Donald J. Trump began turning Vice President Kamala Harris, his new opponent, into a nemesis. But his crowd still wanted to hear the hits.
- Share full article
Former President Donald J. Trump, speaking at a campaign rally in Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday, tried to find the line of acceptability in how he could criticize Vice President Kamala Harris.
Yesterday’s rally was former President Donald J. Trump’s first since President Biden, an 81-year old white man, dropped out and Vice President Kamala Harris, a 59-year-old Black woman, stepped up. Just how would Mr. Trump proceed?
His campaign tried projecting confidence about the switch, even as Ms. Harris had come out swinging, raising $81 million in the first 24 hours and hijacking the media spotlight.
Before Mr. Trump took the stage at the Bojangles Coliseum, his spokesman, Steven Cheung, dropped by the reporters’ pen to assure everyone that the Trump campaign was totally, definitely not freaking out about any of this. As he spoke, his back was physically up against the wall of the hockey arena — painted on the concrete behind him in big block letters: “Skinned your Zamboni? Give us a call” — as two dozen reporters held recording devices an inch from his face. The Who’s “Pinball Wizard” blared while the press pinballed questions off him.
Was the Trump campaign unnerved by how much money Ms. Harris had already raised? “We’re fine with where we’re at.”
How does Mr. Trump feel about being the old man in the race now? “Doesn’t matter.”
What does Mr. Trump think about Ms. Harris framing her campaign as being about a prosecutor versus a felon? “Doesn’t matter.”
And then Mr. Cheung got one that gave him pause. Earlier that day on Capitol Hill, House Speaker Mike Johnson had warned his fellow Republicans against calling Ms. Harris, who is the first female, the first Asian American and the first Black No. 2 in the White House, a “D.E.I.” hire (or a “diversity, equity and inclusion” candidate). Asked if the campaign agreed that Republicans should refrain from attacking Ms. Harris on the basis of race or gender, Mr. Cheung replied, “Ah, I mean, we haven’t. We haven’t. So we don’t have that issue.”
We are having trouble retrieving the article content.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
SKIP ADVERTISEMENT
Source: nytimes.com
