During his first rally since Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic nominee, former President Donald J. Trump criticized her as extremely liberal and blamed her for what he views as the failures of the Biden administration. Trump’s campaign aims to link Harris to unpopular policies and portray her as too left-leaning for moderate and independent voters.
With Biden out of the race and Harris emerging as his potential opponent, Trump shifted his focus to attacking Harris’s record as a prosecutor and her stance on abortion. He highlighted her support for nationwide abortion rights and accused her of being radical on the issue, attempting to weaken her appeal to voters.
Trump struggled to discuss abortion during the rally in Charlotte, where he falsely claimed that Harris endorsed post-birth abortions, a claim not supported by any state law. Additionally, he criticized Harris for her approach to crime while serving as San Francisco’s district attorney, accusing her of being lenient and supporting criminal justice reforms like ending cash bail.
By emphasizing his endorsement from the National Association of Police Organizations and painting Harris as soft on crime, Trump sought to position himself as the candidate for law-abiding Americans, contrasting Harris as someone who supports criminals and illegal immigrants.Mr. Trump’s decision to criticize Ms. Harris on certain issues comes with potential political risks. By targeting her stance on abortion, a topic he had previously not emphasized much in his speeches, he may inadvertently bring attention to his involvement in overturning Roe v. Wade. Additionally, while criticizing Ms. Harris’s campaign tactics, he mentioned the term “convicted felon” twice, unintentionally highlighting his own legal issues.
The sudden changes in the presidential race this week have caught Mr. Trump and his campaign off guard. Following Mr. Biden’s exit from the race and endorsement of Ms. Harris, Republicans have launched various attacks against her.
During his speech on Wednesday, Mr. Trump mainly stuck to his usual rally content. He continued to criticize Mr. Biden’s climate change efforts, made comparisons between border crossers and fictional characters, and repeated false claims about election fraud in 2020.
Mr. Trump redirected many of his criticisms towards Ms. Harris, often using the same arguments he had previously used against Mr. Biden, particularly regarding immigration and inflation, where the president’s approval ratings are low.
He linked Ms. Harris to all of Mr. Biden’s policies, labeling her as the liberal force behind his supposed failures. The focus was on the U.S.-Mexico border, a key issue for his campaign, with Mr. Trump repeatedly referring to Ms. Harris as the “border czar.”
While Ms. Harris was never officially given that role, Mr. Biden tasked her with addressing the root causes of migration from Central America early in his presidency. Despite the decrease in crossings since then, Republicans, including Mr. Trump, claim Ms. Harris did not succeed in her duties related to border security.
Mr. Trump also criticized Ms. Harris for her tie-breaking vote on legislation he believes led to inflation, and accused her of failing to prevent Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which he claimed was an embarrassment.Expanding on recent attacks from his supporters on Ms. Harris’ record as a senator and prosecutor, Mr. Trump labeled her as a radical-left extremist who is more liberal than Mr. Biden. This tactic aims to diminish her appeal to moderate and independent voters crucial for Mr. Biden’s victory in 2020.
Mr. Trump criticized Mr. Biden as a phony liberal and praised Ms. Harris as a genuine liberal. A spokesperson for the Harris campaign, Ammar Moussa, accused Mr. Trump of trying to divert attention from important issues.
The upcoming election, according to Mr. Moussa, will be a choice between Trump’s agenda of nationwide abortion bans and unchecked power versus Vice President Harris, who stands for freedom and equal opportunities for all Americans.
Continuing his attacks on Mr. Biden’s fitness for office, Mr. Trump dubbed Ms. Harris as “Lyin Kamala” and accused her of covering up concerns about Mr. Biden’s capabilities.
Mr. Trump shifted his criticisms of Mr. Biden onto Ms. Harris, suggesting she was behind legal cases against him due to her past as a prosecutor. However, he also claimed she was a poor prosecutor, creating a contradiction similar to his conflicting labels of Mr. Biden as both sleepy and corrupt.
After attempting to create division between American Jews and the Democratic Party over Mr. Biden’s stance on Israel’s conflict with Gaza, Mr. Trump accused Ms. Harris of being anti-Jewish for not attending Prime Minister Netanyahu’s address to Congress. Despite being married to a Jewish individual, Ms. Harris is set to meet privately with Mr. Netanyahu on Thursday.
