Ro Khanna says he’s not a fan of fellow Democrats calling Republicans ‘weird’

Congressman and Kamala Harris campaign surrogate Ro Khanna said he doesn't support the trend among his fellow Democrats of calling Republicans "weird" on the election trail.

"I'm not, in candor, a fan of calling each other 'weird' or names, I don't think that advanced American democracy," the California US House representative said during a live event with the Guardian at the Texas Tribune festival Saturday in Austin. "I think we have to - in this country, and as a party - not just win, but deserve victory. And to deserve victory means to offer a vision that is going to bring this country together with a common purpose."

That common purpose, he said, was economic growth, expanding voting rights, women's dignity, and a "civic religion".

The term "weird" has been part of a campaign strategy by Harris's vice-presidential pick Tim Walz and several others as a way of painting opponent Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance as destructive and out of line with US voters.

"These are weird people on the other side," Walz said in an interview in July. "They wanna take books away, they wanna be in your exam room. That's what it comes down to and don't, you know, get sugar-coating this: these are weird ideas."

But in a sweeping conversation about democracy, the economy, and the role of tech platforms in the election, Khanna emphasized a focus on unity and reaching out to skeptical voters, including in his view of Harris's strategy for her debate on Tuesday with Trump.

Khanna said he realized "it's not fashionable anymore" to do as his fellow Democrat and former first lady Michelle Obama once said: "When they go low, we go high." But he said former Democratic presidents like Barack Obama and John F Kennedy Jr "were inspirational figures and inspiration", and he added: "I still think that wins for a nation that's hungry for some kind of new common purpose."

Khanna also weighed in on the role of tech platforms and social media in polarizing voters and spreading misinformation. Already this year voters have been faced with deepfake robocalls in a false Joe Biden voice, a fake Taylor Swift image posted by Trump himself, and various fake ads painting Harris as a communist leader.

While Khanna said there was no way to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) systems in time for the 5 November election, the congressman - whose district includes a significant part of Silicon Valley - said he is hopeful that there is bipartisan support for policy in this sector.

He also sought to promote the careful balance of regulating social media and content moderation without compromising free speech.

Khanna furthermore reiterated his support for unfettered free speech when asked about Biden and the president's record of avoiding press and media during most of his term when compared to his predecessors, a criticism that's also been lodged at Harris early in the vice-president's campaign for the White House.

"I think politicians benefit from being out there in the media," Khanna said. "And, as much as possible, you're taking hard questions and making gaffes and letting people see who you are. But if you do a lot of that, by the way, your gaffes are likely to be diminished because you've done so many.

"I'm a classical liberal. I believe in free speech. I believe in persuasion. I believe that in this country you can still persuade people."

Asked outright if Biden should have given more interviews, Khanna said: "Of course."