Trump turns his full focus on Harris at his first rally since Biden’s exit from the 2024 race

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Donald Trump unleashed a barrage of attack lines Wednesday against his likely new opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, whom he called his “new victim to defeat” and accused of deceiving the public about President Joe Biden ’s ability to run for a second term.

The rally in Charlotte, North Carolina marked his first public campaign event since Biden dropped out of the 2024 matchup and Harris became the Democrats’ likely nominee. The rally concluded minutes before Biden addressed the nation to explain he dropped his reelection bid to “pass the torch” to Harris, who is 22 years younger than him.

“So now we have a new victim to defeat: Lyin’ Kamala Harris,” Trump said, labeling her “the most incompetent and far-left vice president in American history.”

Trump called her a “radical left lunatic” and said she was “crazy” for her positions on abortion and immigration. He repeatedly mispronounced the first name of the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent likely to lead a major party’s presidential ticket.

Trump’s speech signaled the next stage for the campaign may be especially brutal and personal, even as some GOP leaders warned Republican allies not to use overtly racist and sexist attacks against Harris.

Trump has ramped up his criticism of the vice president since Biden’s abrupt departure, calling Harris “the same as Biden but much more radical.”

He blamed her for what he portrays as the Biden administration’s failures, particularly security along the U.S.-Mexico border. On Wednesday, the speakers who appeared on stage before the Republican nominee attacked Harris’ record on the border, highlighting she was tasked with leading a White House effort to tackle migration issues. Harris’ name was met with boos several times during the speeches.

“She was assigned that, she was given that task, and she failed,” said Brandon Judd, former president of the National Border Patrol Council, the union that represents agents.

Trump also accused Harris of being just as responsible for Biden’s policies at the U.S.-Mexico border, which saw illegal crossing arrests reach record highs at the end of 2023 and repeated his pledge to conduct mass deportations with the help of local police.

“Kamala’s deadly destruction of America’s borders is completely and totally disqualifying. She shouldn’t be allowed to run for president with what she’s done,” Trump told supporters.

Harris, meanwhile, spent Wednesday in Indiana, telling members of the historically Black sorority Zeta Phi Beta that “we are not playing around” and asked for their help in electing her president in November, an election she characterized as “a choice between two different visions for our nation, one focused on the future, the other focused on the past.”

Harris’ campaign released a statement after Trump’s speech describing it as “unhinged, weird and rambling.”

“Unity is over for Donald Trump,” said campaign spokesperson Ammar Moussa, referring to unity pledges made during the Republican National Convention.

Harris is expected to make abortion a key part of her campaign, looking to present herself to voters as someone who will fight against abortion restrictions. Earlier this week, she said she “trusts women to make decisions about their own bodies.”

Trump has hedged on plans for an expected debate with Harris, first saying that he wanted Fox News, not ABC, to host the matchup he had originally scheduled for September with Biden. On Tuesday, Trump appeared to tweak that message again, saying on a call with reporters that he’d like to debate Harris “more than once” but not committing to appearing at the debate currently on the books and saying he’d only agreed to debate Biden twice, not Harris.

Quietly, Republicans have spoken about how subbing Harris in for Biden nullifies a portion of their party’s argument in favor of Trump’s vitality and vigor.

At 81, Biden would have been the oldest presidential nominee heading into a general election. Now, the 78-year-old Trump occupies that slot. Harris, 59, has launched a campaign that at least in some corners appears to be stoking interest among the younger voters who could be key in deciding an anticipated close general election.

Trump’s stop in North Carolina shows he’s concerned about keeping the state in his column this November, even as his team reaches for wins in traditionally Democratic-leaning states like Minnesota, which Trump is set to visit on Saturday.

North Carolina is a state Trump carried in both his previous campaigns but by less than 1.5 percentage points over Biden in 2020, the closest margin of any state Trump won. Trump stumped heavily in North Carolina even as the COVID-19 pandemic wore on, while Biden largely kept off the physical campaign trail and did not personally visit the state in the last 16 days of the election.

This year, Trump had planned to hold his first rally since the start of his hush money trial in Fayetteville, but that event was called off due to inclement weather. Trump called in from his private plane instead.

Democrats also have been working to win North Carolina, where the party’s most recent presidential win was Barack Obama’s 2008 victory, despite recent GOP dominance.

Biden held a campaign event in Raleigh the day after his disastrous June debate with Trump. While he was much more forceful in that appearance than he was on the debate stage, it did not help much to quell the growing concern from members of his party about his ability to win the White House again.

Trump’s Charlotte event was his second campaign rally since a July 13 assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally. Days later, Trump accepted the GOP presidential nomination and gave a speech at the Republican National Convention, where his ear — injured in the shooting — was bandaged.

The Charlotte rally, like one held Saturday in Grand Rapids, Michigan, was held in an indoor arena. Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said it’s “to be determined” if the campaign will no longer hold outdoor rallies due to security concerns.

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Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP ____

Jill Colvin in New York contributed to this report.