Vice President Kamala Harris likes to tell supporters she is running for the presidency as if she's behind in the race, but Democrats are feeling pre-election jitters as her poll numbers remain stagnant and question whether she's doing enough in the final weeks of the election to keep her base excited.
Initially, party activists had said she was not doing enough interviews, but now, they're concerned that she's turned to interviews and away from large rallies, reported NBC News on Thursday.
Former President Donald Trump has been traveling around the country for rallies and town halls, during which he's insisted that he can't lose the race unless Democrats cheat him out of a win.
While Harris is using strategic motivations behind her reasoning, using the argument that more Democrats may turn out to vote if it appears her race is in danger, Trump's motivation appears to be more personal. He has cultivated an image of winning over the years, in his political and business life alike, notes NBC News.
Meanwhile, the polls show Trump and Harris in a dead heat, even though Harris overcame the deficit President Joe Biden was showing before he dropped his reelection bid in July.
Trump pollster John McLaughlin dismissed claims that Harris is an underdog, calling that a "liberal plot to get us overconfident on the Trump side."
"She's trying to motivate her voters because she's not performing at the levels that Hillary Clinton performed in 2016 or Joe Biden in 2020 among key Democrat groups," McLaughlin said.
He added that the Biden and Clinton campaigns tried to convince Republicans that "we couldn't win, and we won one and just missed on the other one."
Democrat strategists are also calling for Harris to show more spontaneity while stepping her rallies.
Over the past two weeks, Harris has been speaking with the news media, as well as entertainment sources, and participated in a contentious interview with Fox News on Wednesday.
And instead of large rallies, Harris has been appearing at smaller venues, speaking at a church in Greenville, N.C., Sunday and stopping off at two Detroit businesses Tuesday, the same day talk radio show host Charlamagne Tha God interviewed her.
An unnamed congressional Democrat told NBC News that the campaign must "unwrap her."
"She needs to show her emotion and show her passion," the lawmaker said. "Donald Trump is crazy, but he's real. She's got to show people she's real, and people need to believe she's fighting for this job."
Harris has held rallies in Greenville and Erie, Pennsylvania, since Sunday, and is scheduled for three campaign events Thursday in Wisconsin.
She's also scheduled for three more campaign events in Michigan on Friday, and after another event in Michigan, Harris will fly to Georgia for a battleground state rally.
Still, a Democratic strategist called it a "head-scratcher" that she isn't doing more at this point in the election.
"You should be doing four or five events in Pennsylvania in a day," the strategist said. "People are sitting there saying, all hands on deck. I'm willing to work as hard as she can. But maybe she should start working as hard as she can."