Trump turns his full focus on Harris at first rally since Biden's exit from 2024 race

Donald Trump unleashed a barrage of attack lines Wednesday against his likely new opponent Vice President Kamala Harris who he called his new victim to defeat and accused of deceiving the public about President Joe Bidens ability to run for a second termThe rally in Charlotte North Carolina marked his first public campaign event since Biden dropped out of the 2024 matchup and Harris became the Democrats likely nomineeSo now we have a new victim to defeat Lyin Kamala Harris Trump said labelling her the most incompetent and far left vice president in American historyTrump called her a radical left lunatic and called her crazy for her positions on abortion and on immigration He also mispronounced her first name repeatedlyThe former presidents stop in North Carolina shows hes concerned about keeping the state in his column this November even as his team reaches for wins in traditionally Democraticleaning states like Minnesota which Trump is set to visit on SaturdayTrump has ramped up his criticism of the vice president since Bidens abrupt departure calling Harris the same as Biden but much more radicalHe has blamed her for what he portrays as the Biden administrations failures particularly security along the USMexico border On Wednesday the speakers who appeared on stage before the Republican nominee attacked Harris record on the border highlighting she was tasked with leading a White House effort to tackle migration issues Harris name was met with boos several times during the speechesShe was assigned that she was given that task and she failed said Brandon Judd former president of the National Border Patrol Council the union that represents agentsTrump has also hedged on plans for an expected debate with Harris first saying that he wanted Fox News not ABC to host the matchup he had originally scheduled for September with Biden On Tuesday Trump appeared to tweak that message again saying on a call with reporters that hed like to debate Harris more than once but not committing to appearing at the debate currently on the books and saying hed only agreed to debate Biden twice not HarrisHarris meanwhile spent Wednesday in Indiana telling members of the historically Black sorority Zeta Phi Beta that we are not playing around and asked for their help in electing her president in November an election she characterized as a choice between two different visions for our nation one focused on the future the other focused on the pastVoters in Indiana havent backed a Democratic presidential candidate in nearly 16 years But Harris a woman of Black and South Asian descent was speaking to a group already excited by her historic status as the likely Democratic nominee and one that her campaign hopes can expand its coalitionQuietly Republicans have spoken about how subbing Harris in for Biden nullifies a portion of their partys argument in favor of Trumps vitality and vigorAt 81 Biden would have been the oldest presidential nominee heading into a general election Now the 78yearold Trump occupies that slot Harris 59 has launched a campaign that at least in some corners appears to be stoking interest among the younger voters who could be key in deciding an anticipated close general electionNorth Carolina is a state Trump carried in both his previous campaigns but by less than 15 percentage points over Biden in 2020 the closest margin of any state Trump won Trump stumped heavily in North Carolina even as the COVID19 pandemic wore on while Biden largely kept off the physical campaign trail and did not personally visit the state in the last 16 days of the electionMecklenburg County home to Charlotte the states biggest city was also the scene of Trumps narrowest margin of victory in North Carolinas GOP primary edging out Nikki Haley by fewer than 8 percentage pointsThis year Trump had planned to hold his first rally since the start of his hush money trial in Fayetteville but that event was called off due to inclement weather Trump called in from his private plane insteadDemocrats also have been working to win North Carolina where the partys most recent presidential win was Barack Obamas 2008 victory despite recent GOP dominanceBiden held a campaign event in Raleigh the day after his disastrous June debate with Trump While he was much more forceful in that appearance than he was on the debate stage it did not help much to quell the growing concern from members of his party about his ability to win the White House againWith Harris now poised to take his spot she may again be turning to North Carolina for some political help the states Gov Roy Cooper is among the Democrats that Harris campaign is vetting for a possible pick as her vice presidential running mateThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without 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