ST. CLOUD, Min. Foformer President Donald Trump Minnesota spent most of the rally in a frenzy President Joe Biden — even though he’s no longer her 2024 opponent.
The rally often mirrored his pre-campaign events attempted assassination and the launch of Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign.
In front of an enthusiastic crowd, Trump mocked Biden’s golf game, intelligence and performance at events. He criticized Hunter Biden, the son of his former opponent, and called the president names. Trump poked fun at how Biden walked, pacing the stage to describe his inability to get out of an event.
Even as he turned to attack Harris, Trump himself pointed to the constants that have persisted over the past month despite the seismic upheavals in the 2024 race. The former president discussed the assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania, a life-or-death experience that could be transformative for many. However, Trump said that his life has not changed after the assassination attempt.
“Everybody says, ‘I think he’s changed.’ I think he changed two weeks ago. Something affected him,” said Trump attempted assassination. “No, I haven’t changed. “Maybe I’ve gotten worse because I’m angry at the incompetence I witness every day, at the influx of millions of people into our country.”
When Trump addressed Harris, he often focused on his record US-Mexico border and tried to paint him as a “radical left lunatic”.
The former president also criticized Democrats, claiming that Biden’s withdrawal was “really a coup and a coup for the Democrats.”
“Now we have a new victim, Kamala,” Trump said. “We have a new victim. We have a new victim.”
“Biden’s record is Kamala’s record,” the Trump campaign said in a statement, linking the campaigns of Biden and Harris.
“He owns and is complicit in everything bad that’s happening on the world stage, from border control to out-of-control inflation to unrest,” said Steven Cheung, Trump’s campaign communications director.
Before Trump took the stage, his running mate, Sen. JD Vance The Ohio native referred to Harris as a “fantasy,” “out of touch” and a “card-carrying member of the lunatic fringe.”
In a statement, the Harris campaign described Trump as a “bitter, deranged, 78-year-old convicted felon.”
Harris campaign spokeswoman Sarafina Chitika pointed to Trump “talking about his former opponent and playing golf,” adding, “Does he remember who his opponent was?”
“Trump has made his goals clear: he is determined to enact his 2025 agenda to set us back, undermine our democracy, and erode our liberties,” the statement said.
A New York Times/Siena survey After Biden dropped out, an investigation found that Trump and Harris were in a neck-and-neck race. 48% of likely voters chose Trump and 47% chose Harris, though the results are within the poll’s margin of error.
Aaron Gilchrist, Lindsey Pipia and Alex Tabet contributed.