The 2024 presidential election is less than three months away, and candidates are routinely stirring up drama about their opponents.
Former president and GOP nominee Donald Trump—who is very popular among many American voters but is not favored to the same degree among a notable number of conservatives—is playing the politician card quite well with his latest accusations against his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump wasted no time in criticizing his new opponent, who only became her party’s nominee in the last few weeks, after President Joe Biden unexpectedly dropped out of his re-election campaign. In his most recent competitive display, the controversial Republican said he is “doing well” in what he calls the “REAL polls” when compared to Harris.
The vice president has shown surprising support in the polls, effectively overtaking the lead Trump previously held in swing states. Although experts have warned not to get too excited about Harris’ chances—and she was not immediately favored by every Democrat—it should be noted that there is growing support for the idea of voting against Trump rather than for his opponent.
According to the most recent polling collected by FiveThirtyEight, Harris has a slight lead over Trump, generally by five or fewer percentage points.
But the GOP nominee is apparently not concerned about how Harris appears to be doing in polls. In an August 11 Truth Social post, he blasted his opponent for not getting “a single primary vote,” adding that he is clearly winning in “real polls.” Trump went on to emphasize that he “did great in 2016,” the year he was elected president, and “much better in 2020,” when he lost to Biden. But, he added, 2024 is so far his “best campaign” with the “most enthusiasm and spirit.”
Trump also commended his team for combatting eight years of “fake news” as well as “low self-esteem leakers.” He expressed confidence that he will “win big” in November and reclaim the nation from “radical left” leaders whom he described as “losers, fascists, and communists.”
But Trump’s insults don’t stop there. Harris has vamped up her campaign to include major rallies with thousands of attendees, sparking accusations from her opponent that her team is photoshopping images with artificial intelligence. This weekend, Trump specifically said that Harris had lied about the number of supporters who showed up for a Detroit, Michigan rally on August 7, adding that the large group “didn’t exist.”
But the photo in question—which was taken by a member of the campaign staff and, per metadata analysis, had not been edited—did, in fact, portray a large crowd of supporters. According to reporters, the number of attendees at the city’s airport was estimated to be around 15,000 at the time Harris arrived in her plane.
The two rivals have agreed to debate on September 10, with two additional debate dates in the works. Harris has also received backlash from the Trump campaign for seemingly avoiding giving scheduled press conferences and formal interviews, making for greater anticipation of a conversation between the two.