In a rally in Pennsylvania on Friday, Donald Trump called Kamala Harris "Comrade Kamaala" and painted her as an ultra-left second-generation Marxist, which is directly opposite to how his campaign initially characterized her. Even as Harris has publicly tempered the radical nature of her platform, Trump leaned into old clips of her statements that were far more progressive, homing in specifically on her prior position calling to ban fracking-a banned practice particularly dire in Pennsylvania.
After Harris once pledged during her 2019 presidential run to ban fracking, she has since backpedaled on that promise, though insisting her underlying values have not changed. The president responded with a "Drill baby, drill" policy and highlighted Harris's stances on private health insurance, illegal border crossings, police funding, and gun control as radical, scaring voters.
Even Harris' family did not escape an attack from Trump, who made remarks about Harris' father, Donald Harris, an immigrant from Jamaica and a Marxist economics professor. This rhetoric comes as recent polls show a shift in Pennsylvania, where Trump's previous lead has diminished, with Harris now holding a slight advantage.
The rally also took to task Harris on a range of cultural and policy issues. He even criticized Harris over dietary guidelines-a remark that played into her Indian heritage-and praised Tulsi Gabbard for standing by him after she left the Democratic Party. Trump spoke in support of insurance or government-funded in vitro fertilization, an argument against conservative judicial challenges in Alabama.
By his rally, Trump stuck to his live style of speeches, with humor; the jumping topic and jocular nature, particularly regarding his enemies, were all there. He touched upon divisive cultural topics: his pledges to ban transgender women from competing in women's sports, making flag burning illegal, and extending parents' rights. On foreign policy, he recounted personal interactions with world leaders and referenced Harris's ability to handle similar negotiations.
The Trump rally was a perfect example of his flair for the dramatic, often provocative rhetoric that seeks energetic seizure of his base while attacking opponents on many levels.
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