Staff Reports
Former President Donald Trump wasted no time pivoting to his new main competitor, Vice President Kamala Harris, during his latest rally in Charlotte, North Carolina. With President Joe Biden’s recent bowing out of his 2024 campaign, Trump took the opportunity to unleash a flurry of barbs aimed at Harris, who he claims could usher in a disaster for the country if she ever sits in the Oval Office.
Trump settled into his now-familiar role as the political jester for the right, labeling Harris an imminent threat to democracy. In exaggerated terms that only he can muster, he railed against her as “a very bad person” unfit for the presidency. With Harris recently hitting the campaign trail in Wisconsin, one could almost hear the sound of her entering the political boxing ring, only for Trump to swiftly dismiss her round of applause as mere puffery offered by the ever-loyal mainstream media. According to him, reports that she drew a crowd of 3,000 were as credible as a fairy tale, with Trump estimating attendance closer to 1,000—if he was feeling generous that day.
Trump refused to let Harris’s self-styling as a tough crime-fighter escape his sharp tongue. In a display of his signature mockery, he questioned the authenticity of her newfound toughness on crime while he basked in the endorsement from the National Association of Police Organizations. It seems attempting a makeover at the last minute was a less than clever strategy as Trump slammed Harris’s previous record, suggesting that her high-profile role as “border czar” has been nothing more than a catastrophic joke. The former president painted a picture of Harris as someone willing to embrace open borders, leaving one to scratch their head and ask, who in their right mind would want that?
Donald Trump released a barrage of attacks against his likely Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, during his first rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, since his former rival, Joe Biden, suspended his 2024 campaign.
https://t.co/EFBBSStHvp— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) July 25, 2024
Throughout the rally, Harris was dismissed as a “far-left extremist,” worse even than the infamous Bernie Sanders. Trump’s rhetorical flourishes painted her as someone who wouldn’t just mess up a city but might as well be handed the keys to the entire country if she were elected. He claimed that her radical views on abortion—favoring late-term procedures—had even sent her polling numbers spiraling lower than a rock tossed down a well. Trump’s enthusiasm for his own standing in polls served as a sharp contrast to Harris’s perceived extremism, which he argued could repel even moderate voters.
Democrats are facing a tactical uphill battle, hoping to flip North Carolina blue for the first time since 2008, while Trump is keen to keep it firmly in the red column. As the Democratic National Convention approaches and Harris inches closer to the nomination thanks to Biden’s backing, it’s clear that Harris’s chances of reshaping her image will play out in front of a scrutinizing public. But if Trump’s rally in Charlotte was any indication, he’s poised to make her find those public perceptions especially rocky while he savors the opportunity to take her to task on stage, armed with humor and a distinct lack of political correctness.
