Trump intensifies Harris criticism as she hinders his progress
The former president frequently reverted to his preferred attack lines against Joe Biden.
TroibNews 
Just two weeks have elapsed since an attempt to assassinate the former President and the Republican Party's unity at their convention in Milwaukee. Normally, Donald Trump would still dominate the political scene.
However, at a rally in St. Cloud, Minnesota, with his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, the landscape had drastically shifted from a mere week prior. The exit of President Joe Biden and the rise of Vice President Kamala Harris as the presumptive Democratic nominee have dramatically altered the 2024 election dynamics, overshadowing what might have been a period of strong momentum for Trump. His previous polling lead over Biden has nearly vanished with Harris now in the running.
Facing a new challenger with only 100 days until the election, Trump took the opportunity to launch numerous attacks on Harris during the Saturday rally. He criticized her on issues ranging from the border to inflation, and even commented on her laughter.
“We have a new victim now, Kamala. A brand new victim, and honestly she’s a radical left lunatic. When you find out about her, all I have to say is defund the police,” Trump remarked.
“Three months ago, she was thought of so badly, [the media] were just killing her. And now they’re trying to make her into a, let’s say, Margaret Thatcher. I don’t think so. It’s not going to happen. Margaret Thatcher didn’t laugh like that. Did she? If she did, she wouldn’t have been Margaret Thatcher,” he added.
The abrupt change in Biden's candidacy has sent ripples through both political parties. Democrats are rushing to establish their candidate while Trump and his allies recalibrate their campaign against an opponent who differs significantly from Biden.
As Trump broadened his attacks to Harris, he still occasionally slipped into familiar criticisms of Biden, linking both to perceived weaknesses in foreign policy, especially in light of recent events in the Golan Heights.
“That’s why this happened today in Israel. Shocking that it happened out of nowhere. A Trump victory will bring back leadership, competence and common sense, and strength to the Oval Office. We had no wars. We had no wars. Think of it,” Trump declared.
Trump also labeled Harris as the "border czar," revisiting her past position on fracking and attributing to her policies he claims she no longer supports.
“Trump’s false claims about fracking bans are an obvious attempt to distract from his own plans to enrich oil and gas executives at the expense of the middle class. The Biden-Harris Administration passed the largest ever climate change legislation and under their leadership, America now has the highest ever domestic energy production. This Administration created 300,000 energy jobs, while Trump lost nearly a million and his Project 2025 would undo the enormous progress we’ve made the past four years,” responded campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt.
In light of the recent assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump credited his survival to the Secret Service and his supporters' resilience, noting no change in his demeanor since the incident.
“They all say ‘I think he’s changed since two weeks ago. Something affected him.’ No, I haven’t changed. Maybe I’ve gotten worse,” he stated.
Though he's incorporated the incident subtly into his fundraising strategies, his primary focus in solicitations this past week has been combating Harris’s surge in campaign funding.
New polls indicate a closer race between Trump and Harris, with potential impacts on upcoming debates and campaign strategies.
“Tonight in Minnesota, a bitter, unhinged, 78-year-old convicted felon kept clinging to his lies about the 2020 election he lost being ‘rigged,’ rambled about his former opponent and golfing, and made excuses for why he’s afraid to debate Vice President Harris. Donald Trump said that if loses, our country is ‘finished.’ Yesterday, he promised the end of our democracy if he wins,” Harris campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika criticized.
Despite targeting Harris, Trump occasionally reverted to addressing Biden in his remarks.
“I don’t want to waste a lot of time because it’s over now, right? He’s gone,” Trump commented during his speech. “I told you he would be. I told you he wasn’t going to make it. I told you.”
Lucas Dupont for TROIB News
However, at a rally in St. Cloud, Minnesota, with his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, the landscape had drastically shifted from a mere week prior. The exit of President Joe Biden and the rise of Vice President Kamala Harris as the presumptive Democratic nominee have dramatically altered the 2024 election dynamics, overshadowing what might have been a period of strong momentum for Trump. His previous polling lead over Biden has nearly vanished with Harris now in the running.
Facing a new challenger with only 100 days until the election, Trump took the opportunity to launch numerous attacks on Harris during the Saturday rally. He criticized her on issues ranging from the border to inflation, and even commented on her laughter.
“We have a new victim now, Kamala. A brand new victim, and honestly she’s a radical left lunatic. When you find out about her, all I have to say is defund the police,” Trump remarked.
“Three months ago, she was thought of so badly, [the media] were just killing her. And now they’re trying to make her into a, let’s say, Margaret Thatcher. I don’t think so. It’s not going to happen. Margaret Thatcher didn’t laugh like that. Did she? If she did, she wouldn’t have been Margaret Thatcher,” he added.
The abrupt change in Biden's candidacy has sent ripples through both political parties. Democrats are rushing to establish their candidate while Trump and his allies recalibrate their campaign against an opponent who differs significantly from Biden.
As Trump broadened his attacks to Harris, he still occasionally slipped into familiar criticisms of Biden, linking both to perceived weaknesses in foreign policy, especially in light of recent events in the Golan Heights.
“That’s why this happened today in Israel. Shocking that it happened out of nowhere. A Trump victory will bring back leadership, competence and common sense, and strength to the Oval Office. We had no wars. We had no wars. Think of it,” Trump declared.
Trump also labeled Harris as the "border czar," revisiting her past position on fracking and attributing to her policies he claims she no longer supports.
“Trump’s false claims about fracking bans are an obvious attempt to distract from his own plans to enrich oil and gas executives at the expense of the middle class. The Biden-Harris Administration passed the largest ever climate change legislation and under their leadership, America now has the highest ever domestic energy production. This Administration created 300,000 energy jobs, while Trump lost nearly a million and his Project 2025 would undo the enormous progress we’ve made the past four years,” responded campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt.
In light of the recent assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump credited his survival to the Secret Service and his supporters' resilience, noting no change in his demeanor since the incident.
“They all say ‘I think he’s changed since two weeks ago. Something affected him.’ No, I haven’t changed. Maybe I’ve gotten worse,” he stated.
Though he's incorporated the incident subtly into his fundraising strategies, his primary focus in solicitations this past week has been combating Harris’s surge in campaign funding.
New polls indicate a closer race between Trump and Harris, with potential impacts on upcoming debates and campaign strategies.
“Tonight in Minnesota, a bitter, unhinged, 78-year-old convicted felon kept clinging to his lies about the 2020 election he lost being ‘rigged,’ rambled about his former opponent and golfing, and made excuses for why he’s afraid to debate Vice President Harris. Donald Trump said that if loses, our country is ‘finished.’ Yesterday, he promised the end of our democracy if he wins,” Harris campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika criticized.
Despite targeting Harris, Trump occasionally reverted to addressing Biden in his remarks.
“I don’t want to waste a lot of time because it’s over now, right? He’s gone,” Trump commented during his speech. “I told you he would be. I told you he wasn’t going to make it. I told you.”
Lucas Dupont for TROIB News
