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- Donald Trump wanted Joe Biden to stay in the race. Now he's not happy about the switch-up.
- Trump accused Democrats of wasting his campaign's time and money.
- Facing Kamala Harris, Trump must reframe his campaign strategy against a tougher opponent.
Donald Trump is not happy about Joe Biden dropping out of the race, and he's been blasting Democrats for making his campaign "start all over."
The former president posted several angry rants on his platform Truth Social, accusing Democrats of wasting Republicans' time and money. He even alleged that their last-minute switch-up all but replacing Biden with Vice President Kamala Harris amounts to fraud.
"So, we are forced to spend time and money on fighting Crooked Joe Biden, he polls badly after having a terrible debate, and quits the race," the Republican nominee wrote on Truth on Sunday. "Now we have to start all over again. Shouldn't the Republican Party be reimbursed for fraud in that everybody around Joe, including his doctors and the Fake News Media, knew he was not capable of running for, or being, President? Just askin'?"
Trump then wrote on Monday night that Democrats "mislead the Republican Party, causing it to waste a great deal of time and money."
Trump's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
A major reset in the 2024 race
It's not just Trump who's peeved — some Republicans are so mad that they've even threatened to sue Democrats to stop Kamala Harris from taking Biden's campaign cash and place on the ballot. But experts told BI that endeavor is doomed, at best.
Trump and his team were hoping Biden would stay in the race, according to reports in The Atlantic, because the president's flailing campaign was working well for Trump.
Trump was leading Biden in both national and swing state polls, he appeared more cogent than Biden in the aftermath of Biden's disastrous debate, and he was gaining ground among young voters.
But now that Trump is likely to face off against Harris — a much younger and seemingly more popular candidate than Biden — his campaign's singular strategy of taking down Biden needs to shift.
Trump's team had framed the race's narrative as a referendum on Biden, depicting Trump as the strong, tough foil to "Sleepy Joe" and arguing that Biden didn't have the wherewithal to handle crime or immigration policy.
Trump's team was prepared with Harris attacks as soon as Biden endorsed her, and Trump has tried out a series of nicknames already for the vice president, lately sticking with "Lyin' Kamala Harris" and bragging about his superior "pole numbers."
But his campaign still faces an uphill battle readjusting its framework around an entirely new candidate. Harris is already positioning herself as a former prosecutor taking on a convicted felon.
So Trump is right about one thing: his campaign does have to "start all over again."