Trump describes Harris as ‘ultra-liberal’ at first rally since Biden abandonment

In his first rally since President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid, former President Donald Trump rallied his supporters against Vice President Kamala Harris, attacking her record on immigration, health care and the environment, describing her as an “ultra-liberal” candidate.

“Just like corrupt Joe Biden, Kamala Harris is not fit to lead. She is not fit to lead, she will destroy our country in one year, this country will be destroyed,” Trump said at his rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Wednesday.

While Trump referred to Harris’ name dozens of times during his nearly hour-and-a-half speech, he mispronounced her first name each time.

Although Trump had already called for unity following the assassination attempt on him by a gunman at his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, two weeks ago, Trump has ended his short-lived “friendly” campaign.

“These are very dangerous people. When you’re dealing with them, you can’t be that nice… If you don’t mind, I’m not going to be nice. Is that okay with you?” Trump said of Biden and Harris, followed by cheers from the crowd: “Fight, fight, fight.”

The former president took a victory lap over Biden’s removal, accusing Democrats of pushing him out of office because of his weak poll numbers.

“As you know, three days ago we officially defeated the worst president in the history of our country, the crooked Joe Biden,” Trump said. “So now we have another victim to defeat. The liar Kamala Harris — the liar, apostrophe — the most incompetent, left-wing vice president in American history,” he added.

Trump’s rally comes as Harris attacked him and his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, on Tuesday at her first presidential campaign event in battleground Wisconsin over abortion and Project 2025, the conservative presidential transition plan put forth by the Heritage Foundation.

“We will end Donald Trump’s extreme abortion bans because we trust women to make decisions about their own bodies and not let the government tell them what to do,” Harris said to loud applause. “And when Congress passes legislation to restore reproductive freedom, as president of the United States, I will sign it.”

In his address to the nation on Wednesday, Biden said he had decided to withdraw from the race: “There is a time and a place for long years of experience in public life. There is also a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices and, of course, younger voices. And that time and place is now.”

The president has not responded to persistent Republican criticism of his fitness to serve.

Throughout his speech, Trump attempted to flesh out his many attacks on Harris, focusing particularly on her handling of immigration issues, which he said should disqualify her from running for the nation’s highest office.

“Kamala’s murderous destruction of America’s borders is completely and utterly disqualifying. She should not even be allowed to run for president, given what she has done,” Trump charged.

In March 2021, Biden nominated Harris to oversee, lead, and coordinate diplomatic talks with the Northern Triangle countries to address the root causes of migration. Republicans quickly dubbed the appointment a “border czar,” even though Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is in charge of border enforcement.

So far in the campaign, Harris has focused on Trump’s record on reproductive rights, directly accusing him of reducing women’s access to abortion. Trump has attempted to respond to that argument by calling Harris a radical on abortion, making baseless claims that she supports late-term abortions.

While Harris’ campaign has portrayed the election as a showdown between a prosecutor and a criminal, Trump on Wednesday called her “one of the worst prosecutors” who “destroyed San Francisco.”

“Their campaign says, ‘I’m the prosecutor and he’s the convicted felon.’ That’s their campaign. I don’t think people are going to believe that,” Trump said, touting his victory in the Florida classified documents trial.

Reflecting on her career as California attorney general, Trump criticized her past support for bail reform, which he said made her soft on crime. A California native, Trump has cast Harris as an extreme liberal, highlighting her support for the Green New Deal and a ban on fracking.

Harris’ campaign said Trump’s attacks on Harris signaled his message of unity after her assassination attempt.

“Unity is over for Donald Trump. He’s back with a deranged, bizarre, rambling speech,” Harris spokesman Ammar Moussa said in a statement. “But the American people will not be fooled or distracted.”