On Thursday, a fierce battle over the 2024 election campaign unfolded.
President Biden and Vice President Harris made their first full public appearance together since Harris replaced Biden as the Democratic nominee.
Meanwhile, former President Trump tried to take the spotlight back away from Harris at a press conference at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
The Biden-Harris event in suburban Maryland was billed as an official White House event to promote efforts to curb prescription drug prices, but was actually a show of unity ahead of next week’s Democratic National Convention. Mr. Biden is scheduled to speak at the convention in Chicago on Monday; Ms. Harris is scheduled to give a major speech on Thursday.
There was no mistaking the political nature of Trump’s event: At the outset, the former president described Harris as a “radical liberal from California.”
Key outcomes from both gatherings included:
Harris and Biden perform a delicate dance
The stage management of the Biden-Harris event was one of the most notable aspects.
The relationship between the two is inherently delicate — Democrats are far more excited about Harris and her candidacy than they are about the sitting president — but Harris must not show disrespect or disrespect toward the president.
They handled the situation as best they could.
Biden and Harris appeared together, with Harris offering lavish praise on Biden as she stood next to him.
“I could go on all afternoon about the man I stand on this stage with, our incredible president, Joe Biden,” Harris said, as the cheering crowd chanted “Thank you, Joe.”
She also created moments to highlight her own role, recalling that she “voted the runoff” to pass the Anti-Inflation Act in the Senate. “I was proud when President Joe Biden signed that bill into law,” she added.
Ms Harris left the stage as Mr Biden began his speech, and Mr Biden was quick to praise her for her ability to be a “great president”.
None of this would solve the inherent difficulty of Ms Harris carrying the Democratic banner in November’s election while still preserving Mr Biden’s dignity, but it could minimise the awkwardness.
Trump steps up personal attacks
Trump spoke at length and in his usual incoherent fashion for much of the Bedminster press conference.
In addition to portraying Harris as a radical outside the American mainstream, they have also sought to tie her to the record of Biden, whose approval ratings are low not just on the central issue of the economy but across the board.
But Trump also made his usual bombastic remarks, at one point blasting the Biden-Harris administration’s economic record and claiming that mortgage rates were hovering around 10%. As of Thursday, the average rate for a 30-year mortgage was about 6.5%.
Asked later whether his personal attacks on Harris had backfired, Trump predictably defended his right to attack his opponents.
The former president said: “I think I’m entitled to personal attacks. I don’t have much respect for her. I don’t have much respect for her intelligence, and I think she’d be a terrible president.”
Such criticism is unlikely to calm Republicans who were hoping for a more positive campaign.
Trump spoke in a grumpy tone at times, which may have been a reflection of polls showing Harris had negated the advantage she enjoyed over Biden.
Harris complained that neither she nor her running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), are “kooks” as her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D), has repeatedly suggested.
He also took issue with a recent article in Time magazine which featured a drawing of Ms Harris on the cover, rather than a photograph.
“They hired a great artist to do it. What the hell was that?” Trump mused.
Not all of Trump’s complaints were unfounded.
He argued that Harris was once considered Biden’s “border secretary” but has recently sought to distance herself from that role and title.
“That’s what everyone was saying, and then about two weeks ago she said she didn’t want to be called border secretary anymore,” Trump complained.
Though she doesn’t have an official title, Harris was often referred to by that nickname in the early days of the Biden administration, when she sought to improve long-term factors in immigration.
Biden shows passion and vulnerability
The disastrous performance of Biden’s debate against Trump in late June has focused attention on Biden’s age and cognitive ability.
Many Democrats will be watching with bated breath on Monday when he delivers a key speech at the party’s convention.
But when the president delivers prepared remarks, he is largely able to ignore his opponents.
Trump was infuriating at times on Thursday, referring to “Project 2025,” a far-right plan for a second Trump term that was proposed by the Heritage Foundation but rejected by the former president.
“Let me tell you what our Project 2025 is: Beat them to the punch,” Biden said.
Elsewhere, he called Trump “Donald Dump.”
But Biden faltered at some points, such as when he gave an example of a woman facing excessive drug costs, who seemed confused about whether she was paying $900 or $9,000 a year for her drugs.
Trump talks campaign and Biden debate
Critics within the Republican Party argue that the Trump campaign moved slowly after Biden withdrew and Harris quickly secured the Democratic nomination.
There are currently personnel changes underway in the Trump world, including the return of Corey Lewandowski, who served as Trump’s campaign manager in the early days of the 2016 election.
But Trump denied suggestions that his campaign had been caught off guard recently.
“I think we did a very good job. I think it struck a chord with people,” he said.
As the news conference concluded, Trump was asked if he regretted debating Biden so early in the election cycle, meaning that the June 27 debate gave Democrats enough time to replace him as their candidate.
Trump appears to have given the issue some thought.
“I don’t care what question you’re asking,” he told reporters, but “that would have been a better question to ask Joe Biden, because if he hadn’t been in the debate, he would still be running for president and people would be hiding him just like they’re hiding her right now.”
That last point appears to be a reference to Harris not yet giving interviews or holding a full press conference.
Key point revealed: No Trump-Netanyahu phone call
Much of what happened at both events Thursday was typical campaign fare.
But a more substantive point was made during a question-and-answer session at Trump’s Bedminster event.
Earlier this week, President Trump spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone, sparking claims around the world that the call was intended to nudge Netanyahu toward a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
Trump denied any such call occurred.
He said he had not spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since the prime minister’s visit to Mar-a-Lago last month.
