Donald Trump is already attacking Kamala Harris. But he’ll also have to defend himself.
WASHINGTON – Donald Trump may want to stay on the attack against newly minted opponent Kamala Harris – but the Republican presidential nominee will also have to play plenty of defense against criticism from the Democratic vice president as she officially launches her 2024 bid.
Since Joe Biden withdrew from the race on Sunday, Harris and allies have focused on any number of Trump liabilities, including his criminal record, his civil lawsuits centered around sexual abuse and bank fraud, his age and mental acuity and his pledge to be a dictator on day one of a potential second term.
In a Monday speech to campaign staffers, Harris cited her experience as prosecutor and California attorney general. "Hear me when I say: I know Donald Trump's type," the vice president told cheering supporters.
Trump, who takes his re-tooled campaign to North Carolina on Wednesday, said the election is still about the Biden administration – or as he and aides now like to call it, "the Biden-Harris administration" – and its handling of issues like the nation's economy and southern border. But the 78-year-old Republican's comments come as voter concerns about Biden's age, 81, have vanished from the campaign calculus.
"Lyin’ Kamala Harris destroys everything she touches!" Trump said during a series of jabs Tuesday on his Truth Social account.
Here's how Trump could try to play offense, and defense, as he faces a new Democratic rival.
The prosecutor and the felon
In citing her legal background, Harris has emphasized that civil juries and judges in New York have found Trump liable for sexual abuse and bank fraud. A criminal jury also convicted Trump of falsifying business records via hush money payments to an adult film actress.
Additional charges are pending against Trump in Washington and Georgia over efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden. A federal judge in Florida last week dismissed a separate criminal case accusing Trump of mishandling classified documents after leaving the White House, though special counsel Jack Smith is appealing that ruling.
In her speech Monday, Harris tried to cast the election as a choice between “a country of freedom, compassion, and rule of law, or a country of chaos, fear and hate.”
Trump has long said without evidence that all of the legal actions against him are politically motivated and accused Biden of seeking to throw his opponent into jail.
In recent days, he's made similar claims about Harris via social media posts and remarks to supporters, a potential signal of his ongoing strategy. Still, there is no evidence the president or vice president played a role in the criminal charges or lawsuits against Trump.
The age factor
Before this week, Trump made much of Biden's age, his sometimes-slurry speech and his slow-and-shuffling gait. And his insults came as poll after poll showed that Americans have had concerns about Biden's age for months.
Now, those kinds of comments are being turned on Trump.
Asked about Trump's biggest vulnerabilities, Republican strategist Liz Mair listed her top three as: "Age and mental deterioration" ... "age and mental deterioration" ... "age and mental deterioration." All of a sudden, Trump is now facing an opponent who's two decades younger than him.
Some Trump critics said it's less about age than mental fitness overall.
For example, attorney George Conway, one of the most prominent so-called Never Trump Republicans, has started a political action committee called the Anti-Psychopath PAC. It's designed to “highlight the existential threat Donald Trump poses to democracy" and allege that Trump is unfit to serve.
Trump and allies say he is more vigorous than people half his age. On his Truth Social site, Trump posted video of him playing golf with reigning U.S. Open men's champion Bryson DeChambeau.
Aides and supporters also point to Trump's reaction to the July 13 assassination attempt. After his ear was nicked and the former president was seen with blood on his face, Trump was hoisted to his feet and shook his fist at the crowd, yelling "fight! fight!"
Trump's attempts to counter arguments about his age will likely continue unfolding over the next few weeks on the campaign trail. But for now, Trump has tried to raise his own allegations about Harris' fitness.
"I call her 'laughing Kamala,'" Trump said during a weekend rally in Michigan. "She's crazy. You can tell a lot by a laugh."
Dictator on 'day one'
Trump's praise of authoritarian leaders like Vladimir Putin of Russia, Xi Jinping of China, and Viktor Orban of Hungary may also put him on the defensive in the election. He's called the leaders strong and said that's what the United States needs.
Harris and others have blasted Trump's pledge to be a dictator on day one of a potential second administration, although the ex-president has said that means he would use executive power to close the border and widen American energy industry.
Harris and Biden have also long tried to cast the former president as a threat to democracy, especially against the backdrop of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capital Riot. He "wants to take our country backward to a time before many of our fellow Americans had full freedoms and rights," Harris alleged during an address earlier this week in Delaware.
Trump says the other guys are anti-democratic, a strategy that's not likely to change regardless of the Democratic nominee.
“They keep saying, 'He's a threat to democracy.' I'm saying, 'What the hell did I do for democracy?'" Trump said during a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan. "Last week, I took a bullet for democracy."
Look for much of this to be hashed out when Trump and Harris take the debate stage before Election Day.
Trump's apparently victory in a June 27 debate led to Biden's withdrawal from the race. But Trump and his top allies will have to change his debate strategy – and wider campaign plans – in light of Harris' campaign.
Their biggest challenge, some experts told USA TODAY, is that Trump has to revamp his calculation to win over the requisite number of Americans who could give him a second term in office.
“A majority of Americans have never voted for him, and a majority never approved of his job performance when he was president," said Republican pollster Whit Ayres.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump wants to attack Harris – but he'll also have to defend himself