Just a few weeks ago, former President Donald Trump appeared to be building an insurmountable lead over Biden. Now, Trump is trying to wrestle back the spotlight and blunt Harris’s momentum.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Vice President Kamala Harris continues to enjoy a bounce in enthusiasm after President Biden suspended his campaign and endorsed her. Now former President Trump is trying to wrestle back the spotlight, trying to blunt Harris' momentum. Here to talk about how Trump is workshopping new attack lines is White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez, who's covering the campaign. Hi, Franco.
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ, BYLINE: Hi, Mary Louise.
KELLY: All right. So what's he doing? What is the Trump campaign strategy? Has it changed since Harris took over as likely nominee?
ORDOÑEZ: I mean, the campaign says that the strategy has not changed, that there may be a new person at the top of the ticket but that Harris owns the same policies as much as Biden does, especially when it comes to inflation and the border. But there are differences, of course, in how they handle Harris. They're now attacking her past, zeroing in on her time as a district attorney in San Francisco and really trying to paint her as a California radical.
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DONALD TRUMP: If a crazy liberal like Kamala Harris gets in, the American dream is dead. I believe it's dead. I believe it's dead.
ORDOÑEZ: I mean, even though she's Vice President and a former U.S. senator, a lot of the American public really doesn't know much about her. So Trump is trying to define Harris on his terms. That's why you hear him say over and over that she's a radical, she's ultra-liberal. And the Harris team, meanwhile, is trying to kind of reintroduce her. That's why one - or at least one reason they're seeking to frame this as a race between a former prosecutor and a convicted felon.
KELLY: He's also mispronouncing her first name, as we just heard there. OK. However, the Harris campaign is saying that over the weekend, they raised $200 million. What is the Trump campaign saying about that?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. It's a lot of money, and they're challenging their own supporters to match that amount and even exceed it by the end of the month. I mean, the Trump campaign sees Harris' run as part of a honeymoon phase that's going to go away. I spoke with Bryan Lanza, a former campaign official who continues to speak regularly with Trump. And he says he's not worried.
BRYAN LANZA: It's a sugar high. And what do we know about sugar highs? That the crash eventually happens.
ORDOÑEZ: Now, Lanza expects, once this kind of honeymoon phase is over, that the Democrats are actually going to have a harder time appealing to moderates and independent voters.
KELLY: One other thing I have noticed over the last week - Trump seems to still be talking about Biden as much as he's talking about Harris, if you listen to him at campaign rallies. Why?
ORDOÑEZ: Well, I mean, this is a major shift for the Trump campaign. I mean, literally for years, the Republicans have been planning a campaign against Biden. So much of it was focused on his record and his fitness for office. And that's also why the Trump team is trying to tie Harris to Biden's policies. I mean, just a few weeks ago, people were complaining about how this race was between two very unpopular candidates. And now the Democrats, at least, are experiencing some fresh new enthusiasm.
KELLY: OK - and in terms of trying to counter that, any specifics you're seeing Trump do to try to build energy on his side?
ORDOÑEZ: I mean, Trump knows how to generate headlines. He knows how to attack a political opponent. And we have known for a long time about covering Trump that he thinks headlines are good, whether they're positive or negative. And he's got plenty of opportunities to generate more headlines. He has a rally on Wednesday in Harrisburg, Pa. He's also announced that he's going to return to Butler County for a rally, which, of course, is where he survived the assassination attempt on his life a few weeks ago. And we all know - especially he does -that that's going to be something that is very closely watched.
KELLY: And I know you are going to be covering that rally and probably more - the rally in Harrisburg on Wednesday. Thanks very much Franco.
ORDOÑEZ: Thank you, Mary Louise.
KELLY: NPR's Franco Ordoñez.
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