Donald Trump and his creepy sidekick JD Vance have tried to put on brave faces after President Biden announced last week that he was dropping out of the race. But privately, the Trump team is a mess who feel like they've been "sucker punched" by the Biden–Harris switch, according to audio obtained by The Washington Post.
"All of us were hit with a little bit of a political sucker punch," said the deflated Republican running mate to a group of donors in Minnesota on Saturday.
"The bad news is that Kamala Harris does not have the same baggage as Joe Biden, because whatever we might have to say, Kamala is a lot younger," he admitted. "And Kamala Harris is obviously not struggling in the same ways that Joe Biden did." (Listen to the audio below, posted by Republicans against Trump.)
From The Washington Post:
Trump himself has expressed nostalgia for running against Biden ("He will always be my first choice") and at the same time dismissed Harris as "worse than Joe."
Vance, though, gave a different assessment for donors on Saturday ahead of joining Trump at a rally in St. Cloud, Minn. He said Harris was less well-known than Trump or Biden, so Republicans would have to work to shape people's opinions of her.
"We have a very unique opportunity, but also a very unique challenge, because, let's be honest, 10 days ago, the two candidates who were running for president, everybody had an opinion about 'em. Love 'em or hate 'em, everybody has an opinion about Donald Trump and Joe Biden after the past eight years," Vance said. "But Kamala Harris, people don't really know." …
Two national polls taken since Biden dropped out showed Trump and Harris within the margin of error, erasing Trump's earlier leads over Biden in the same surveys.
Previously: JD Vance: Sofa King Weird
