Harris isn’t backing away from Biden’s democracy focus. But she’s putting her own spin on it

Before dropping his bid for reelection, President Joe Biden framed voters’ choice in November in dark and ominous terms, painting Republican nominee Donald Trump as a menace to American democracy and questioning whether the country could survive if he won. The Democratic Party’s new nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, isn’t shrinking from that message, but is putting her own spin on it. She is focusing less on the existential threat a second Trump term could pose to the country’s foundational institutions and traditions. Instead, she is expanding Democrats’ definition of what's at stake in this election: It’s about preserving personal freedoms.