Harris is not a communist or a Marxist, but Trump has called her “Comrade Kamala.”

Elon Musk, owner of social media sewer X and an increasingly far-right Trump fan, Posted a fake AI-generated photo This week a photo of Harris was posted of her in a bizarre communist-style uniform, with the caption: “Kamala will be swearing to be a communist dictator on her first day in office. Can you believe she's wearing this!”

This video has been viewed over 80 million times, but many people probably don't realize it's fake, which is why this attack is so problematic. Many people don't seem to know what communists are. They just think communists are bad.

Trump is also stoking fear with other facts. promised to stop food price gouging during the crisisThis is a result of the pandemic, and some less-than-scrupulous food suppliers may have taken advantage of fears of food shortages to inflate prices.

Price caps like the one Harris is proposing are common. During the California wildfires, the state's current attorney general almost always It warned companies that it is illegal to raise prices during a disaster.

And on Wednesday, Harris unveiled a new tax reform plan that is more right-wing and more bourgeois-friendly than Biden's.

But Trump wants to seize control of the means of production of Coors and Cheetos and make it seem like our shelves will be depleted of necessities and Americans will have to starve or dig for potatoes. I would say capping the price of drinking water during a hurricane is not going to get you anywhere near Joe Stalin.

Border monsters, school monsters

Not a new topic, Trump has also focused on immigration. This has been one of his most successful fear-mongering attacks, as he relentlessly claims (falsely) that Harris has “opened” the border, letting in murderers, rapists, insane asylum patients, and other weirdos.

But he also Doubling down on attacks against teachersAt a recent Moms for Liberty event, he argued, “The transgender issue is incredible. Think about it: Your child goes to school, a few days later has surgery and comes home. The school decides what happens to your child.”

So schools aren't secretly kidnapping kids and forcing them into sex-reassignment surgery, but Moms for Liberty took it at face value. Apparently, they love to hate schools and teachers more than they love to hate school shooters. And the fear that this could happen to their kids is real enough to warrant applause at a rally.

Is it scary enough?

This terrifying Harris narrative has become not only part of the Trump campaign, but the whole “Never Kamala” idea that she will be the end of everything we hold dear.

MAGA Republicans have very little else going for them other than “don't tax tips,” and in fairness she sort of stole it, but she deserves credit for understanding a popular idea when she hears it.

The question is, will it work for Trump where it failed for Biden? The short answer is, Biden supporters love it. They love anger and hate. They love monsters and demons and villains and simple answers to complex problems.

But with a messy debate coming up next week and undecided voters unclear whether they feel the same way, immigration will likely be the toughest issue for Ms Harris to explain.

But teachers being sex offenders and kidnappers? That's cliché.

Kamala Harris as Queen of the Hammer and Sickle? Cliche.

These seem like weak monsters unlikely to attract any new votes, but they might make for some interesting debate.

What else to read

Must Read: Harris tells business community: 'I'm friendlier than Biden'
“The world is small”: New Hampshire is the latest sign of Donald Trump's shrinking base.
LA Times Special: Politics and Hollywood collide at the 2024 Telluride Film Festival

Stay golden,
Anita Chhabria

P.S.: To be honest, she looks like a doorman to me.

Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.