After weeks of growing confidence that Biden would stumble and after multiple polls had recently shown him leading in key battleground states, Trump at one point expressed frustration at Biden’s withdrawal, writing on social media that he had been “forced to spend time and money” running against Biden and now “has to do it again.”
Republican nominee Biden and his advisers still sought to project confidence about the path forward and the possibility of a showdown with Vice President Harris, whom Biden favors as his successor. Trump said his new opponent was “more of the same as before,” a view echoed by some allies. They quickly launched into scathing criticism of Harris over her handling of the southern border and signaled plans to link her to some of Biden’s most unpopular policies.
But they also acknowledge that Harris brings new challenges. People close to Trump said they hope she will be a more effective messager on abortion than Biden and be able to tone down some of the anger over the Israel-Gaza war that has dogged Biden’s candidacy. They are also preparing for the possibility that Harris, if nominated, could choose a popular running mate from a battleground state, such as Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona or Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania. And, as one Trump supporter put it, “she can actually speak and campaign.”
Trump would have preferred to run against Biden, who was battling widespread concerns about his age and athleticism. With Biden out of the running, some Republicans feel the race is “a lot tougher,” said a senior Republican official familiar with the Trump campaign, who, like other officials, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss strategy and prospects more candidly. “I don’t think it’s a good day for the Trump campaign,” the person added.
The Republican candidate was widely seen as having an advantage in the race after Democrats backfired on Biden’s poor performance in the debates — the president repeatedly appeared to lose his train of thought while answering questions — and after Trump’s surreal series of events in which he survived an assassination attempt. Some analysts now say Democrats have a new opportunity to turn the tide.
“This gives the Democratic Party a much-needed boost,” said Dave Wasserman, a senior editor and election analyst at the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. He said Harris “offers a generational contrast to Trump and could energize nonwhite Democrats who have become increasingly pessimistic about the race and, frankly, less enthusiastic about this election.”
It’s not yet clear who Democrats will nominate to replace Biden, but the Trump campaign has been preparing for the possibility that it may have to pivot to face Harris. Some of Trump’s allies said they are forging ahead undeterred. Republican strategist David Urban, who advised the Trump campaigns in 2016 and 2020, said a change in the top candidates was “not significant” and that Biden and Harris are “interchangeable.”
“She’s been complicit in every bad decision that Mr. Trump has made,” he added, predicting further chaos within the Democratic Party over who would be his running mate.
Republicans said Sunday they were eager to attack Harris on policy, but her critics also have a long history of highly personal, sometimes racist and sexist attacks against the first woman and first Black person to serve as vice president. Trump has called Harris “mean” and, like other Republicans, has repeatedly mispronounced her first name, Kamala.
A senior Republican official involved with the Trump campaign said her laugh and tendency to say awkward things will come under attack. “We’re going to be cutting up a lot of clips,” the official said.
Harris said Sunday that she intends to “seek and win” the Democratic nomination. “I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party — and the country — and defeat Donald Trump,” she wrote Sunday, calling his policies “extreme.”
The Trump campaign had been preparing for other possibilities long before Biden dropped out of the race. At late-night parties and on the convention floor at the end of the Republican National Convention, Trump aides and advisers were confident Biden would step aside and had begun discussing challenging her.
Trump’s campaign has already begun to step up its criticism of Harris, and several Trump advisers said his main defense will be her role in addressing the root causes of migration to the US — which has led Republicans to call her the “border czar” — and what has happened at the southern border under her watch.
Following Biden’s announcement, pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc. quickly retargeted ads in battleground states to target Harris. In the group’s new ads, Harris defends Biden and his health and attacks the Biden administration’s record on inflation and the border.
“They created this mess. They… no, Kamala owns this failed record,” the narrator says.
About 45 minutes after Biden shared the letter announcing his withdrawal, Trump posted a response on his social media site, Truth Social.
“Crooked Joe Biden is not qualified to run for President, let alone hold the office of the Presidency, and never has been!,” Trump wrote. “He only got to office through lies, fake news, and never leaving his basement.” In another post, Trump said, “No matter who the Left nominates now, it will only be another copy of the same guy.”
Top Trump advisers Chris LaCivita and Suzie Wiles zeroed in on Harris in a joint statement: “Harris has been a top supporter of Bad Joe all this time. They own each other’s records,” they said.
Biden ended his campaign after weeks of growing pressure from fellow Democrats to do so after his widely criticized debate performance. Democrats hope that Harris and other candidates can pose a much stronger challenge to Trump than Biden could, giving the party room to grow in the final months of the campaign.
Wasserman, the nonpartisan election analyst, said Harris has recently begun to outperform Biden in the polls, but that’s only because Biden’s standing has slipped. Wasserman said Harris has drawn support from black, Latino and young voters and will galvanize enthusiasm among the Democratic base. “The question is whether Democrats can sustain the same level of support as Biden with older, white and Midwestern voters,” he said.
Wasserman said voter dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party’s handling of the border issue may be her biggest weakness, and her assessment is that “Trump still has the edge in this race.”
Republican leaders began to unite on Sunday behind another clear message: If Biden can’t run for reelection, he shouldn’t continue in office. In one statement after another, they accused Democrats of covering up Biden’s illness and said voters should remember it in November.
“Voters will never forgive or forget this ultimate betrayal of their trust,” said Republican National Committee Chairman Richard Hudson, R.N. “Judgment day will come in November, when the American people will inflict the ultimate punishment on the Democratic Party: Donald Trump in the White House and a Republican majority in the House of Representatives.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) repeated the Trump campaign’s argument that it is undemocratic for Democrats to seek Biden’s nomination.
“The party’s prospects are not better with Vice President Kamala Harris in office, an accomplice in the Biden Administration’s disastrous policy failures,” Johnson said in a statement, tying Harris specifically to Biden’s border policy.
Trump’s former campaign manager Kellyanne Conway suggested Harris was “at the head of a long line of Democrats who lack the courage, integrity and patriotism” to urge Biden to step down early because of his “mental and physical decline.”
Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, echoed the attack, saying, “Joe Biden has been the worst president I’ve had in my lifetime. Kamala Harris has always stood toe-to-toe with him.”
At a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Saturday, President Trump mocked VP Harris’ laughter, mispronounced her first name and called her “crazy,” “a freak” and “as crazy as Nancy Pelosi.”
Vance also attacked Harris, drawing loud boos when he said her name.
“Kamala Harris has said things that suggest I have no loyalty to this country,” Vance said. ““Well, I don’t know, Kamala. I served in the Marines and I started a business, but what have I done other than collect checks?”
