Trump doubles down on insults and mockery in attacks on Harris
Former President Trump on Tuesday called Vice President Harris a “dummy” after she appeared with what he called the “degenerates on The View.”
On Wednesday, he mockingly compared Harris giving interviews to the sound of a vacuum and derided her as “grossly incompetent.”
On Thursday, Trump told the Detroit Economic Club that Harris was ”dumber than hell.”
“Somebody said, ‘You should be nicer. Women won’t like it,’” Trump told supporters in Scranton, Pennsylvania, this week. “I said, ‘I don’t care.’”
The array of swipes shows the former president is digging in on running an insult-filled campaign, shrugging off concerns that his deeply personal attacks on his opponent’s intelligence, laugh and qualifications will turn off some voters and drive them toward Harris, who has urged the electorate to “turn the page” on Trump.
“What he’s trying to do for all voters is paint a mosaic that she’s unqualified to be the president of the United States,” said Ford O’Connell, a GOP strategist.
But some Republicans have for months expressed unease about Trump’s name-calling strategy, pleading with him to stay focused on Harris’s record on immigration and the economy.
Democrats argued the constant insults will wear thin on moderate and independent voters who may decide they’ve simply had enough of Trump after nearly a decade in the political arena.
“When you see these insults that have a kind of petty feeling to them, it really reinforces what people like least about Trump, which is that he’s entirely focused on himself,” said Jesse Lee, a former Obama and Biden White House official. “None of these insults really have anything to do with him looking out for you.”
Shortly after Harris replaced President Biden atop the ticket, Trump questioned her biracial identity by suggesting she “became Black” at a certain point in her career. Harris is half Jamaican and attended Howard University, a Historically Black College in the nation’s capital.
Then, Trump at a late September rally ridiculed Harris as “mentally impaired” and “mentally disabled,” comments that drew backlash from even some Republicans who felt it was out of bounds.
He has repeatedly called her “low IQ” on social media, and he has said the vice president has the “laugh of a crazy person.” Trump regularly mimics Harris’s speaking style during his own rallies, heckling her over the number of times she thanks the crowd before launching into her stump speech.
One Trump ally argued the personal attacks on Harris were fair game given the vice president and Democrats have sought to make the presidential campaign partly about Trump’s character rather than about the issues.
The insults haven’t been limited to his political opponent, either. Speaking in Detroit on Thursday, Trump derisively suggested if Harris wins in November, “our whole country will end up being like Detroit” taking a dig at the Democratic-majority city.
He has attacked Haitian migrants, claiming those who have settled in Springfield, Ohio, are “destroying” the way of life for other residents there.
Polling has shown Trump and Harris are locked in a tight race in each of the seven battleground states likely to determine the outcome in November. But recent polls have also shown Trump trailing Harris on key measures of who appeals more to voters, something that his insult-heavy approach is unlikely to change.
A New York Times/Siena College poll published Tuesday found 50 percent of voters had a somewhat or very favorable view of Harris, compared to 46 percent who said the same of Trump. Forty-five percent had a “very unfavorable” view of Trump, compared to 39 percent who had a very unfavorable view of Harris.
When asked which candidate cared more about people like them, 49 percent of likely voters said Harris, compared to 41 percent who said Trump.
And 43 percent of likely voters said Harris is the “more fun” of the two candidates, compared to 35 percent who said Trump.
Harris has brushed off the personal attacks against her when asked about them in interviews.
She has batted away questions about Trump questioning her racial heritage, calling it part of the “same old tired playbook” he has pulled from for years. And when asked about Trump ridiculing her laugh, Harris urged Americans not to let adversaries “turn your strength into a weakness.”
While Harris has maintained a more aspirational tone, other Democrats have taken on Trump more directly and made the case to voters that the former president’s rhetoric should give them pause as they weigh their options for November.
“I’ve noticed this especially with some men who seem to think Trump’s behavior, the bullying, and the putting people down is a sign of strength,” former President Barack Obama told attendees at a rally in Pennsylvania. “I am here to tell you that is not what real strength is. It never has been.
“Real strength is about working hard and carrying a heavy load without complaining. Real strength is about taking responsibility for your actions and telling the truth, even when it’s inconvenient,” he continued. “Real strength is about helping people who need it and standing up for those who can’t always stand up for themselves. That is what we should want for our daughters and for our sons, and that is what I want to see in a president of the United States of America.”