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- Trump's allies appear to have had attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris locked and loaded.
- A pro-Trump super PAC released anti-Harris ads within an hour of Biden's withdrawal from the race.
- Similar ads and messaging from Republicans followed soon after.
President Joe Biden's decision to drop out of the presidential race and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris might have been a shock to some, but Team Trump seems to have been ready for it.
Allies of former President Donald Trump's election bid had a Harris attack at the ready, and they didn't hesitate to use it.
Just an hour after Biden's announcement, an X account run by the pro-Trump super PAC Make American Great Again Inc. shared an ad slamming Harris, who announced she would vie for the Democratic nomination.
"Kamala was in on it. She covered up Joe's obvious mental decline," the ad says. "Kamala knew Joe couldn't do the job, so she did it. Look what she got done: a border invasion, runaway inflation, the American dream dead. They created this mess. They — no, Kamala — owns this failed record."
Another ad paid for by the Republican National Committee emphasized Harris' role in immigration policy, blaming her for immigrants "flooding over the border" and failing to stop illegal immigration.
"That's the truth about Kamala Harris. She's dangerously liberal on illegal immigration," the ad says.
A Trump campaign email sent hours after Biden's announcement echoed Republican messaging about Harris being "as complicit as Biden is in the destruction of our once-great Nation."
"Kamala Harris is just as much of joke as Biden is. Harris will be even WORSE for the people of our Nation than Joe Biden. Harris has been the Enabler in Chief for Crooked Joe this entire time. They own each other's records, and there is no distance between the two," senior Trump campaign advisors Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles wrote.
Despite the day's shake-up and the uncertainties ahead of the Democratic National Convention, Harris appeared just as ready to face Trump in the election.
"I am honored to have the President's endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination," she said on X. "I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party—and unite our nation—to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda."