Donald Trump has unleashed a barrage of attacks against his likely new opponent Vice President Kamala Harris, calling her his “new victim to defeat”.
He also accused her of deceiving the public about President Joe Biden ‘s ability to run for a second term.
The rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, marked the former president’s first public campaign event since Mr Biden dropped out of the 2024 election and Ms Harris became the Democrats’ likely nominee.
“So now we have a new victim to defeat: Lyin’ Kamala Harris,” Mr Trump said, labelling her “the most incompetent and far left vice president in American history”.
Mr Trump called her a “radical left lunatic” and called her “crazy” for her positions on abortion and on immigration. He also mispronounced her first name repeatedly.
Ms Harris is expected to make abortion a key part of her campaign, looking to present herself to voters as someone who will fight against abortion restrictions. Earlier this week, she said she “trusts women to make decisions about their own bodies”.
Mr Trump also accused her of being just as responsible for Me Biden’s policies at the US-Mexico border, which saw illegal crossing arrests reach record highs at the end of 2023 and repeated his pledge to conduct mass deportations with the help of local police.
“Kamala’s deadly destruction of America’s borders is completely and totally disqualifying. She shouldn’t be allowed to run for president with what she’s done,” Mr Trump told supporters.
The former president’s stop in North Carolina shows he is concerned about keeping the state in his column this November, even as his team reaches for wins in traditionally Democratic-leaning states like Minnesota, which he is set to visit on Saturday.
Mr Trump has hedged on plans for an expected debate with Ms Harris, first saying that he wanted Fox News, not ABC, to host the event he had originally scheduled for September with Mr Biden.
On Tuesday, Mr Trump appeared to tweak that message again, saying on a call with reporters that he would like to debate the Vice President “more than once” but not committing to appearing at the debate currently on the books and saying he had only agreed to debate Mr Biden twice, not Ms Harris.
Ms Harris spent Wednesday in Indiana, telling members of an historically black sorority that “we are not playing around” and asked for their help in electing her president in November, characterising the election as “a choice between two different visions for our nation, one focused on the future, the other focused on the past”.
Mr Trump’s Charlotte event was his second campaign rally since a July 13 assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally. Like the one scheduled for the weekend in Grand Rapids, Michigan, it was held in an indoor arena.
