Former President and Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump is holding his first rally since President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race. Addressing supporters in North Carolina, he attacks his new opponent Kamala Harris and says Biden quit the race “because he was losing” in the polls. President Biden, meanwhile, will give a primetime address from the Oval Office later where he will explain his decision to end his re-election bid.
Quick Read
- Former President Donald Trump held his first rally since President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race, addressing supporters in North Carolina.
- Trump claims Biden quit the race “because he was losing” in the polls.
- Trump debuts a new nickname for Kamala Harris, calling her “Lyin’ Kamala Harris” and “the most incompetent vice-president in American history.”
- He labels Harris as a “radical left lunatic” and says voters will tell her “You’re fired!” in November.
- Trump criticizes Harris on immigration, accusing her of opening borders and calling her the “border czar.”
- He praises the Secret Service for their protection during the recent attempt on his life.
- Trump calls Biden “the worst president in the history of our country” and argues the Democratic party pushed Biden out of the race.
- He claims Harris was the “ultra-liberal driving force” behind Biden’s policies and accuses her of lying about Biden’s mental fitness.
- Trump argues Harris is worse than Biden, calling her a “real liberal” compared to Biden being a “fake liberal.”
- He questions whether another candidate might replace Harris if polls show him beating her.
The Associated Press has the story:
Trump: ‘Harris is a radical left lunatic, more liberal than Bernie Sanders’
Newslooks- NC- (AP)
Former President and Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump is holding his first rally since President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race. Addressing supporters in North Carolina, he attacks his new opponent Kamala Harris and says Biden quit the race “because he was losing” in the polls. President Biden, meanwhile, will give a primetime address from the Oval Office later where he will explain his decision to end his re-election bid.
He opens his rally talking about Joe Biden dropping out of the race. He says the president “quit because he was losing” in the polls. He also debuts a nickname for his new White House opponent, calling her “Lyin’ Kamala Harris” and the “most incompetent… vice-president in American history”. “If you don’t mind, I’m not going to be nice,” he tells the crowd, who responds with cheers.
Trump: Voters will tell Harris ‘You’re fired’!
Trump is now focusing in on his new opponent, repeatedly attacking her as a “radical left lunatic”. He says that in November, the American people will tell Kamala Harris: “No thank you.” “You’re fired!” Trump says, referencing his famous line from The Apprentice.
Trump criticises Harris on immigration
Donald Trump is criticising Kamala Harris on one of his key policy issues – immigration. He notes her position at the start of the Biden administration, when the president tasked her with looking into the root causes of migration from a number of countries.
“Kamala threw open our borders” and allowed an influx of migrants, Trump says. “Everything Kamala touches turns into a total disaster,” he adds, laying out the various roles she’s also had in foreign relations. Republicans are already condemning Harris as the president’s “border czar”, attempting to make her the face of what public opinion polls have found is the Biden administration’s unpopular immigration policies.
Trump praises Secret Service for protecting him
Trump is now talking about the attempt on his life earlier this month. “Nobody ran!” he says of the crowd, even in the face of danger, because “they saw that I was in trouble”. “The whole thing is like a big love fest,” he says.
Trump then praises the Secret Service for protecting him. “Bullets were flying, and they were running right at me”, he says of his security detail. He then pays tribute to the man who was killed at the rally and the two others who were injured.
Trump says Biden is “worst president”
Trump refers to Biden as “the worst president in the history of our country”. “He quit because he was losing so badly,” Trump says.
But he then pivots to arguing the Democratic party pushed Biden out of his campaign run, calling it an “undemocratic” move. Later, he blames Harris for being the “ultra liberal driving force behind every single Biden catastrophe”.
He also tell the crowd, “they want me to be nice” after the shooting, but “if you don’t mind, I’m not going to be nice” – appearing to reference bipartisan calls to tone down political rhetoric on all sides. Trump also claims that Harris “shamelessly” lied to the public about Biden’s mental fitness. He then hits out at one of Harris’s talking points – that she’s a former prosecutor and Trump is a convicted felon. “I don’t think people are going to buy it,” Trump says of the strategy.
Trump on Harris replacing Biden: She’s worse than him
Trump is talking now about Biden’s decision to drop out of the race and back Harris for president. “She’s much worse than him,” he says of Harris, calling Biden a “fake liberal” whereas Harris, he says, is a “real liberal”.
He notes the various polls that showed Biden trailing in the polls before he pulled out of the race, and he questions whether another candidate might replace Harris if polls show him beating her. “Are they going to bring in a third candidate?,” he says.
