Following Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 race on Sunday, Donald Trump is quickly shifting his campaign focus to Kamala Harris, launching attack ads targeting her current record in office and her past in California, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
The Trump campaign is now considering Harris the presumptive Democratic nominee, especially after Biden endorsed her. They have been preparing opposition research dossiers against her in recent weeks. While Biden’s withdrawal has left Democrats scrambling ahead of their nominating convention next month, it has also confused the Trump campaign to some extent.
Trump-aligned political action committees, such as MAGA Inc, are planning a wave of attacks against Harris, including a $5 million television ad campaign in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona, portraying her as the puppet master in the Biden administration.
The Trump campaign bets that Democrats are concerned about a backlash from their progressive base if they bypass Harris, who is poised to be the first Black female nominee of the party.
However, some senior Trump campaign advisers are unsure whether Harris will actually become the nominee, which could further complicate their strategy.
The Trump campaign was originally designed to target one opponent—Biden—and in recent weeks, Trump’s allies even restrained their criticisms to keep Biden viable as a candidate, as they were eager to run against him.
The issue for the Trump campaign is that their strongest attack lines against Biden, concerning his age and mental sharpness, are no longer applicable and might even be used by Democrats against Trump, given that he will now be the oldest candidate.
The millions of dollars spent by Trump-aligned PACs on attack ads against Biden, including a recent ad focused on a debate gaffe regarding military deaths, have been rendered ineffective.
Biden stepping aside was the Trump campaign’s worst-case scenario for the 2024 election, according to the two sources. Ironically, everyone from Trump himself to junior press aides has been encouraging Biden to remain in the race.
Last month, the Trump campaign issued an internal directive to prevent its staffers from publicly supporting the Democratic push for Biden to withdraw, concerned that doing so might exacerbate the pressure on him to drop out, as reported by The Guardian.
For weeks, the Trump campaign has been more focused on the prospect of running against Harris rather than Biden, with some senior advisers believing that Harris is more effective at addressing issues like abortion and Trump’s legal troubles.
Harris has been outspoken on abortion rights, an issue Trump has told advisers he views as a potential electoral disadvantage, especially after Republicans underperformed in the 2022 midterms following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Harris’ background as a prosecutor could draw attention to Trump’s recent criminal conviction in New York, where he was found guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush-money scheme aimed at influencing the 2016 election.
Some Trump allies, including those at influential PACs like MAGA Inc and Save America, have observed that Harris can be humorous at times. Clips of her quirky comments, such as “Did you just fall out of a coconut tree,” have gone viral on TikTok and other social media platforms.
Another challenge for the Trump campaign is the uncertainty surrounding the Democratic ticket: Harris could be paired with a range of potential running mates, or she might not be on the ticket at all.
However, the Trump campaign also believes that Harris has her own weaknesses that will negate any advantages or momentum she might gain in the lead-up to the Democratic National Convention starting on August 19, according to the two sources.
The Trump campaign believes it can portray her as accountable for the “open” US southern border under the Biden administration and highlight her record as a US senator, as well as her previous roles as California attorney general and San Francisco district attorney.
By doing this, they aim to revive the same issues that troubled her during the 2020 Democratic primary, where she faced criticism for being too lenient on crime and first-time drug offenders during her tenure as a prosecutor in California.
Source
- Trump scrambles to pivot campaign to attack Kamala Harris – The Guardian