A Trump campaign built to battle Biden is forced to recalibrate to Kamala Harris

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(NPR) For most of 2024, Trump and his campaign were a well-oiled machine built almost exclusively around pummeling Biden as “weak, failed, and dishonest.” According to polling, that messaging was working.

Before dropping out of the presidential race and after his disastrous debate performance in June, Biden was losing to Trump in every major battleground state, often outside the margin of error.

Since Harris emerged as his replacement, polling suggests she does not have the same vulnerabilities or negative vibes as Biden, despite being his vice president. It has taken the Trump campaign some time to figure out what to highlight in attacking Harris.
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But in the weeks since Biden dropped out, the campaign has been dogged by bad news cycles — sometimes of his own creation — that have overshadowed the messaging against his new opponent.

https://www.npr.org/2024/08/10/nx-s1-5069431/trump-harris-montana-rally-battleground-campaign