With the possibility that President Joe Biden will step aside and open the door for Vice President Kamala Harris to head the Democratic presidential ticket going into November, Donald Trump's campaign apparatus is going into overdrive to plot a strategy much different than what they had planned for the current president.
According to a report from the New York Times' Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, the former president's inner circle is formulating an attack plan to take on Harris who presents new problems as a woman of color that could derail some Trump campaign initiatives that have begun.
Add to that, Harris' elevation leaves open the VP spot with few knowing the direction that the Democratic ticket will go, thereby handcuffing the Trump campaign's opposition research.
According to the report, "The Trump team has already prepared opposition research books on Ms. Harris, and has similar dossiers on other Democrats who could become the nominee if Mr. Biden were to drop out of the race. But the bulk of the preparations so far have been focused on Ms. Harris," before adding, "Trump allies have also begun examining the records of Democratic governors who are considered potential running mates for Ms. Harris. Advisers to the former president are paying especially close attention to Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania — the state the Trump campaign is most focused on winning to block the Democrats’ path to the White House. "
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With Times reporting that a switch to Harris would throw the election into "chaos" for Democrats, Liam Donovan, a former National Republican Senatorial Committee aide, claimed she creates problems for Republicans too.
In particular the highly publicized attempt by the Trump campaign to rope in Black voters would be in peril.
“Being the front-runner against another history-making candidate would introduce new risks for a campaign hoping to reap historic gains among Black voters,” he conceded.
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The report adds, "Some Trump aides say privately that Ms. Harris might be better at delivering certain messages than Mr. Biden has been, particularly on abortion rights, an issue that galvanized Democrats in the 2022 midterm elections. And as a former prosecutor, she may be positioned make a sharp argument about Mr. Trump’s criminal indictments, including his conviction in Manhattan on charges that he falsified business records to conceal a hush-money payment to a porn star in 2016."
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