Trump takes aim at Kamala Harris and teases Marco Rubio at Florida rally
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Former President Trump speaks during a campaign event at Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami, Florida, on Tuesday. Photo: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Former President Trump escalated his attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris at a campaign rally in Miami, Florida, on Tuesday night.
Why it matters: His comments at the rally at Trump National Doral Golf Club that saw him repeatedly tease Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) as his 2024 running mate indicate he's preparing for the possibility that President Biden may drop out of the race.
The big picture: Some congressional Democrats and several heavyweight donors have called on Biden to withdraw from the election following his poor performance at the June 27 presidential debate, which the president and his aides blamed on a cold and jet lag.
- Trump said on Fox News Monday night that he expects Biden to continue, but if he drops out the presumptive Republican presidential nominee expects to face Harris.
- Biden and his aides maintain that he's fine and in good health. So he has no intention of exiting the race, telling congressional Democrats this week that it's time to "end" the pressure on him to drop out.
State of play: In a shift from previous speeches, Trump took aim at the "Biden-Harris" administration, rather than targeting the president alone, and sought to tie her to Russia's war on Ukraine.
- He hit Harris on the large numbers of undocumented immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border — echoing claims made in an ad run this month by Republicans' congressional campaign arm.
- "The radical left Democrat Party is divided in chaos and having a full-scale breakdown," Trump told supporters.
- "All because they can't decide which of their candidates is more unfit to be president: Sleepy, Crooked Joe Biden or Laughing Kamala."
Zoom in: Trump said at the rally that he had to give Biden "credit for one brilliant decision, probably the smartest decision he ever made: He picked Kamala Harris as his vice president. No, it was brilliant. Because it was an insurance policy. Maybe the best insurance policy I've ever seen."
- Trump added: "If Joe had picked someone even halfway competent they would have bounced him from office years ago, but they can't because she's gotta be their second choice."
- The former president also challenged Biden to a golf match.
The other side: "We'd challenge Donald Trump to stand up to Putin, but he bent the knee to him," the Biden campaign said in a statement posted to X.
- Biden "doesn't have time for Donald Trump's weird antics" because he's busy leading the U.S. and "defending the free world," the statement added.
- "Donald Trump is a liar, a convict, and a fraud only out for himself — par for the course."
Zoom out: Rubio, whose on Trump's VP shortlist, also targeted both Harris and Biden when he took to the stage before the former president to address the crowd.
- Trump teased Rubio as a potential running mate throughout his speech.
- "I think they probably think I'm going to be announcing that Marco is going to be vice president, because that's a lot of press," Trump said at one point.
- Trump singled out Rubio at another point as he spoke of his proposal to eliminate taxes on tips for service workers, saying: "Marco, you're going to vote for it, I hope. Well, you may or may not be there to vote for it. But you'll be involved."
What we're watching: Trump said on Fox News' "Hannity" Monday that he expects to make a decision on his running mate "probably within the next week."
- He said he'd "love" to make his announcement during next week's Republican National Convention, but "my people say that's a little complicated."
Go deeper: At Miami rally, Trump supporters revel in Democrats' "chaos
