Harris says she is ‘underdog’, trades barbs with Trump from afar
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US Vice-President Kamala Harris again contrasted her background as a prosecutor with Donald Trump’s record as a convicted felon.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON – US Vice-President Kamala Harris cast herself as the “underdog” in the presidential race and called her Republican opponent Donald Trump “just plain weird”, while he labelled Ms Harris “evil”, “sick” and “unhinged” as the rivals exchanged barbs from afar on July 27.
The duelling appearances capped a whirlwind week that saw Ms Harris ascend to the top of the Democratic ticket
A series of polls indicated that Ms Harris’ entry erased the lead Trump had enjoyed over Mr Biden in a matter of days.
Ms Harris, speaking at a private fund raiser headlined by singer-songwriter James Taylor in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, said much of the rhetoric coming from Trump and his running mate, US Senator J.D. Vance, was “just plain weird”.
Her use of the word “weird” to describe her opponents was part of a new strategy by the Democrats.
The Harris campaign called Trump “old and quite weird” following his appearance on Fox News on July 25, and at least one supporter showed up outside the July 27 event holding a sign proclaiming “Trump is weird”.
As she did during a blitz of campaign stops this week, Ms Harris again contrasted her background as a prosecutor with Trump’s record as a convicted felon
Hours later, Trump unleashed a barrage of attacks at a rally in St Cloud, Minnesota, on issues ranging from public safety to immigration.
“If a crazy liberal like Kamala Harris gets in, the American dream is dead,” Trump said, adding that Ms Harris is “even worse” than Mr Biden.
He also described Mr Biden’s decision to end his re-election bid as a “coup” orchestrated by the Democratic Party.
The former president’s speech – suffused with familiar grievances and false claims about election fraud – made clear that his short-lived call for unity following the attempt on his life two weeks ago had dissipated altogether.
“I want to be nice. They all say, ‘I think he’s changed’,” Trump said. “No, I haven’t changed. Maybe I’ve gotten worse.”
His event at an 8,000-seat ice hockey arena complied with the US Secret Service’s recommendation that he avoid large outdoor events following an attempt on his life at a rally in Pennsylvania two weeks ago.
Trump said on July 27 on his Truth Social site that he would continue to hold outdoor rallies and that the Secret Service had “agreed to substantially step up their operation” to protect him.
Minnesota has not chosen a Republican presidential candidate in 52 years, but the Trump campaign has viewed it as increasingly within reach after Mr Biden’s poll numbers dipped following his disastrous June 27 debate performance.
Ms Harris’ takeover, however, has re-energised a campaign that had faltered badly
Ms Harris, the first black woman and first Asian American to serve as vice-president, raised more than US$100 million (S$134 million) in the 36 hours after Mr Biden decided to drop out of the race. A July 27 fund raiser brought in more than US$1.4 million from some 800 attendees, her campaign said.
Ms Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, a gun safety group with about 10 million members, told MSNBC on July 27 that more than 200,000 people joined a Zoom call on July 25 to build support for Ms Harris among white women, raising more than US$11 million.
Earlier on July 27, Trump addressed a cryptocurrency conference in Nashville, part of a broader Republican effort to court crypto enthusiasts ahead of the Nov 5 election.
He vowed to make the US the “crypto capital of the world”, a far cry from his stance in 2021, when he called bitcoin a “scam”.
Trump warned that China and other countries would embrace crypto if the US did not and promised industry-friendly regulations if elected. China currently bans cryptocurrency.
Trump’s rally on July 27 follows his remarks at a conservative gathering on July 26, when he told Christians
It was not clear what the former president meant by his comments, but Democrats immediately seized on his words as evidence that he remains a threat to democracy four years after his efforts to overturn his 2020 defeat led to the attack on the US Capitol on Jan 6, 2021.
