CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In his first campaign rally since the presidential election descended into chaos, former President Trump wasted no time in defining his new opponent.
At a rally in the key battleground state of North Carolina, the Republican presidential candidate repeatedly attacked Vice President Kamala Harris, disparagingly calling her “Lying Kamala Harris.”
Harris succeeded Biden as the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee after her boss, President Biden, in a much-admired announcement on Sunday gave up on reelection and endorsed his vice president.
Trump holds first rally as 2024 election landscape changes
Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris speaks at her first campaign rally at West Allis Central High School on July 23, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images)
The embattled president’s immediate endorsement of Harris sparked a surge in support for her from Democratic governors, senators, representatives and other party leaders. By Monday night, the vice president announced that she had secured the party’s nomination with the support of a majority of the roughly 4,000 delegates at next month’s Democratic National Convention. And since Biden’s announcement, Harris has raised a staggering $129 million, her campaign touted Thursday morning.
The race for error between Trump and Harris
Speaking at a packed arena in Charlotte, Trump sought to portray Harris as “the most incompetent, far-left vice president in American history.”
He accused her of being “the ultra-liberal driving force behind every disaster of the Biden administration. She’s a far-left lunatic who would destroy our country if given the chance to power.”
Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, Wednesday, July 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
And, pointing to Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a champion of the far left and two-time runner-up for the Democratic presidential nomination, Harris claimed she was “more liberal than Bernie Sanders. Can you believe it?”
In a series of remarks that lasted more than an hour and a half, Trump repeatedly criticized the vice president on border security and crime, two key issues in the 2024 election.
The strategy from Trump, his campaign and allies is simple: Define Harris, who is less well known to Americans than Trump and Biden, before Harris defines herself.
Stephen Chang, a spokesman and senior adviser to the Trump campaign, said the former president’s team was ready to go on the offensive from the moment Harris succeeded Biden as the Democratic leader.
“There was no surprise. We were prepared. We had all the assets ready. We had all the content ready. Nobody was surprised,” Chang told reporters ahead of Trump’s rally.
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump headlines a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina on July 24, 2024. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
David Cockell, a longtime Republican consultant, said both the Trump and Harris campaigns are “competing to define” the vice president and that most Americans “know very little about her record… This is make-or-break time for both sides.”
“Trump has a big megaphone,” Kocher, who has worked on numerous Republican presidential campaigns and stayed neutral in the 2024 GOP primaries, told Fox News.
He pointed out that Harris “ran to the left of Biden” in the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination race and “had one of the most liberal records as a senator,” arguing that Trump’s disdain is “not unfounded.”
Harris has highlighted Trump’s numerous legal wranglings, including his conviction two months ago on 34 felony counts in the first criminal trial of a former or current president, and pointed to her own extensive law enforcement record.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during an event with NCAA college athletes on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, July 22, 2024. This is her first public appearance since President Joe Biden endorsed her as the Democratic presidential nominee. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
“As you all know, before I was elected vice president, before I was elected senator, I served as attorney general of California, and before that I was a trial prosecutor. In that role, I took on criminals of all kinds,” Harris said at an event at her campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, on Monday.
“A predator who abuses women, a conman who deceives consumers, a conman who breaks the rules for his own personal gain. So, we know what type of person Donald Trump is,” she emphasized, pointing to Trump’s multiple lawsuits and criminal cases, many of which are still ongoing.
Harris repeated the same attack the following day at a rally in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
“I don’t think people will believe that,” Trump countered at a rally on Wednesday, claiming the vice president is “one of the worst prosecutors in history” and has “destroyed San Francisco.”
The former president touted his support for law enforcement and garnered the endorsement of the National Association of Police Organizations, whose president, Michael McHale, appeared on stage with Trump to formally endorse the Republican candidate.
Harris’ campaign slammed Trump’s speech, with spokeswoman Amar Moosa calling it a “mad, bizarre and incoherent speech” and arguing that “the American people will not be fooled or distracted by Trump’s attacks.”
Trump’s criticism comes as Harris has taken full control of the Biden campaign and could be formally nominated as early as next week in a virtual roll call ahead of the Democratic National Convention, with the process of selecting his running mate by early next month.
Click here to get the FOX News app
While Harris is enjoying a lot of earned media in this honeymoon period of her fledgling campaign, the Trump campaign and its allies currently have a big advantage when it comes to paid media.
Harris’ campaign appears to be working to produce and air ad spots as quickly as possible, so Trump’s dominance in the air is unlikely to last long.
“She needs to have a pretty compelling resume to present on the air,” Kocher stressed.
Before the rally, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley said the GOP’s strategy remains “absolutely unchanged” despite Trump having a new rival at the top of the Democratic field.
“We’ve been fighting this campaign and we’re going to keep fighting this campaign,” Whatley, the former chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party who was appointed Republican National Committee chairman by Trump in March after winning the GOP nomination, said in an interview with Fox News.
Speaking at the rally at Bojangles’ Coliseum in Charlotte, Watley noted that Trump and the RNC will persistently link Harris to Biden’s policies on border security, fighting inflation, combating crime and other key issues in the 2024 election.
“The Democratic Party not only has a messenger problem, it has a messaging problem, and Kamala Harris is doubling down on every single one of Joe Biden’s failed policies. That’s the Biden-Harris administration, that’s the Biden-Harris campaign, and she’s taken over that role,” Whatley argued.
Fox News’ Mark Meredith and Jennifer Johnson contributed to this story.
Get the latest 2024 campaign updates, exclusive interviews and more on Fox News Digital’s Election Hub.
