Donald Trump turns his attention to ‘radical leftist nutcase’ Kamala Harris at first rally since Biden withdrew

Donald Trump declared victory over Joe Biden on Wednesday night, promising thousands of fans in North Carolina that Mr Nice Guy would no longer exist and promising Kamala Harris as his next victim.

He took a victory lap at his first rally since Biden withdrew from the race and unveiled his new attack strategy for Harris.

And he laughed at reports that he had become a different person after nearly being killed.

“I had to be nice. They say something happened to me when I got shot,” he said at a sports stadium in Charlotte. “I became nice.

“When you’re dealing with these people, you can’t afford to be nice. So if you don’t mind, I won’t be nice.”

This election should be boring: two old men going head-to-head, just like in 2020.

But Trump has already survived an assassination attempt, and now he’s adjusting to a new battle. Biden is gone, having sensationally dropped out on Sunday, and he must now recalibrate to take on the first black woman (in all likelihood) to become her party’s nominee.

“As you know, three days ago we officially defeated the worst president in the history of our country,” he said, drawing deafening cheers from more than 10,000 supporters.

“So now we have a new victim to defeat: the lying Kamala Harris.”

He criticized her record as California’s district attorney, ridiculed her work on immigration and claimed the “fake news” had quickly changed its tone from a vice president previously dismissed as ineffective.

“Everything Kamala touches turns into a total disaster,” he said. “Look at San Francisco: 20 years ago it was the best city in our country. Now it’s unliveable.”

His supporters argue that the change of candidate does little to change the race, even as Harris’ campaign reports an avalanche of money and volunteers.

“It would be OK if it was just her,” said Susan Putnam, a retired office worker, as she waited for Trump to appear. “But it’s not. She’s going to have the deep state behind her.”

The race is likely to be tight. A Reuters/Ipsos poll completed Tuesday showed Harris with a two-point lead over Trump, 44 percent to 42 percent, though other polls have the former president narrowly ahead.

North Carolina narrowly voted for Trump in the last two elections.

Democrats, however, see it as a possible victory and the state’s governor, Roy Cooper, is one of the possible candidates for his candidacy.

His campaign and allies have quickly moved to attack the vice president, linking her to the administration’s struggle to curb inflation and the crisis at the border.

A super PAC launched TV ads Monday accusing Harris of covering up Biden’s apparent mental decline.

“But Kamala knew Joe couldn’t do the job, so she did it anyway,” says the narrator of the ad, funded by MAGA Inc.

“Look what she’s done, border invasion, runaway inflation, the death of the American Dream. They’ve created this mess. She… no, Kamala owns this failed record.”

And on Tuesday, Trump said the change in candidates didn’t scare him, saying her 2020 presidential campaign was imploding.

“So if she campaigns like that now, it’s just going to be harder, even though she’s getting a lot of support from the fake news. There’s no doubt about that,” he told reporters during a briefing.

“But if she campaigns like she did then, I suspect she won’t be as tough.”

“They say something happened to me when I got shot. I became nice… If you don’t mind, I won’t be nice. Is that OK?” the former president told the excited crowd in Charlotte, North Carolina

The Republican nominee called Harris the “most incompetent, far-left” vice president in history and said he had “defeated” Biden when he announced Sunday that he was ending his 2024 bid.

Huge crowds gathered in the North Carolina heat to hear Trump speak in Charlotte, at his first rally since Biden withdrew

Trump’s fans applaud after singing the national anthem and before he takes the stage

Harris was in Milwaukee on Tuesday for her first campaign rally since Joe Biden withdrew

The change of candidate is also a boost for the Democrats.

Harris’ campaign announced Wednesday that it has raised $126 million since Sunday, with 64% of donors making their first contribution of the 2024 campaign.

Harris held her first rally since becoming the presumptive nominee in Milwaukee a day earlier, warning that Trump would take the country “backwards.”

“Do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion and the rule of law, or in a country of chaos, fear and hate?” she asked.