Donald Trump will focus his presidential campaign on the border and the economy. According to insiders, these are the two issues where Kamala Harris is weakest.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Republican candidate plans to ramp up his aggressive campaign to thwart Harris’ continued success.
He provided a preview of the attacks he is likely to mount on these issues during Harris’ speech at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), which he commented live on Truth Social.
“Kamala’s biography will not lower prices at the grocery store or the pump!” he wrote, referencing her stories about her immigrant mother and her work as a prosecutor. “She said, ‘Cut a new path forward,’ but she’s had three and a half years and done nothing but DAMAGE!”
In all caps, he also blasted her for her reputation as a “border czar,” something Democrats have been trying to protect her from since it became clear she would be the nominee instead of Joe Biden.
Campaign insiders say former President Donald Trump is ready to get back to the issues and hit Kamala Harris and Democrats where it hurts most
Trump and his allies believe Harris is the weakest on the border and the economy
Biden’s withdrawal from the race appears to have come as a shock to what has been a sluggish campaign for both candidates. The race has become what Americans typically expect in this deep presidential election year: daily rallies and constant media appearances.
Trump’s advisers say he will be much more active on the campaign trail in the future, the WSJ reports.
He will speak at a National Guard conference in Detroit on Monday. He will be in Michigan and Wisconsin all day Thursday, holding events. To close out the week ahead, he will fly to Pennsylvania for a rally.
Against Trump’s instincts, advisers have organized smaller events for him so he can focus on the issues that matter and actively appeal to undecided voters and independents rather than the enthusiastic MAGA fans who attend rallies already supporting him.
On Thursday, for example, he held a more subdued rally in favor of the border wall in Cochise County, Arizona, where he said Biden and Harris were wasting taxpayer money by letting materials for the wall’s construction go to waste.
At the Arizona border event, he invited family members of Americans killed by illegal immigrants to tell their stories
After families from Texas and Maryland revealed heartbreaking details of their loved ones’ brutal deaths, Trump announced policy priorities to prevent future tragedies
At the event, he invited family members of Americans who had been murdered by illegal immigrants to tell their devastating stories, expressing their support for him and pointing out the dangers of Harris’s border policies.
“We will close the border, stop the invasion, and begin the largest deportation effort in American history,” Trump said after the families spoke.
Trump is also bringing back his campaign manager from his first campaign in 2016, Corey Lewandowski.
Lewandowski will reportedly act as a sounding board for Trump, while also appearing extensively on TV himself in the coming weeks.
Taylor Budowich is another important, if lesser known, ally participating.
He joins the campaign after leading the MAGA PAC, a pro-Trump super PAC, and is reportedly close to Trump.
Insiders say he is good at giving advice and they expect his counsel will be crucial in keeping Trump on track.
With Biden out of the race, Trump is looking for strong attack lines against Harris
One that seems to be gaining traction is that Harris is stealing Trump’s policies. The main idea is his idea to eliminate the tip tax.
That’s especially important now that Biden is out of the race. Trump has habitually continued to attack the incumbent long after he dropped out, but now he’s looking for lines of attack that will work specifically against Harris.
One of the counterarguments he has now discovered is that the vice president is stealing his policies.
Trump promised to eliminate the tip tax for service providers at a June 9 rally in Las Vegas, and even presented the idea to Republicans in Congress a few days later.
Harris made the same promise two weeks ago, leading many on the right to criticize her for extending one of Trump’s popular olive branches to the working class.
Trump held a repeat of his rally in Las Vegas on Friday, where the idea could be especially appealing to Nevada casino workers who rely on tips to make a living.
“She’s copying herself,” Trump said on stage.
In addition to new attacks and smaller, more issue-focused events, Trump and his surrogates plan to reach voters through less traditional means.
Trump and his surrogates expect to create more podcasts to appeal to young men. Trump recently appeared on comedian Theo Von’s podcast, left
Another attempt to reach out to young men came when Trump appeared on a stream with internet personality Adin Ross earlier this month
That means we can expect Trump to do similar things to his interview with Elon Musk on X or his podcast conversation with comedian Theo Von last week.
Campaign officials say the strategy is aimed at reaching more undecided voters — primarily younger men — who are often more likely to listen to alternative media.
The crème de la crème of the podcast world is undoubtedly Joe Rogan, who said in 2022 that he had turned down multiple requests from Trump to join his show on Spotify.
Trump has never publicly responded to the claim, but he did attack Rogan this month for saying positive things about Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has since dropped out of the race and is endorsing Trump.
The Trump campaign is also looking to book surrogates for podcasts that are more geared toward a black male audience, such as “Earn Your Leisure,” “Market Mondays” and others, the WSJ reported.
Trump and his allies have reportedly expressed frustration with the upward trajectory of Harris’ campaign, but expect that momentum to level off.
While Trump and co. worry about the energy surrounding the Harris campaign, most polling aggregators give Harris a lead of only 1.5 to 3.6 points nationally, well within the margin of error of most individual polls.
Most poll aggregators give Harris a lead of 1.5 to 3.6 points nationally, well within the margin of error of most individual polls.
During a speech in North Carolina on Wednesday on national security issues, Trump outsourced his campaign strategy to his own supporters.
While lamenting the “very nasty” attacks on him by former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle during the Democratic National Convention, he asked attendees whether he should use personal attacks or not.
The crowd overwhelmingly indicated that he should do so.
“My advisers have been fired,” Trump joked. “I’d rather stick to policy. Sometimes it’s hard when you’re being attacked from all sides.”