Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Sunday said that he believes Vice President Kamala Harris will be easier to defeat in November's election than Democratic President Joe Biden, who stepped aside as his party's candidate earlier in the day. According to CNN, Trump made these comments shortly after Biden announced his decision. Later, Trump criticized Biden on social media, claiming Biden was unfit to continue serving as president.
Biden ended his reelection campaign on Sunday after fellow Democrats expressed concerns about his mental acuity and his ability to beat Trump. Biden endorsed Harris as the party's candidate to replace him. Biden faced growing doubts about his reelection chances after a weak performance in a televised debate against Trump late last month.
On his Truth Social platform, Trump said Biden "was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve." Other prominent Republicans, including House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, echoed this sentiment, with Johnson explicitly calling on Biden to resign.
Trump added on Truth Social, "We will suffer greatly because of his (Biden's) presidency, but we will remedy the damage he has done very quickly."
Polls had shown Trump and Biden mostly tied, but after the debate, some polls indicated Trump was narrowly ahead. The Trump campaign had begun discussing how to redeploy resources in anticipation of Biden's potential withdrawal, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. This source noted that any alternative Democratic candidate would have different strengths and weaknesses, requiring a reassessment of where to allocate campaign resources.
Publicly, Trump campaign advisers have expressed confidence in facing Harris, stating they plan to tie her to Biden's record, particularly on immigration and inflation. They aim to portray Harris and other potential Democratic candidates as being further to the left than Biden on various policies.
Donald Trump Jr. commented on social media after Biden dropped out, saying Harris "owns the entire leftwing policy record of Joe Biden."
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