Former President Donald Trump has so far not been able to stick Vice President Kamala Harris with one of his famous nicknames. And with less than 90 days before Election Day, the opportunity may have passed.
In 2016, Trump eked out a win over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by blasting her on the campaign stump as "crooked Hillary" (a nickname he has since repurposed for President Joe Biden in addition to "Sleepy Joe"). And he coasted through the Republican primary that year after blasting Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) as "Lyin' Ted." But according to Politico, 2024 is proving difficult with the sudden emergence of a new opponent for Trump at the top of the Democratic ticket. And the ex-president has yet to come up with nicknames for Harris or Minnesota Governor Tim Walz that have stuck.
“What you’re starting to see is the panic of, ‘We’re in these 80-something days, I don’t have enough time to learn a new trick. So what do I do with the tricks in my bag to at least throw her off her game?’” Democratic strategist Michael Starr Hopkins told Politico. “But at this point, you’ve seen him so much, and he’s oversaturated himself that nothing shocks anybody anymore.”
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So far on the campaign stump, the former president has attempted to brand his new opponent as "Laffin' Kamala" and "Lyin' Kamala," in addition to "Crazy Kamala," which is a moniker he's also used for former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vemont). Trump has also flirted with the nickname "Kamabla," though he has yet to stick to a single nickname when attacking her on his Truth Social platform.
In fact, Trump has noticeably used nicknames for some Democrats while opting to refer to Harris simply by name. In one recent post to his social media platform, Trump wrote: "Kamala Harris wants NOTHING TO DO WITH CROOKED JOE BIDEN. They are throwing him out on the Monday Night Stage, known as Death Valley." He added, "He now HATES Obama and Crazy Nancy more than he hates me! He is an angry man, as he should be. They stole the Presidency from him — “'It was a Coup!'"
Mike Madrid, who is the co-founder of anti-Trump Republican group Lincoln Project, said Trump set himself apart by being the first major party candidate to come up with unique nicknames for his opponents. But he noted that after eight years, the shtick may have become passe.
“He was humiliating and debasing his opponents by abusing them in a way that was completely unconventional for American-style politics,” Madrid said. "The fact that he’s dragged us down to that low level of discourse makes the attack ineffective anyway.”
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The inability of the former president to brand his opponent is compounded by the fact that his own aides are admitting that Harris and the Democratic Party have effectively commandeered the media narrative since Biden exited the race on July 21. And that streak is likely to continue: Next week marks the start of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, after which candidates typically see a two to four-point boost in polls.
September is also likely going to be a big month for the Democratic ticket. Harris and Trump will meet for their first televised presidential debate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 10th. Eight days later, the 45th president of the United States is expected to be sentenced for his 34 felony convictions in New York. Judge Juan Merchan could sentence Trump to as many as 20 years behind bars, though he likely won't begin serving any sentence until after the election — or if he wins, until 2029 — due to the lengthy appeals process.
Click here to read Politico's report in its entirety.
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