- Joe Biden maintains that he is still seeking reelection.
- But rival Donald Trump appears to be preparing to replace him with his running mate, Kamala Harris.
- Trump has begun using nicknames like “Laughing Kamala Harris” and “Giggle Co-Pilot Kamala Harris.”
While President Joe Biden remains the leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, former President Donald Trump doesn’t appear to plan on staying in that position for much longer.
Trump has been harshly critical of Vice President Kamala Harris in the weeks since Biden stumbled during the June 27 debate. Harris is widely seen as Biden’s most likely replacement if he leaves office, both as his top aide and with access to campaign funds.
Trump discussed the possibility of running against Harris in a video posted to his Truth Social account on July 3. In the video, Trump harshly criticized Harris’ chances of beating him.
“I removed him from the election, which means Kamala won,” Trump said in the video.
“She’s just awful. Just pathetic. Just awful,” he added.
But Trump didn’t stop there. On Independence Day, he again referenced Harris in another Truth Social post, slamming her opponents.
“I salute our new potential Democratic challenger, Ruffian Kamala Harris,” Trump said, using the vice president’s new nickname.
“She did poorly in the Democratic nomination process, starting in second place and then losing and dropping out before even getting to Iowa, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t a ‘very talented’ politician!” Trump continued, referring to Harris’ performance in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary.
In fact, “Ruffin’ Kamala Harris” isn’t the only nickname Trump has given her: The Trump campaign used a different nickname for her in a statement released the previous day.
“Every Democrat calling for evil Joe Biden to resign once supported Biden and his failed policies that have led to excessive inflation, open borders, and chaos at home and abroad,” Trump campaign advisers Chris LaCivita and Suzie Wiles said on July 3.
“They have all lied about Joe Biden’s cognitive status and supported his disastrous policies for the past four years, especially his giggling co-pilot, Kamala Harris,” the statement continued.
Incidentally, Trump likes to give his political opponents unpleasant nicknames, most of which mock a physical feature or quirk of the person.
In 2016, he harshly criticized his primary opponents, Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, calling them “Little Marco” and “Lying Ted,” respectively, and his former protégé, Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, calling him “Ron DeSanctimonious.”
Trump also railed against his Democratic rivals, calling Hillary Clinton “Crooked Hillary” and Joe Biden “Sleepy Joe.”
In Harris’ case, Trump appears to have taken note of the way she laughs.
Indeed, Harris has brushed off calls to run for president. The former California senator has instead doubled down on her support for Biden and repeatedly called him the right leader.
“We knew this election would be tough, but the past few days have been a reminder that running for president of the United States is never easy,” Harris told The Washington Post at a campaign event on Tuesday.
“But one thing we know about President Joe Biden is that he’s a fighter, he’s the first to say, ‘When I get knocked down, I get up,'” she continued.
A representative for Harris did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by BI outside of regular business hours.
