Donald Trump has mocked Kamala Harris’s speaking style and branded her a “bumbling communist lunatic” at a rally in Montana.
The former president, 78, unveiled two videos of Ms Harris, 59, on Friday night, one of which focused on Left-wing policies on criminal justice reform she backed during the 2020 Democratic primary.
It also honed in on her previous support for a ban on fracking, mandatory gun buybacks and a government-run healthcare programme like the NHS, from which she later retreated.
The other was a montage of her interviews and speeches that mocked her public speeches and questioned her intelligence.
Trump has ridiculed Ms Harris’s laugh, branding her “Laffin’ Kamala” and more recently “Crazy Kamala”, as well as suggesting she has changed her accent to pander to ethnic minorities.
“America cannot survive for four more years of this bumbling communist lunatic,” Trump told supporters in Montana as he played the footage.
It comes as Ms Harris claimed a surprising lead in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin in one of the first major polls of the critical states since she replaced Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket.
Ms Harris holds a four-point lead over Trump in the three swing states, with 50 per cent of likely voters backing her over 46 per cent for Trump in the New York Times/Siena College poll.
The Trump campaign has struggled to hone in on an effective line of attack on the vice-president since Mr Biden’s exit from the race on July 21.
Trump’s controversial comments over Ms Harris’s dual heritage have triggered accusations of race-baiting while his staff have urged him to focus on attacking her as a “radical” liberal.
The videos he unveiled in Montana suggest a more disciplined approach to tackling his opponent.
However, in private, Trump is said to have found his change of rival disorientating and has vented his frustrations to aides and even major donors.
He has repeatedly ranted about Ms Harris, privately calling her a “bitch”, according to the New York Times, a claim denied by his campaign.
In public appearances, Trump has called Ms Harris “nasty” and “not as smart” as Mr Biden.
He has also bemoaned Mr Biden’s withdrawal from the race, saying: “If we didn’t have a debate, he’d still be there… Why the hell did I debate him?”
The last three weeks have been somewhat turbulent for Trump’s bid to reclaim the White House.
Ms Harris’s entry into the race has triggered a dramatic shift in the polls and large crowds at her rallies.
It has gifted her a significant amount of free and largely positive domestic media.
Trump has hit back by claiming Willie Brown, a former partner of Ms Harris, divulged “terrible things” about her when the pair shared a dangerous helicopter flight. Mr Brown, a former San Francisco mayor, has refuted the claim.
The New York Times suggested Trump had been confused with Jerry Brown, the former governor of California, who confirmed he travelled in a helicopter with Trump in 2018 but said: “There was no emergency landing and no discussion of Kamala Harris.”
In an angry phone call to the New York Times, Trump insisted he had “the flight records” to support his claim and said he was “probably going to sue” over the newspaper’s reporting.
Meanwhile, JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, has come under fire for past comments in which he claimed the USA was run by “childless cat ladies” who do not have a stake in the country’s future.
Democrats have seized on the comments to paint the Republican ticket as “weird” in videos that have gone viral online.
Trump has fielded complaints from donors about Mr Vance, an Ohio senator, as well as the current state of the race.
He retorted that the “weird” slur was “not about me. They’re saying that about JD”, according to the New York Times.
However, Trump is said to remain confident in his choice of vice-presidential candidate and has been pleased with the attack-dog role Mr Vance has adopted over the last week.
The 40-year-old senator has shadowed Ms Harris and her running mate Tim Walz’s swing-state tour, lambasting the Minnesota governor over his military record and painting the pair as dangerous radicals.
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