For the first time since Donald J. Trump was indicted in the spring of 2023, he lost control over the news cycle and, at least temporarily, over his own message. Instead of receiving round-the-clock media attention, the former president and his allies suddenly found themselves reacting to their opponents.
It's an unfamiliar experience for Trump, who has dominated American television sets, newspapers and smartphones for more than 12 months, through an indictment, a primary victory, a 34-felony conviction, an assassination attempt and a Republican National Convention in which he was hailed as a quasi-religious figure.
Three days after President Biden announced he was dropping out of the 2024 presidential race, Trump is venturing into uncharted territory. He is largely shut out of “earned media” — the natural news coverage that spreads quickly among voters and costs no campaign a penny. And his message is now muddled as Democrats replace an older, frail white man with a young, black woman who is campaigning tirelessly and breathing new life into the Democratic base.
Vice President Kamala Harris, whose endorsement Biden made Sunday and around which Democrats quickly rallied, has enjoyed the kind of political upswing Biden's advisers could only dream of during the 2024 presidential campaign.
She's raised more than $120 million in new donations. She's already drawn bigger crowds than he has so far this election season. She's made TikTok a hit and has electrified Democratic volunteer efforts, especially among black voters and women. And unlike Biden, she's received overwhelmingly positive coverage across the board so far.
The Trump campaign wasn't unprepared. They had planned for Biden's possible withdrawal, producing anti-Harris videos and scouring private polls for her weaknesses. But they were somewhat surprised when Biden actually did drop out. Some of Trump's advisers thought Biden was too stubborn — “too Irish,” as one aide put it — to bow to pressure to withdraw from a race against the man he instinctively hated and believed he was best positioned to beat.
And they were caught off guard by the speed and ruthless efficiency of his replacement: If he stepped down, they reasoned, Democrats would have to weather at least a few weeks of turmoil as ambitious Democrats jockeyed for victory on the national stage.
But within 24 hours, Democratic leaders informally nominated Ms. Harris for the presidency, clearing away any notable opposition. Ms. Harris had the backing of nearly every Democrat and enough convention delegates to avoid serious opposition, and she immediately went on television to plead her case against Mr. Trump.
The switch infuriated Trump, complaining that it was unfair to him after he'd spent so much time and money fighting Biden that Democrats were forcing him to start over with a new challenger. Trump's team considered taking legal action against Harris' campaign committee to make it harder for her to launch her campaign right away.
Hours after Biden withdrew on Sunday, Trump posted on his social media site, Truth Social, that the Republican Party “has to start all over again” and questioned whether the GOP “should be paid for wrongdoing” because media outlets and Biden's doctors knew Biden was not fit to run for president.
Trump campaign spokesman Brian Hughes said in a statement that the idea the campaign hasn't yet decided on a message is “absurd,” adding, “In terms of the news cycle, really?” Citing coverage of the Republican National Convention, Hughes said, “Demand to attend our events and donate to the campaign has never been higher.”
Trump is once again desperate to grab attention. His campaign has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission protesting the Harris campaign's name change and accusing the Harris campaign of receiving donations above the limit when Biden rolled over their joint campaign contributions. The Trump campaign sent a letter to the three television networks on Tuesday, demanding equal response time following Biden's address to the nation on Wednesday night.
And Trump is still throwing around nicknames for Harris, a sign he's not yet sure how he plans to portray her. The Trump campaign initially called her Biden's “giggling co-pilot” after her quirky laugh. Trump adapted that to call her “Dumb Kamala Harris.” But in recent days, he has called Harris a “liar” and a “stone-dumb,” recycling old insults used by other opponents. A campaign email on Wednesday called Harris “Crinkle Kamala,” the same nickname he used for Hillary Clinton and Biden.
“I think initially they didn't send a clear signal to their allies about what we understood about Kamala,” said Republican strategist Alex Castellanos, adding that he thought things were going smoothly for the Trump campaign, “and that's the only major decision left in this campaign.”
Republicans close to Trump worry that he and his allies will go too far in their racist and sexist attacks on Harris, backfiring with women and other voters. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and current House Speaker Mike Johnson have warned Republicans not to call Harris a “DEI” hire or a “diversity, equity and inclusion” candidate, but Republicans have ignored the advice. (Trump himself posted about Harris, who is multiracial, on social media on Wednesday, falsely suggesting that two headlines were contradictory because one featured her as the first Indian-American U.S. senator and the other as the first Black woman to serve as a vice presidential nominee.)
“Local residents are getting restless, and without direction from on high, your best surrogate could turn into your worst enemy,” Liam Donovan, a former Republican Senatorial Committee aide, said in an interview. “We know Republicans don't like Kamala Harris, but they need a coherent, harmonized message to persuade the whole country.”
Democratic strategist Guy Cecil said the kind of full-throated coverage Harris is garnering “is rare, and she's made the most of every moment of it,” adding that “it's very rare for Trump not to dominate the news cycle, and they've just ruined that the last few days.”
More seasoned Republican activists, including members of Trump's team, have distanced themselves from the more blatant personal attacks and have sought to portray Harris as an “extreme” or “dangerous” liberal — attacks Trump previewed in a call with reporters this week and at a rally in Charlotte on Wednesday night.
“If Kamala Harris wins, she will be the most radical, far-left extremist in the history of the White House,” Trump told the crowd.
A similar attack was made in a video produced by OnMessage, a company working for Republican Senator David McCormick, who is running for Senate in Pennsylvania.
The video stitches together a series of far-left policy positions Harris put forward during her brief 2019 presidential primary run, including saying she was willing to eliminate the filibuster to pass the Green New Deal, ban fracking and offshore drilling, implement mandatory gun buybacks and provide government health benefits to undocumented immigrants.
The Trump campaign itself has not yet released any new TV ads, but its super PAC, MAGA Inc., has aired ads accusing Harris of engaging in a cover-up to hide Biden's weaknesses and linking her to some of the Biden administration's most unpopular policies.
Some Trump campaign officials have also signaled plans to turn Harris into a “Willie Horton,” a reference to the infamous 1988 Republican ad against Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis that convulsed political circles for decades. Horton was a black Massachusetts prisoner who raped a white woman while on parole, and the ad stoked racial fears and portrayed Dukakis as soft on crime.
In Harris's case, people briefed on the discussions said they plan to attack her record as a prosecutor in California and her support for bail for people arrested during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.
Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen, in a brief text exchange, said the broad strokes of the attack were “Trump-style,” but that it had been easier for Biden than for Harris. “Harris has literally thrown herself into the campaign with such energy and joy that the Trump campaign hasn't yet figured out what will work with her,” she said.
But she added, “I think the Trump campaign will gain a foothold, but this is going to be difficult and ugly.”
