Sunday Snapshot: Republicans admit Trump the "provocateur" could lose

Republicans are urging their candidate to stick to policy rather than targeting Vice President Kamala Harris for her intelligence, racial identity, appearance and other personal factors that could alienate key voting blocs. 

• Meanwhile, Harris unveiled parts of her economic plan Friday — and earned mixed reviews from economists, prompting her allies to play defense on the eve of the Democratic National Convention over her price gouging plan.

Here's what you may have missed when newsmakers hit the airwaves this Sunday, August 18. 

1. Sen. Graham: "Showman" Trump could lose

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) argued that Trump could beat Harris in November on policy — but warned that if the GOP nominee positions himself as "the provocateur, the showman," he may not find his way back to the White House.

Why it matters: Graham joins a chorus of Trump allies who have publicly urged the former president to focus on policy, not personal attacks. So far, Trump's not listening.

What they're saying: "I'm looking for President Trump to show up in the last 80 days to define what he will do for our country to fix broken borders, to lower inflation," Graham said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."

• Graham, who said he'd be campaigning hard for Trump, continued: "That's what I would focus on: policy. Policy is the key to the White House."

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Trump ally-turned-critic who challenged him for the 2024 nomination, said Trump needed "anger management classes."

• Christie, speaking on on ABC's "This Week," continued: "Kamala Harris is doing exactly what she should be doing. Donald Trump is imploding, and she's standing out of the way."

Zoom out: As the Trump campaign has worked to reorient its attacks toward a new rival ticket, the former president has repeatedly gone off-message.

• On Saturday, Trump lashed out at Harris' appearance, telling a crowd in the critical swing state of Pennsylvania, "I'm better looking than she is." 

State of play: Multiple polls released on Sunday showed Harris leading nationally. 

• Sen. JD Vance claimed on "Fox News Sunday" that the media was pushing "fake polls" to hurt Trump.

2. Dems defend Harris' price gouging proposals

Speaking at a campaign stop Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina, Harris detailed her proposed economic agenda for the first time.

Zoom in: One proposal in particular attracted scrutiny from economists and her political foes: banning "price gouging" on food and groceries.

• The controversial proposal comes in response to pandemic-era price hikes that the Federal Trade Commission found took advantage of consumers.
• "If your opponent claims you're a 'communist,' maybe don't start with an economic agenda that can (accurately) be labeled as federal price controls," wrote Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell.
• Jason Furman, an economist and former senior Obama administration official, told the New York Times he hopes Harris' proposal "ends up being a lot of rhetoric and no reality," warning the policy could distort the market and raise prices.

What they're saying: Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), a co-chair of the Harris-Walz campaign, responded to criticism from a Heritage Foundation economist comparing Harris' proposals to communist ideology, saying: "I don't think there's anything communist about wanting to make housing more affordable and prescription drugs more affordable."

• Pressed by Fox's Shannon Bream on the vice president's plan to target price gouging, Coons replied: "Presidents of both parties have tried to use the power of the FTC to rein in high prices at the pump, high prices at grocery stores."
• He continued: "I think picking the one proposal of the many she's put out misses the broader point."

Zoom out: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer echoed that sentiment on NBC's "Meet the Press," contending people are "reading too much" into the price gouging proposal, instead highlighting efforts to lower healthcare costs and investments in affordable housing.

• Asked if she believes the plan is a smart policy, the Michigan governor replied: "I think that any effort we make to keep more money in Americans' pockets is worth walking the path and having the conversations and figuring out how do we make this economy work for everybody."

The other side: Republicans including Graham hammered the "price controls" line.

3. Sen. Duckworth, Purple Heart recipient, slams Trump's comments about military honors

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), who lost both her legs serving in Iraq, called Trump "despicable" for his recent comments about the highest award one can receive for military valor.

Catch up quick: The former president on Thursday addressed GOP donor Miriam Adelson, whom he awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2018, saying the distinction was the civilian "equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor" but was "actually much better, because everyone gets the Congressional Medal of Honor, that's soldiers, they're either in very bad shape because they've been hit so many times by bullets, or they're dead."

• Veterans of Foreign Wars National Commander Al Lipphardt condemned Trump's comments in a statement released Friday, writing, "These asinine comments not only diminish the significance of our nation's highest award for valor, but also crassly characterizes the sacrifices of those who have risked their lives above and beyond the call of duty."

Driving the news: Duckworth, speaking on ABC's "This Week," said American voters must make a choice: "Do they want a five-time draft dodger who denigrates military men and women and our veterans and calls us suckers and losers, who doesn't want to have his picture taken with amputee veterans of various conflicts, to be the next commander in chief?"

• She added that Trump is "not fit to be commander-in-chief."

Zoom out: Questioned about Republican claims that Walz, a 24-year Army National Guard vet, had overstated his military experience during past campaigns, Duckworth called those attacks "despicable."

• "Frankly, I don't have a single problem with Tim Walz," she said, adding she thinks his "vast military experience" will be a "very good" asset in the Situation Room.

4. "Joyful" convention ahead 

Flashback to Chicago, 1996: An army of Dems including Bill and Hillary Clinton shimmying along to the "Macarena" (some more rhythmically than others) as balloons litter the floor. 

Fun fact: Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, once a member of Harris' VP shortlist, told CNN's Jake Tapper Sunday he was part of that crowd ("Thank God" there is no footage of his choreography, he added).

State of play: He predicted a DNC akin to a "rock concert."

• "This is a candidate who has energized the party in a way I haven't seen since '08," he said of Harris on CNN's "State of the Union."

Zoom out: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) echoed Pritzker, saying he's looking forward to a "very joyful" DNC.

Reality check: But some have also drawn comparisons between the 1968 Windy City DNC, which is remembered for violent clashes between police and Vietnam War protesters. 

• At this year's gathering in Chicago, tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators are set to converge.
• Pritzker contended the party has "coalesced" in a way it had not in 1968, saying he expects peaceful protests.
• "The protesters are protesting something that is very far away from here — very important, but it's not about people getting drafted from here going abroad," he noted.

More from Axios' Sunday coverage:

• "Fake polls": Vance downplays Harris rise
• Michelle Obama to address Democratic Convention on Tuesday
• DNC lineup: Who's speaking and what to expect