Authors: Stephanie Kelly, Jeff Mason, and Tim Reed
(Reuters) – Vice President Kamala Harris described herself as a “loser” in the presidential race and called her Republican rival Donald Trump “just so weird” while Trump Describing Harris as “evil,” “sick” and “unhinged.”
The showdown capped a whirlwind week that put Harris at the top of the Democratic ticket after 81-year-old President Joe Biden dropped his re-election bid amid growing pressure from fellow Democrats. A series of polls showed the addition of Harris erased Trump’s lead over Biden in just days.
Harris, who spoke at a private fundraiser in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, hosted by singer-songwriter James Taylor, said Trump and his running mate, U.S. Sen. J.D. (NASDAQ: ) Wan Much of Si’s comments were “just downright bizarre.”
Her use of the word “weird” to describe her opponents is part of a new Democratic strategy. The Harris campaign called Trump “old and weird” after Trump appeared on Fox News on Thursday, and at least one supporter showed up outside Saturday’s event holding a sign saying “Trump is weird.”
As she has done at a series of campaign events this week, Harris, 59, once again contrasted her background as a prosecutor with Trump’s record as a convicted felon and said her The campaign is about the future, and Trump, 78, wants to return the country to its “dark past.”
Hours later, Trump launched a series of hyperbolic attacks at a rally in St. Cloud, Minnesota, claiming Harris would “destroy the country” and criticizing her on issues ranging from public safety to immigration.
“If crazy liberals like Kamala Harris join in, the American dream will be shattered,” Trump said, adding that Harris was “even worse” than Biden.
The former president’s speech was filled with familiar grievances and false claims of election fraud, making it clear that his brief appeals for unity in the wake of the assassination two weeks ago have completely evaporated.
“I’m trying to be nice. They all say, ‘I think he’s changed,'” Trump said. “No, I haven’t changed. Maybe I’ve gotten worse.”
The former president’s event at an 8,000-seat ice arena followed U.S. Secret Service advice that he avoid large outdoor events following the assassination at a rally in Pennsylvania.
Trump said on his truth social network on Saturday that he would continue to hold outdoor rallies and that the Secret Service had “agreed to significantly increase operations” to protect him.
Minnesota has not elected a Republican presidential candidate in 52 years, but the Trump campaign believes that is increasingly possible after Biden’s poll numbers dropped following his poor performance at the June 27 debate.
However, Harris’ taking over has breathed new energy into a campaign that has been severely shaken by Democratic doubts about Biden’s chances of defeating Trump or his ability to stay in power if successful.
Harris, the first black woman and Asian American to serve as vice president, raised more than $100 million in the 36 hours after Biden decided to drop out of the race. Her campaign said Saturday’s fundraiser raised more than $1.4 million from about 800 participants.
Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, a gun safety group with about 10 million members, told MSNBC on Saturday that more than 200,000 people participated in a Zoom call Thursday to support the Support for Harris has built among white women, raising more than $11 million.
Earlier on Saturday, Trump spoke at a cryptocurrency conference in Nashville, part of a broader Republican effort to attract cryptocurrency enthusiasts ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
He has vowed to make the United States the “cryptocurrency capital of the world,” a far cry from his stance in 2021, when he called Bitcoin a “fraud.” Trump warned that if the United States does not accept cryptocurrencies, China and other countries will too, and promised to enact industry-friendly regulations if elected. China currently bans cryptocurrencies.
Trump spoke at a conservative rally on Friday ahead of Saturday’s rally, when he told Christians that if they vote for him in November, “in four years, you won’t have to vote again. We will It’s settled well enough that you don’t have to vote.
It’s unclear what the former president meant, but Democrats immediately seized on his words as evidence that he remains a threat to democracy four years after his failed efforts to overturn the 2020 election that led to the January 6, 2021 U.S. The Capitol was under attack.
