Trump struggles to recalibrate his strategy now that he’s campaigning against Harris

Former President Donald Trump‘s campaign has reeled since President Joe Biden’s exclusion from the presidential race during a time in which they appeared to be headed to a confident victory.

While it seemed Trump might change his campaign strategy after his July 13 assassination attempt and be a more amicable candidate, he quickly shifted back to familiar tactics and appeared to be as hostile as ever with Vice President Kamala Harris taking over as Democratic nominee.

Some of that response may be because Harris has reinvigorated Democratic fundraising and campaign operations with her announcement, and she’s taken the lead nationally in several polls. Reportedly, Trump has “found the change disorienting” as he had grown used to attacking Biden.

He’s continued attacks on Harris’s racial identity, saying she is “very disrespectful” to both her black and Indian heritages, despite insistence from Republican leaders like Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to steer away from the topic. Many Republicans have publicly warned Trump away from talking about race, instead arguing he should focus on issues like the economy and immigration and his frustration with the presidential race.

“The problem I have with Kamala Harris is not her heritage; it is her judgment,” he said. “Every day we’re talking about her heritage, and not her terrible, dangerous liberal record throughout her entire political life, is a good day for her and a bad day for us. So I would encourage President Trump to prosecute the case against Kamala Harris’s bad judgment,” Graham said.

According to the New York Times, billionaires and other guests at an Aug. 2 dinner hoped he would indicate he’s recalibrating his campaign. Instead, he resorted to saying, “We’ve got to stop the steal,” and denied he was wrong for questioning Harris’s racial identity. He also denied that he had become “nicer” after the attempt on his life, instead describing himself as “angry,” which has lined up with his recent verbal assaults on Harris in which he has called her “nasty.”

He’s repeated similar claims on the campaign trail, telling rally-goers that he was nicer directly after the attempted assassination at an event in Butler, Pennsylvania, but that he’s since reverted.

The New York Times also revealed Trump had an aide send angry texts to one of his largest donors, Miriam Adelson, stating her Preserve America PAC was run by “RINOs” and that her late husband, casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, wouldn’t approve. This comes after Adelson, one of Trump’s largest donors, pledged millions to his campaign.

Trump also called Maggie Haberman and discussed the confusing narrative about Willie Brown, in which Trump says he was in a helicopter when it needed to do an emergency landing. Brown has denied this story happened, and Trump told Haberman he has documents to prove it. When she asked to see the records, he reportedly mocked her, repeating her words back to her in a “sing-song” voice.

After the June debate, where Biden kicked off an internal firestorm in the Democratic party that dominated headlines, Trump and his inflammatory rhetoric took a back seat, and many were amazed as his self-containment. However, recently he’s been publicly hurling insulting remarks at people he sees as political opponents; at a Friday night rally in Montana, he repeatedly mocked Sen. Jon Tester‘s physical appearance.

“He’s got the biggest stomach I have ever seen,” Trump remarked. “That’s the biggest stomach; I have never seen a stomach like that, because he doesn’t look that heavy.”

Trump is trailing Harris on the campaign trail, while the latter candidate has jumped from swing state to swing state to plead her case as a candidate. The former president’s only rally this week was the aforementioned event in safely-Republican Montana.

As the presidential race stands, Harris and Trump are neck-and-neck. According to RealClearPolitics’ national polling average, Harris leads by just half of a point, 47.6% to 47.1%.

A recent New York Times/Siena College poll showed Trump trailing Harris 50% to 46% in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania — a blow to the Republican’s hopes in the region.