JD Vance has dismissed criticisms of Donald Trump’s remarks about Vice President Kamala Harris and said they are part of the former President’s appeal. Trump is under fire for repeatedly referencing crowd sizes and insisting that the Vice President has used artificial intelligence to enhance these. He has also described Harris as “low IQ” and said she has only recently begun identifying as a black woman.
“I think one of the things people actually love about Donald Trump,” Vance said. He also insisted that 90% of the former President’s words are “about policy.”
Nevertheless, senior Republicans are increasingly expressing concern about the direction of Trump’s campaign. For instance, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy urged Mr. Trump to stop “questioning the size of her crowd and start questioning her position.”
Additionally, unnamed Republicans are reportedly warning that Trump will lose the election unless he stays on message and promotes policy. Some have suggested that Trump is “rattled” at facing a new opponent and does not know how to adjust from Biden to Harris.
Some analysts and commentators have suggested that the Republican Party has “lost control” of Donald Trump and cannot persuade him to stop making personal comments about Kamala Harris. Republican adviser Frank Luntz described Mr. Trump as undisciplined, adding that he is “single-handedly destroying his chance for re-election.” Pollster John Zogby meanwhile suggested that voters are tired of hearing Trump’s insults and “one-liners” and find his social media posts increasingly bizarre.
The former President has referred to Harris as “Kamabla” and “Laffin Kamala”—labels that don’t appear to be landing any punches on the Vice President. He also continues to insist he has a handsome poll lead over Harris, which, according to most major surveys, is no longer true.
New poll numbers published on August 16 show the Vice President with a nationwide lead at 52.4% compared to Trump’s 47.6%. Harris has also overtaken Trump in various favorability ratings, while Trump insiders say he is furious and doesn’t know how to cope with not being in the lead.