When Hillary Clinton referred to Donald Trump’s 34 criminal convictions during last week’s Democratic National Convention, a loud chant of “Lock him up!” arose from the crowd. Clinton, the target of countless “Lock her up!” chants stoked by Trump eight years ago, permitted herself a nod and a smile.
The yearning to see Trump brought down is one component of the wave of enthusiasm that has so dramatically boosted Kamala Harris’ candidacy over the last month. In fact, Harris has stoked that desire in at least a limited way. Her standard stump speech includes the sure ovation bait, “I took on perpetrators of all kinds. … So hear me when I say: I know Donald Trump’s type.”
Speaker after speaker at the convention likewise brought up Trump’s list of proven and alleged crimes. They also repeatedly invoked Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation agenda suggesting Trump intends to convert the Department of Justice to an instrument of political retribution against his enemies.
But for Harris, a top official in the government carrying out two of Trump’s prosecutions, her supporters’ lust to see Trump locked up is a tricky topic. There is a fine but crucial distinction between calling out Trump’s criminal conduct and calling for him to be “locked up.” To date, she has been able to walk that tightrope effectively.
When the vice president confronted the same chant at political rallies in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania earlier this month, she was quick with a response that was markedly different from Clinton’s: “We’re gonna let the courts handle that. Our job is to beat him in November.”